Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

LEAD THROUGH VISION AND VALUES
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be able to follow a traditional chain - of - command to receive guidance in a short timeframe.
A highly effective vision is especially important when faced with rapidly changing
environments, when specific rules may be dysfunctional due to their narrow focus and
lack of adaptability, or in the early stages of the organization’s lifecycle where routines
are not yet in place (Yukl, 2005 ).
Leaders who communicate a vision in multicultural settings, be they in a multinational
firm or an organization with a diverse workforce, need to consider that the values contained
in the vision statement may not be as appealing or easy to discern to people from
a different cultural background. In such instances, the leader must take steps to communicate
an inclusive vision and allow followers time to clarify their personal values and realign
them with the vision. Followers also must have the capacity to identify and be aware of
their own values.
Leaders may not want to reference the organization’s past periods of radical organizational
change. References to those stressful periods will likely increase resistance to the
vision. Similarly, aligning the vision with societal values that are inconsistent with competitiveness
is not recommended. Research has shown that there are societies with a low
level of performance orientation, such as some societies in Latin America (House, Hanges,
Ruiz - Quintanilla et al., 1999 ; Javidan, Dorfman, de Luque, and House, 2006 ). Aligning
the organization with this societal norm would hinder the international competitiveness
of the organization. The leader must carefully weigh the imbalance between the values
underlying the vision statement and societal norms.
The need for a high degree of participation depends on the national culture of the
followers, the amount of crisis or stress in the organization, and the ability of the leader to
develop a unique vision statement. In collectivistic countries, such as China, the leader ’s
attempt to take a highly participative approach to vision formulation would be seen as
disrespectful ( Javidan et al., 2006 ). Followers in those countries expect authoritative leadership
and perceive that taking their opinions into account is a sign of incompetence or
weakness. Leaders in collectivistic national cultures may need either to gradually change
the organization so that participation is accepted or to find other ways to gain employee
buy - in of the vision statement, such as through rewards and role modeling. Similarly,
followers who are confronted with an organizational crisis or stressful uncertainty tend to
look for a leader to give decisive direction rather than ask for their input. Finally, many
effective leaders did not arrive at the vision statement by themselves but through insights
that were shared by followers.
EXCEPTIONS
Articulating the vision in a dramatic way may lead to aversion in organizations and
countries which have experienced charismatic leaders who led their organization or country
into a disaster ( Javidan et al., 2006 ). In Germany, for example, a leader who uses dramatic
rhetoric is likely to be viewed with suspicion due to the traumatic experience with Adolf
Hitler, who communicated his vision in an extremely dramatic manner. Similarly, some
national cultures do not value highly expressive behaviors. For example, in Nordic countries,
which include Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, dramatic communication lies
outside accepted social norms and thus is likely to lead to rejection of the leader.