Intercultural leadership skills
Who asks leads?
This is not new wisdom and is well known to most managers. In an international context, however, the question often arises as to how one should actually react and how to interpret certain behaviors. A common basis must first be clarified before leadership can begin. After all, leadership should achieve results – economically measurable results. In our globalized world, many intercultural issues arise. This can arise when managers are sent abroad to manage operations there. But it is also often the case that you have to work with colleagues abroad. Or you have colleagues from abroad in your own team.
The international stage – slips included
The selection of managers to work internationally is usually based on economic criteria. The best specialist should be chosen. Language is also sometimes a criterion, whereby a good command of English is often considered sufficient. But what about the so-called “soft factors”, i.e. the actual leadership skills? Many internationally active companies are already investing in adequate preparation. But some do not. It is then not uncommon for so much “china to be smashed” that the expatriate becomes unacceptable. In other cases, despite good intentions, the management concepts that are quite efficient in Germany cannot be successfully applied in the target countries. This leads to misunderstandings and frictional losses that make a mockery of the company’s original intention, which was to increase business success abroad. And the more senior the manager, the more disastrous these misunderstandings can be. Of course, the corporate culture also plays an important role here. It is easier for everyone if the cultures in the company units are compatible across borders. But this is often not the case. The peak is also often reached when it comes to virtual leadership, which is a growing phenomenon in business life.
Intercultural preparation for managers – a sensible investment
Managers in particular should be intensively prepared for their roles. This goes far beyond simple regional studies. Managers need to learn how management styles differ, what is expected of them and what is not expected. The same applies if foreign employees are part of the team in their home country and the manager is also expected to act as a coach. This is the only way to deploy employees in a targeted manner and ultimately benefit from what everyone is talking about – diversity. Some managers “stumble” into their roles simply because they perform well. Fortunately, many companies then implement training measures to enable them to adequately fulfill their new role. But then, in all cases, the issue is how to manage employees in their home country. So far so good. A little local knowledge is then added for abroad and the international manager is finished. Not at all. The intercultural aspect in particular requires special attention! Managers live from making the best possible use of their human resources. To do this, you need to understand their working methods and attitudes. Often the international manager is also in a “sandwich position”, caught between the demands of the parent company (headquarters) and the local company units (periphery). As the attentive reader will easily recognize, there are hardly any limits to the resulting complexity. It is therefore highly advisable to consider the aspect of leadership in an intercultural context and to prepare the managers concerned in a targeted manner. There are various concepts for this, such as TIP (“The International Profiler”) or seminars and coaching sessions, which shed light on the key aspects in particular and illuminate the horizon for managers. This is not a cost – it is a useful investment that pays for itself many times over after a short time.
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