LDR 6115: Powerful Communication
Name: Emma
Date:
Project Title: “Three Different Styles of Chinese and Western Leadership Work”
The modern world has become increasingly interconnected, and one cannot become a great leader and communicator without taking into account cultural diversity. People from different cultures, such as America and China, have different leadership and communication styles, which come together in organizational settings to build strong and effective teams. Such employees are expected to work together and agree on various aspects to achieve organizational goals. I have embarked on a journey to understand the different leadership styles inherent in the two cultures that create diversity in international organizational settings. Intercultural communication is critical for leaders in diverse contexts because it enables the leader to become culturally sensitive and to approach each employee appropriately depending on the background. Although I have learned and will benefit differently from studying Chinese and American cultures, the most beneficial aspects are how the information will help me to become a better leader and communicator. The current speech focuses on the benefits of learning the differences in my leadership and communication roles in an organizational setting.
The knowledge regarding cultural diversity will make me a global leader because I can work and manage employees from different parts of the world. I have only used China and the US and classical examples of two cultures that are entirely different regarding their behavior, values, beliefs, and communication patterns. The two cultures have been proven to differ in terms of the way they work and communicate at the workplace. For example, while Chinese are collective, Americans tend to be individualistic and can work better independently (Hall, Covarrubias, & Kirschbaum, 2017). However, I have discovered that the differences do not mean that they cannot work together successfully. The ability for them to work in harmony emanates from the nature of leadership. For instance, while an American worker will be comfortable with a hug by a colleague in the morning, a Chinese employee might be comfortable with a simple handshake. Therefore, I have developed adequate knowledge that would help me to lead people from the two cultures working together in the same organization.
Intercultural Communication is one of the essential conditions of good leadership in culturally diverse organizations. It is necessary for settings that bring together people from different companies and countries, such as the United States and China. Understanding the different cultures will not only help me to communicate better, but also prevent conflicts and misunderstandings that arise because of the diversity. Hall, Covarrubias, and Kirschbaum (2017) highlight that conflicts emerge when people from different cultures cannot understand how others communicate and use language to pass an important message. For example, a Chinese lady can easily mistake the friendly gesture of an American male for a sexual gesture. Americans love hugging to show their love and affection for others, but the Chinese are more comfortable with a handshake. Such knowledge will prevent conflicts and create a positive working environment. As a leader in a multicultural context, I can help employees to understand the differences and appreciate that people have different verbal and non-verbal communication approaches.
From the leadership perspective, it might appear like the differences are negative and that they commonly cause conflicts and misunderstandings. However, such adverse outcomes arise when the leader lacks the necessary intercultural communication knowledge and is incapable of understanding how different people communicate and use verbal and non-verbal cues. As a leader, the information will help me to create effective teams with different strengths drawn from different backgrounds. For example, employees from China have strong social skills that can help to work together with American workers who tend to have a sense of urgency (Gallo, 2017). When working together, they can overcome their weaknesses and build on their strengths to get the most out of the team dynamics. Therefore, an effective leader will think critically when creating such teams to ensure that they are balanced and that each member contributes to the achievement of the team and company goals.
During my research, I have learned that no one is a better leader than the other solely based on cultural differences. The answer emanated from my question regarding who are better leaders, Chinese, or Americans. The project has led to my discovery that everyone has their leadership strengths and can use them in different settings to achieve positive results (Lam, 2017). For example, a Chinese leader would appear to be a more influential leader when leading people from his culture, while an American leader could be ineffective in the same setting. The factor behind the difference is the understanding of the cultural aspects of the people being led. Therefore, whenever I get an opportunity to lead, I should begin by learning how people from the culture I will be leading act and behave. The knowledge will help me to get positive results regardless of the level of diversity because I will use the most suitable leadership style. Notably, due to the cultural differences, no leadership style suits all organizations, and a leader should learn and use whichever is most appropriate.
While working in an American multinational with Chinese and other expatriates, I learned some elements of the two cultures that will help me to communicate and become a better leader in the future. For example, I realized that work ethics between the two cultures differ and what motivates an American employee could utterly different from what motivates a Chinese employee. For instance, I realized that American employees are motivated by financial rewards for successful completion of projects, while Chinese workers desired recognition. Therefore, as a leader, I should understand such differences and balance them to ensure that all employees in the company are appropriately motivated. When each person is motivated, a manager will have created a competent team that will make it possible to achieve corporate goals. Generally, the leader will take advantage of the strengths of each employee to create a strong team. A leader should be competent enough to notice the differences and take advantage of the diversity for collective success.
I have been working to create cultural navigation/agility tools that would improve by leadership in culturally diverse situations in the future. One of the tools that have proven effective is the cultural agility self-assessment tool, which provides the means to assess my cultural knowledge and sensitivity. I have also discovered cultural agility builder as a tool to help me to become more competent in intercultural communication and to lead people from diverse cultures. The devices are learning programs that will help me assess my level of cultural agility and help me to improve my current knowledge in the topic to become a better leader and communicator. The tools will enhance my potential to work in a global setting by improving my cultural competence and manage better amid cultural diversity. I focus on practicing the lessons in a real-life environment to establish my strengths and work on weaknesses as I develop as a leader and communicator. Each day is a learning process as I focus on excelling in intercultural communication.
As I close, I retaliate that the world has become increasingly diverse and that people are interacting in a magnitude that was impossible in the past. Various stakeholders from different cultures, such as America and China, such as employees, customers, and suppliers, are interactive daily, which explains the need to understand their differences and manage them effectively. I have witnessed a misunderstanding caused by diversity in languages used by people from two different cultures. The communicators misinterpreted verbal gestures, such as a hug as a friendly salutation, which led to the conflict. Although the dispute was resolved immediately, it could have been prevented in the first place if intercultural communication standards were evident in the company. As a leader, I commit to ensuring that such incidences do not occur when working with people from different cultures by training employees the different habits, behaviors, and values of other cultures, a process that will create a high level of cultural sensitivity in employees. A good leader will prevent intercultural conflicts and communication issues. For example, while workers America and China are different regarding cultural aspects, a good leader will take advantage of the differences to create strong teams.
References
Gallo, F.T. (2017). The Differences between Western and Chinese Leaders. Retrieved from http://www.jblacoaching.com/single-post/2017/11/13/The-Differences-between-Western-and-Chinese-Leaders
Lam, R. (2017). 5 Top Differences Between Chinese and Westerners. Retrieved from https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/community/blogs/raymond-lam/5-top-differences-between-chinese-and-westerners-0
Hall, B. J., Covarrubias, P. O., & Kirschbaum, K. A. (2017). Among cultures: The challenge of communication. Routledge.
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