Power Distance | Why is it so important to acknowledge?

All cultures differ in how they show respect for authority. These behaviors are ingrained in all of us by the society we are each raised in. For instance, in Asia, the degree of respect is high, whereas, in Germany, it is lower. When it comes to relationships at work in Asia, it is viewed as unacceptable for an insubordinate to challenge their manager or boss, while in Germany, it is acceptable for employees to speak up when they disagree with their boss. 

Professor Geert Hofstede calls this event power distance. When leading multicultural teams, it is critical to understand the idea of power distance. A global leader may have a person from Asia, Mexico, and Germany on their team. The person from China or Mexico, two countries that measure high on the Power Distance Index (China, 80 and Mexico, 81!), will be more likely to go with whatever the global leader says during a meeting (Clearlycultural, 2019). This is the case even when the leader is wrong. The team member from Germany, a country with a 35 on the Power Distance Index, would be more likely to challenge an idea or new process introduced by the global leader. 

Why is of importance to the leader? Well, diverse teams are known to spur debate and dialogue (Gamble & Gamble, 2013, p.204). Through debate and dialogue, we uncover innovation. New ideas are born when team members ask, why or why not (Nalebuff and Ayres, 2006). If the leader uses strategies to shift the behaviors of the team members with a high power distance mindset, they might open up to sharing new ideas with the group. Who knows they might even create a groundbreaking new solution to an organizational problem. It boils down to the leader being aware of concepts such as power distance to unleash the performance power of their team.

Clearlycultural.com. (2019). Power Distance Index – Clearly Cultural. [online] Available at: https://clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Gamble, Teri Kwal, and Michael Gamble. (2013). Leading with Communication: A Practical Approach to Leadership Communication. SAGE Publications.

Nalebuff, Barry, and Ian Ayres. (2006). Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small. Harvard Business School Press.