Module 8 DQ 3: Leadership in a Multicultural Environment
PLEASE ANSWER SEPARATELY
As leaders work in different cultures, what aspects of their leadership must they proactively look to in order to adapt to each culture? How can they realize the needed changes?
Do you think that in order to work well with foreign colleagues, you may have to risk feeling inauthentic and incompetent?
You make a valid point regarding the need to exercise cultural competency in leadership. We all agree that the world of work has changed dramatically over the past decade. This is due partly to companies becoming more global and employee groups more diverse than ever before. Organizational structures are less hierarchical and more collaborative. And today’s networked offices are full of technological distractions that would have been unimaginable to the 20th-century manager. According to their article, Molinsky, Davenport, Iyer, Davidson (2012) uses the term “cultural code-switching”—the ability to modify behavior in specific situations to accommodate varying cultural norms. Code-switching requires far more than the right mind-set, information, and motivation. It requires a capacity to manage the psychological challenges that arise when someone tries to translate cultural knowledge into action.
They also suggest that executives often feel inauthentic when their behavior conflicts with their ingrained values and beliefs, and doubly uncomfortable when others assume that it is a true reflection of who they are Molinsky, Davenport, Iyer, Davidson (2012). They may also feel incompetent—anxious and embarrassed about acting in a way so far outside their comfort zone. Deeper down, they may feel frustrated and angry that they had to make changes in the first place. After all, managers don’t usually have to adapt their behavior to the needs of their subordinates; most often it’s the other way around. Together, these feelings can prevent executives from making a successful code switch, thus imperiling their careers and their companies’ success. Molinsky, Davenport, Iyer, Davidson (2012). Do you think that in order to work well with foreign colleagues, you may have to risk feeling inauthentic and incompetent?
Thank you
Andy Molinsky, Andy, Davenpot, Thomas H., Iyer, Bala, Davidson, Cathy N., 2012, Cross-Cultural Management; Three Skills Every 21st-Century Manager Needs, Harvard Business Review
MODULE 8 DQ 3: Leadership in a Multicultural Environment
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Leadership in a Multicultural Environment
DQ3 (a)
Internationalization of business has given rise to a high level of interactions between different international firms and employees of different cultures and organizational status. Leaders have encountered challenges in leading workers and followers from diverse cultures where the lack of knowledge about cultural diversity among the employees has given rise to misunderstandings and conflicts (Rentfrow, 2014). When conflicts and misunderstanding arise within an organization, leaders should realize that changes are necessary. The 21st-century leadership and management involve understanding the complex aspects associated with a culture where leaders have a challenge of proactively looking into their leadership skills so as to adapt to the change posed by global cultures within an organization.
One aspect that leaders must consider is their adaptability to different environments. Leaders have to change their essence of flexibility since culture multiplicity alters their expectations, experiences and definition of leadership (Rentfrow, 2014). The other aspects that must change is the vision. A leader in a foreign environment must change an organization's vision so as to adapt to the cultural shift and mobilize the employees towards the esteemed change. Corporate change can be established without altering the culture of the country of origin. The effects of cultural difference can be solved by a leader as...