Leadership : Bridging Cultural Divide

According to the textbook, Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice, there are over 100 definitions of the word “leadership”, and all of them are unique in their own way (Northouse, 2015, p.1). There are so many different aspects to leadership that is it nearly impossible to have one definition that covers every area. Each and every person that is a considered a leader has his or her own way of leading because every situation, whether it be work, a team, at home, etc., calls for different and distinctive ways of leading people. Northouse states that there are six main aspects of leadership; it’s a trait, ability, skill, behavior, relationship, and an influential process (Northouse, p. 3-6). Giving a clear answer as to what leadership is defined as is very difficult, but this paper will talk about my specific leadership skills and what leadership means to me.

Lewis, a variety of leadership structures are outlined according to each country. This helps to highlight the vast differences in leadership and management style around the globe, and can aid companies as they begin to forge into the global market.[1] The differences are striking, even between countries with similar cultural backgrounds, like the United Kingdom and the United States of America and demonstrate that in order to have a truly successful business partnership with a different country, you must spend time learning to understand exactly how that country handles business, and how it manages it’s employees. Lewis states, “By focusing on the cultural roots of national behavior, both in society and business, we can foresee and calculate with a surprising degree of accuracy how others will react to our plans for them, and we can make certain assumptions as to how they will approach

The first author wrote this chapter while a Marvin Bower Fellow at the Harvard Business School, and is grateful for their support.

Some leaders skills and styles may be perfect in one nation and ineffectual in another (Shanthi, 2009). Indeed, it is not inaccurate to say that cultural sensitivity is the most important trait for leaders to have, given the globalisation of our modern world (Wharton University, 1999). The idea of culture being the central idealism as to why leaders act the way they do in certain environments is linked to Contingency Theory. This theory stipulates that a leader needs to be able to adapt to the context they face (King and Lawley, 2013).

23. Does your cultural background influence your views about the effectiveness of leaders who show a great deal of interpersonal sensitivity? Explain. Page 231

With the rapid changes in a health care system around the world, healthcare organizations need to develop strategies that will help the organization to sustain with any difficulties that may arise. Healthcare systems expand their cultural leadership strategies in order to gain a thorough understanding of situations (Johnson, 2009) that will effectively improve their operations in community. Healthcare organizations use both the dynamic culture leadership (DCL) and the omnibus leadership as a model for implementation and a strategy for their success (Johnson, 2009).

‘ What are the differences of managers’ leadership styles between the Western and Non-Western cultures ?’

Situational approach is either applying supportive or directive behaviors to specific situations. Every situation is unique which is why different methods should be applied accordingly, depending on the dynamics of the situation. To determine what behaviors are needed, a leader must analyze his or her followers’ commitment and competence.

Leadership style is the driving force behind an organizations effectiveness and overall success. Leaders control the heart of an organization; they control the direction, values, and employee’s level of commitment to the organization. Consistency and reliability are key traits that followers look for in a leader. Team members need to understand and know that the actions of their leaders will be within the expected realm of who they are and how they have presented themselves. A leader’s inconsistency could be viewed by followers as unreliable, unpredictable, and hard to follow. So how does a leader navigate an organizations multi-faceted culture while cultivating success and effectiveness?

The most important aspect of the missions is to contextualization. Before the author talks about this issue, this book provides a definition of the two words: leadership and missionary. First of all, the author defines the term ‘leadership’ as three different roles: 1) the one who set the direction; 2) shares a purpose of the missions; and 3) cultivated a culture by leading them. Second, the author’s definition of missions is, “a missionary is anyone, from any country, who leaves home in order to proclaim the gospel, usually in another culture” (13). Furthermore, according to the book, the missions is not merely proclaiming the good news of Jesus to all over the world, but it should move to church planting, discipleship, biblical education, leadership development, and participate with the world vision, because that is how you fulfill God’s ultimate purpose.

Leadership Philosophy 1. I am passionate about goal achievement and the victory in personal excellence. 2. I believe in retaining valuable relationships through a creative, personable and compassionate experience. 3.

Northouse 's, Leadership: Theory and Practice, provides several major theories and models of leadership within the text. It presents in-depth theories of leadership and how it applies to real life situations. Northouse believed that the four essential components of leadership that he identified as leadership is a process, involves influence, occurs in groups, and involves common goals. Thus, he defines leadership as a process that occurs in groups which involve influence, and common goals. The book is easy to read and is a good reference to continue to consult throughout one 's leadership vocation.

“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,

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.