Effective Leadership Cross Cultural Situations

This literature review will make use of four pieces of academic work to discuss how the concept of culture can intrinsically affect leadership. The literature finds that the link between culture and leadership is an important, yet complicated relationship. I will begin by discussing and defining the central concepts of culture and leadership. I will then explain and analyse the significance of culture upon leadership. Finally I will review Hofstede’s cultural framework to assess its significance and relevance to the topic at hand.

The global economy today is made up of many nationalities and each nationality brings with them a unique culture. Part of leadership success is learning who you are working with inside the organization. When a leader is examining what strategy will work best for the organization’s goals, it is important to remember that the terms “leadership” and “success” have numerous definitions depending upon the culture in which you are defining it (Rook). Forming working relationships is just one key in unlocking effective

Managers in today’s world are important assets to the multicultural organisations. Leadership styles of managers are highly important in terms of managing the team of followers, which has a correlation to the productivity and results that the team would achieve in the future. By having good management, it contributes to the success of the organisation. Hence, it is vital to identify the different leadership styles especially in different cultures to suit the working environment and culture of the organization. In the present multicultural global business industry, cultural differences can come in the way of the success of project completion (Anbari, Khilkhanova, Romanova, & Umpleby , 2009) . It has been claimed that rigid leadership does not promote motivation and creativity, therefore, managers should lead by flexible leadership and be culturally sensitive, adapting to different cultures, for the team to be able to move forward and reach their goals (Anabri et al. 2009). The way a manager’s leadership takes place also affect’s the experience of the employees at work and the relationship between the manager and the employee. Jariya (2012, p66) states that ‘different cultures differ in the values they endorse, people from these cultures often interpret the same managerial practices

In this paper, we will review four leadership models: charismatic, servant, situational, and transformational. A separate discussion describing

Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2002). Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. In B. J. Avolio & F. J. Yammarino (Eds.), Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (pp. xvii–xxiii). Oxford, UK: Elsevier

Situational leadership is needed within any successful organization; do in part to varying personalities that exist, and the inevitable cultural differences that are present in most organizations. The ability to provide leadership based on the situation or cultural background of the followers is a trait that good leaders must possess. Anderson (as cited by Larsson & Vinberg, 2010) states, that an important aspect of organizations effectiveness is the maneuverability of leadership. Adapting and changing to who ones followers are and their developmental abilities or cultural differences is a large part of a successful organization, Mendenhall’s (a cited by Avlio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009) approach to global leadership requires the leader to have a diverse set of experiences that allows the leader to lead diverse groups, and not focus on one or two cultures that the leader may have extensive knowledge or understanding

Questions will often arise as to the effectiveness of varying leaderships styles and techniques used with differing cultures. Not all people will respond the same in certain circumstances, largely due to their cultural or ethnic sensitivities. “Evidence reflects that particular styles of and approaches to leadership may not be as successful with all cultural groups” (Aritz & Walker, 2014). Leaders working with either groups or individuals face many challenges today. It’s highly likely that most groups will be made up of individuals from across many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Leadership styles and techniques must be made inclusive of culturally sensitive issues and tendencies. Some people have been taught that being direct and straightforward is the most effective way to solve problems. Straight to the point with little or no deviations in order for all those involved to remain focused on the task at hand. While this may seem like a normal and most efficient approach for some, others may not be as comfortable and accepting.

Global expansion, Global Leadership, Global Trends, are all important topics in this growing business world, it is crucial to be a leader who is effective in the comprehension of cultural variances between their native country and the countries they are interesting in working with. Businesses know that it is important to have a leader who has the ability to work in diverse work environments (Murmu, 2014, p67). Furthermore, adding to the need of leaders who can identify, understand and correctly address different issues that can arise when doing business globally, such as, culture, religious conviction, and society within each country they wish to conduct business in. The avoidance of making the error of operating under the assumption that all

Leadership is perceived and defined in many ways, but in the end, every concept of leadership is brought back on the focus of people. Followers’ reaction towards a leader decides the effectiveness of his or her specific style of governance. Because of the importance of the subordinate, leaders must treat everyone they manage with dignity and respect. To achieve this feat, the leader must understand the meaning of culture and other aspects which stem from it and social perceptions and biases which lead to schema and ultimately unjust stereotypes. In the leadership textbook Preparing to Lead: Introduction to Leadership and Development written by LCDR Litchford, USN and LT Bryant, USN, it defines culture as “the totality of learned socially transmitted

Transformational leaders poses a variety of skills that “motivates followers to do more than expected, by (a) raising followers’ levels of consciousness about the importance and value of specified and idealized goals, (b) getting followers to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the team or organization, and (c) moving followers to address higher level needs” (Northouse, 2013, p. 190). Besides having specific skills to motivate followers, transformational leaders possess dominant personalities, have a desire to influence others, are self-confident, have high moral values and exhibit charismatic behavior (Northouse, 2013).

“When Cultures Collide”, Richard D. Lewis charted 24 leadership styles from around the world and I noted some similarities of the leadership styles that he made between an American and British that echoed that of a Kenyan and Tanzanian: British managers are diplomatic, casual, helpful, willing to compromise, and seeking to be fair, though they can be ruthless when necessary. Unfortunately, their adherence to tradition can result in a failure to comprehend differing values in others. American managers are assertive, aggressive, goal and action oriented, confident, vigorous, optimistic, and ready for change. They are capable of teamwork and corporate spirit, but they value individual freedom and their first interest is furthering their own career

Culture influences leadership in many ways, so it is helpful to first understand what culture is. According to our text culture is defined as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people (Northouse, 2016). Culture is the way of life, customs, and script of a group of people. Different cultures have different ideas about what they want from their leaders, but by understanding cultural differences leaders can become more empathetic and accurate in their communication with others. It is clear that different culture groups desire different leadership behaviors when they are looking for an effective leader. Surprisingly there were effective leadership attributes that was identified as universal characteristics. Positive leader attributes include being trustworthy, positive,

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program, or GLOBE, is an extensive research program devoted to understanding how culture influences leadership and different organizational processes (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, Gupta, 2004, pp. 9). This program consists of three separate phases, the first being an empirical study focused on developing research instruments (House et al., 2004, p. 9). The second phase is primarily geared toward the “assessment of the nine core attributes of societal and organization cultures” which are referred to as cultural dimensions (House et al., 2004, p. 9). And the last phase is currently underway as an investigation of the impact and effectiveness of specific leader styles

Transformational leadership are classified into four components which are pointed out by Bass (1990, p. 28), ‘charisma, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration’. Apart from these basic roles, charisma leadership, a collection of personal characteristics, has its own role of literature since it has similarity with transformational leadership and they are contribution to each other (Bertocci, 2009, p. 43; Judge & Piccolo, 2004, p. 755). Leaders’ behaviour reflects them being role models for their followers. Followers respect, admire and trust their leaders who have charismatic effect on their followers to an extremely high grade are willing to take risks

In times of rapid globalisation and economic development growth, the environment of business has become more and more complicated as a huge number of firms want to globally expand their businesses. Subsequently, the managerial implications of cross-cultural management is the challenge of this development. As Abbe (2007) states, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the global markets. Culture is the “software of mind” that can influence people’s patterns of thinking and behaving.