Attitudes to hierarchy can greatly affect the success of your leadership when leading internationally. While in some cultures there is an expectation that those in charge will have a degree of special treatment (personal parking places for example), in others the preference is to have more equal treatment.
Getting hierarchy expectations wrong can make leading internationally harder than it needs to be. Get your team together (or by video conference) and ask them to choose the reaction they most identify with from the situation below:
Which company would you prefer to work in as a member of staff (not management):
- All managers above a certain grade have personalized parking spaces, a separate lift only they can use, private offices (getting bigger the more senior they are), private dining facilities and other perks not available to other members of staff.
- All managers above a certain level have their own offices and parking spaces but otherwise do not receive other visible perks.
- All managers irrespective of seniority work in open plan offices and have no visible perks different from staff.
Which of the three options would they chose? Why? Get them to write down their answers rather than sharing. Then ask them if they were managers would their answer change. If different, why? Could that be their cultural preferences showing through?
When leading internationally, your approach to hierarchy and attitude to perks that visibly distinguish by seniority needs to match the attitude of the culture you are working in. The team leader who eats in the staff canteen in a hierarchical culture may not be seen as easy-going and approachable but maybe as invading a place where staff can relax away from management. Similarly, in a flat hierarchy the managers that keep themselves separate may be seen as aloof and self-important.
Also, many companies enter new countries and bring their own culture with them. A tech company with a flat hierarchy will bring that culture irrespective of the local culture. A bank with a more hierarchical approach will maintain that even in countries which place less value on hierarchy. These company cultures may clash with local cultures and expectations creating tensions between staff and management.
What can you do about it?
When leading internationally, you need to be able to identify the approach to hierarchy and how it compares with your own approach. Ask yourself the following questions:
- As a leader, what visible signs of your seniority do you expect?
- In the country you are working in, what visible signs are there of the seniority of other managers?
- Where do these differ?
- How could you change your approach to hierarchy to better match the culture you are operating in?
- What would you find difficult to change? Why?
Remember: you are trying to ensure that cultural differences don't undermine your effectiveness. Be open with your team about your preferences and where you struggle to adapt.
Leading internationally is easier when you can identify different approaches to hierarchy and discuss with your team how best to handle them.