1.5 - About University

• Getting down to workimmediately, without muchpersonal talk.• Life and personal status are oftendefined by one’s work.• Being punctual for work, meetings,and back from lunch.• Being organized; bringing paper,pen, and relevant materials tomeetings.• Earning respect by working hard,contributing to business results,and showing personal integrity.• Spending a lot of time buildingrapport. Working long hours andproducing results are highlyvalued. Talking to get to know theother person is not.• Using work time for personalpurposes is not okay.• Being late for anything at work isnot okay, especially if new to aworkgroup or in a junior positionrelative to other group members.• Looking disorganized.• Talking off the top of your head orspeaking out of order at a meeting(especially if in a junior position).• Resting on your laurels, be thisreputation, qualifications, breeding,inherited wealth, etc.• Many cultures view daily greetingsand meetings almost withreverence, as an opportunity toconnect with a colleague oracquaintance and to relate how lifeis going for both of them.• In many cultures, the concept oftime is flexible and not considereda big deal.• In many cultures, spontaneity ishighly valued and is seen as apositive sign of immediate interest.• Many societies are person-based, soqualifications, family, etc. lendcredibility.H OW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL“But if you cross over the sea,Instead of over the wayYou may end by looking on WEAs only a sort of THEY!”—Rudyard KiplingThe most common reason why leaders make cross-cultural gaffes is that they are not aware oftheir own cultural or organizational norms. If you are faced with behavior that you findstrange or that you or your workgroup find annoying, before talking to the individual, try tofigure out where you yourself are coming from. What is it that you value in this situation, andthat the offending person should be doing differently? Most commonly, this is expressed asannoyance, as in, “What is wrong with Pat? The meeting notice clearly stated that we begin at3 p.m.!”WEB WORKSHEETHere is but one of many possible applications for this tool—as a process for coaching a newemployee on the culture of your workgroup.Step 1: With a specific situation and person in mind, complete all three columns.Summarize the Describe which value of What cultural value mightinappropriate or offensive yours (or your workgroup) be guiding this individual’sbehavior. is being violated. behavior?(e.g., lowering eyes when spoken to)258 SECTION 8 TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION