OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context

Cultural Leadership blog

Cultural Synergy on the Baseball Diamond

by 2 Comments

Image result for texas baseball team winning

(Image courtesy of usatodayhss.com)

Synergy is something the remains very special to the success of a team. “Synergy – the idea that together a team can produce better results, better solutions, than any other person can alone” (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). One of the times that I was a part of synergy was when I played baseball at Vernon Regional Junior College. I was a freshman that played infield, the team was filled with many different players with many different skills. We had players that were fast and slow. We also had players that could hit, throw and think like good baseball players. Our roster was very culturally diverse as many players were from South America, Puerto Rico, and different parts of the U.S.

According to Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014), “On global teams, it implies every member has the potential to contribute” (p. 266). Every player knew their role in helping the team win games. Often times, players would be utilized for a specific skill set that they provided to benefit the organization. Socially, we also knew that we needed to support the uniqueness of our team in order to reach our goal. Although we had players that couldn’t speak English we all tried to make it work by getting to know each and our different culture while also knowing what each culture valued. Gamble & Gamble (2013) explains “Whatever a team’s reason for being, in order for a team to maintain itself and realize its goals, the team’s members need to agree on how to work together-for this to occur, they need to figure out how best to relate to one another” (p. 201).

That year, we set a school record for the most wins in a single season while advancing to regional playoffs. We finished the regular season with a record of 41-18, and that record still stands today. I believe the synergy that we created was the reason for our success which can be attributed to the behaviors of collectivism. According to Hofstede & Bond (1988), “Individualism on the one side versus its opposite (Collectivism) on the other. This describes the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onward are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups; often their extended families (with uncles, aunts, and grandparents) continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (p. 7).

 

References

Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2013). Leading with communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988, March 1). The confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, pp. 5-21.

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). Oxford: Routledge.

Learning and Changing in Texas

by 1 Comment

Image result for Texas legislature

(Image courtesy of Thomas Umstattd)

There are only a few things that you can count on happening and that’s learning and change. Businesses have had to adapted to the fast-paced business world which has required organizational learning and change.  As a state employee usually after the legislative session there is a new rule that requires us to have to change and learn new skills. As a result of the session our processes and procedures will inevitably change. Being in the local government environment, it has taught me that I need to adapt and be open-minded.

In our environment, we never really know what the change will be so we are forced to be more reactive. According to Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014), “Reactive change is usually the stage where companies realize that they need to change before a crisis can develop” (p. 108). Our stakeholders demand for a more critical thinking environment as the need for our services increase. As an agency we can request for a rule to pass to enhance our program.

When I was with my previous agency, we managed the medical transportation services for the whole state of Texas. Due to many variables involved with getting qualified only Medicaid eligible clients could use our program. In 2016, a new rule passed by the legislature that required that we verify that minors where traveling with a parent or a legal guardian.

Our processes and procedures changed over night. Many of use learned the ways of the new rule by observation and by watching all of the other people members. According to Bandura (2018), “Many of the things people seek are achievable only by working together through group effort. In the exercise of collective agency, they pool their knowledge, skills, and resources and act in concert to shape their future” (p. 131). As a team we where drafting forms that required signatures, dashboards were provided to supervisors and manager to see the incoming flow of work, we also extended our hours to accommodate the late evening request.We successfully transitioned to the new rule by working together as a team.

References

Bandura, A. (2018). Toward a psychology of human agency: Pathways and reflection. Association for Psychological Science, pp. Vol. 13 (2), 130-136.

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). Oxford: Routledge.

Nonverbal Communication Speaks Louder than Words

by Leave a Comment

Image result for interview panel

(image courtesy of Global Village Space)

Global communication in global business is essential to any organization. Nonverbal communication is also very important for effective communication. Many things that we do are nonverbal especially when something happens. For example, we clap when we appreciate something or we simply cross our arms when we are frustrated. According to Cherry (2018), “Every day, we respond to thousands on nonverbal cues and behaviors including postures, facial expression, eye gaze, gestures, and tone of voice”.

Nonverbal communication is something that I learned firsthand. When I was looking for a new job, I found a job that described what I was already doing and other duties that I wanted to learn. I knew that I could perform the job at a high level if I was just giving the chance. I decided to apply for the position and hoped that I got an interview. I got a call back and went to the interview eager to show that I was the perfect for the position.

As the interview started, my confidence must have taken over me because I felt that the interview was going great. I felt that the interview was going so well that I began to see myself more relaxed, I began to slouch in my chair as I answered all of the questions. I also find myself looking away and not making eye contact for some odd reason.

According to Mehrabian & Ferris (1967), “The results of the study indicate that the facial and vocal components do not interact and that the facial component has a stronger effect than the vocal component” (p. 251). A combination of my body language, facial and other expressions more than likely costed me the job. I was not offered the job.

As I learned from my previous nonverbal experience, on my next interview, I made sure to be very mindful of how my nonverbal communication were perceiving my character and personality. Cherry (2018) argues that, “Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture”. On my second interview, I made sure that I sat up straight and made eye contact the whole time. I was able to relax, but still maintain a professional demeanor. “Posture and movement can also convey a great deal on information” (Cherry, 2018).

Nonverbal communication is happening all the time, from the way that we stand to how and when we cross our legs. Manager and leaders must know and understand the importance of nonverbal communication. The more adept a manager is about effective communication the better equipped he or she will be when leading a team of followers.

 

References

Cherry, K. (2018, May 29). Types of nonverbal communication. Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-2795397

Mehrabian, A., & Ferris, S. R. (1967). Interference of attitudes from nonverbal communication in two channels. Journal of Consulting Pyschology, Vol. 31, No. 3, pg-248-252.

 

Common Stereotypes in the Workplace

by 1 Comment

Image result for women in leadership

(Image courtesy of medium.com)

Many times, in the workplace managers are seeking to reach top performance, but find the need to hire someone to lead the team to get the desired results. Women are more like to be stereotyped into certain positions within the organization and passed up for top positions due to stereotype. According to Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014), “Women are fundementally different and too “soft” to handle hardnosed managerial decisions” (p. 148).

I have worked with many successful manager and executive directors that have been female and who have done an excellent job. Although, there has been significant progress for women in leadership there is still a lot more progess to be had. Moran et al. (2014), “Historically and currently, there remains a significant gap in women representation, compensation in the upper echelons of the global workforce, as well as having the rights as men in all aspects” (p. 142). Women must be given the opportunity to perform a task equal to men.

According to Moran et al. (2014), “Women are often tracked into separate, and less promising, career paths” (p. 149). Many top roles are given to men because the perception is that a woman cannot handle the decision-making skills to make those tough decisions or lead a team. Turock (2001) stated, “Those low in opportunity for advancement, growth and challenge emerged as unlikely to develop their full potential as leaders, regardless of participation in the repair programs for women that had grown to constitute a profitable industry” (p. 123). The issue is that women are not even in the conversation to be considered for a leadership role especially if they are mothers or are considering having children. Moran et al. (2014) stated, “This common stereotype is as follows: if a woman’s focus is on bearing children, she would subsequently be taking time off, and could not be considered an effective front-line executive” (p. 149).

In order for an organization to be successsful, it must be able to be diversified and include all genders and all cultures. Diversity must be considered on two levels, surface-level and deep-level. “Surface-level diversity is the characteristics that we can notice about each other that distinguish us, and deep-level diversity, on the other hand, is those differences in beliefs, values, attitudes, etc., that do affect much more directly how a person behaves” (Penn State, 2018). The more aware that we all are about diversity, the better we will be at the inclusion of all people as leaders.

 

References

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). Oxford: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University (2018), OLEAD 410. retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942644/modules/items/24935371

Turock, B. (2001). Women and leadership. Journal of Library Administration, pg. 115-137.

Culture

by Leave a Comment

Understanding different cultures is essential to being a global leader. Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014), “Cultural is a distinctly human means of adapting to circumstances and transmitting this coping skill and knowledge to subsequent generations” (p. 11). Leaders must develop skills that will enable them to appreciate other cultures and the ability to effectively communicate to a diverse audience. When I traveled to El Paso, TX, there was big presence of the interior Mexican culture in regards to the language dialect, the food and the behaviors of the locals.

While cultural is imperative to understand for leaders, there are important factors that impact a culture such as values. According to Moran et al. (2014), “From a value system, a culture sets norms of behavior for that society” (p. 14). Values are what we learn from other people within our culture and our environment. I grew up in a large Mexican-American family where values were established for me at a young age. I understood that family was very important and being avaible to help with the older generation was also expected of me. Knowing these values, it made me more aware as a parent and what values I expect to enstill in them.

We can easily fall into the mindset where we start believing that our way is better than everyone else’s. This type of behavior is called “Ethnocentrism”. According to Moran at el. (2017), ethnocentrism is “The belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own group or culture” (p. 25). It is important that the we refrain from believing that our own culture is better than other cultures in order to effectively communicate as a global leader.

According to Moran et al., (2014), Hofstede’s dimensions of culture helps us better understand the different cultures such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity (p. 19). As we understand the dimensions of culture, we can be more versed in how to behave around other cultures and what is acceptable. I had a challenging experience dealing with an Indian lady that was very masculine which created a lot of confusion for me.

Overall, culture is something that is learned by our environment. One culture gaffe can create confusion, miscommunication and disrespect. While values dictate our behaviors and what we define as acceptable, values also must be understood by getting to know more about the culture.

References

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). New York, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann.

 

Introduction – Michael Carmona

by 2 Comments

Hello my name is Michael Carmona. I am from Austin, Texas.

  • Where are you located geographically?
    • I am from Texas and I love this hot weather!
  • Where are you in your life professionally?
    • I am currently a manager for the Texas Department of Insurance.
  • What are your long-term goals?
    • One of my long term goals is to complete my masters degree.
  • What is your current or prior leadership experience?
    • I have been a team lead, supervisor, sales manager, and manager.
  • Do you have a favorite leadership quote? If so, provide a brief comment about why this quote has special meaning for you.
    • A quote that I read was by Collin Powell “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work”. This quote means a lot to me because I have always been able to emerge as a leader in tasks or leading a project. I have been able to accomplish so much without a  college degree through feedback and hard work.
  • Optional: Post something interesting about yourself:
    • Do you have children?
      • I have two wonderful daughters.
    • Any special interests?
      • I really enjoy jogging and working on vehicles.
    • Do you have an unusual hobby?
      • As stated above, I love working on my car. My 1999 Lexus just hit 300,000 miles.

 

 

Skip to toolbar