Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.
Preparation
Gabriela worked for a multinational company as a successful project manager in Brazil and was transferred to manage a team in Sweden. She was excited about her new role but soon realised that managing her new team would be a challenge.
Despite their friendliness, Gabriela didn't feel respected as a leader. Her new staff would question her proposals openly in meetings, and when she gave them instructions on how to carry out a task, they would often go about it in their own way without checking with her. When she announced her decisions on the project, they would continue giving their opinions as if it was still up for discussion.
After weeks of frustration, Gabriela emailed her Swedish manager about the issues she was facing with her team. Her manager simply asked her if she felt her team was still performing, and what she thought would help her better collaborate with her team members. Gabriela found her manager vague and didn't feel as if he was managing the situation satisfactorily.
What Gabriela was experiencing was a cultural clash in expectations. She was used to a more hierarchical framework where the team leader and manager took control and gave specific instructions on how things were to be done. This more directive management style worked well for her and her team in Brazil but did not transfer well to her new team in Sweden, who were more used to a flatter hierarchy where decision making was more democratic. When Gabriela took the issue to her Swedish manager, rather than stepping in with directions about what to do, her manager took on the role of coach and focused on getting her to come up with her own solutions instead.
Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede uses the concept of 'power distance' to describe how power is distributed and how hierarchy is perceived in different cultures. In her previous work environment, Gabriela was used to a high power distance culture where power and authority are respected and everyone has their rightful place. In such a culture, leaders make the big decisions and are not often challenged. Her Swedish team, however, were used to working in a low power distance culture where subordinates often work together with their bosses to find solutions and make decisions. Here, leaders act as coaches or mentors who encourage independent thought and expect to be challenged.
When Gabriela became aware of the cultural differences between her and her team, she took the initiative to have an open conversation with them about their feelings about her leadership. Pleased to be asked for their thoughts, Gabriela's team openly expressed that they were not used to being told what to do. They enjoyed having more room for initiative and creative freedom. When she told her team exactly what she needed them to do, they felt that she didn't trust them to do their job well. They realised that Gabriela was taking it personally when they tried to challenge or make changes to her decisions, and were able to explain that it was how they'd always worked.
With a better understanding of the underlying reasons behind each other's behaviour, Gabriela and her team were able to adapt their way of working. Gabriela was then able to make adjustments to her management style so as to better fit the expectations of her team and more effectively motivate her team to achieve their goals.
In my opinion, the role of manager should be in agreement with the team´s level of experience. The manager should keep a high-power distance culture for new employee because he or she has not the knowledge to make decisions, while for a well experienced team or employee should be the opposite.
I loved those terms of management, the High power distance, and low power distance. I think that the low one will be better, suborDINATES WILL think in more creative ways.
From my point of view, a mix of the two styles will work as a charm.
I think that a leader is as a friend as a manager for team members. So it`s very cool when team leader is friendly and polite while communicating with his/her workers but also leader can be strict and determined. And in both cases the leader gets respect. In my opinion, subordination is one of the main part of any relations, so work distance is fully justified.
From my point of view, the leader's role is to set the main goals and rules of the team and then support and help his team. But as the article points out, you also need to take into account the cultural environment of the team. If you use a democratic style with a hierarchical team, they may feel that you are not really involved and committed as a leader (as Gabriela thought in her first contact with her boss).
I think a manager should encourage and collaborate with them.
Being bossy can't help the team to grow professionally as well.
I think the role of the manager should be a mix of the high and lower power distance, to guide the teamwork wisely and also have good communication with the team and have better ideas and different perspectives to solve problems or take decisions.
I think the role of a manager should be as close possible to an example to the subordinates, but it should give some room for them to think and create solutions by themselves and when they come out with a proposal or solution, the manager should listen and contemplate as if it was as good as it's own when, the solution offered got value and is viable.
Thanks for the lesson.
Great site!
As for me, manager should just help and show the right way to his team, so he haven't to control every process there. Everyone should have opportunity to take part in making decisions, which are important for their future. It names "democraty"!.
Very interesting article, as a foreigner where I live, I’ve personally experienced cultural clashes and taking into account that nowadays we are in a society where authority and respect aren’t anymore methods of management, I’d say that if I were a boss, I would have studied the culture and the way of thinking before accepting to work abroad and I would have liked to experience this method “the low power distance” it’s like working as a family, come rain or shine, facing all together whatever situation