Growing up in American society, we have a very rigid and high operational work tempo with the many different projects and high customer demands around the world. We learn to work hard and play hard all week long. We learn to strive to reach the top echelons of leadership in our chosen profession by out-performing co-workers. I have been in the United States Army for 20 years and many deployments around the world, working as a leader in different cultures can be very challenging and met with a variety of exchanges.
On one very demanding deployment, I found that men in higher job positions were better received by the culture and treated with great respect. Now, we take many classes to understand the area and culture we will be living in, so this action did not present as a surprise. The gender egalitarianism is very narrow as women in this culture are to stay at home and tend to household duties. As a woman leader, I would not be allowed into the meetings or allowed to visit with the men as this was seen a very disrespectful even if I have the knowledge to help the plan or meet the final goal. As a team, we would work through answers for questions and matters that had the potential to be raise during the meeting, so my male teammate could give the information. If there were questions, the teammates would bring them back and we would discuss at length to provide the best solutions.
The same would be true for meetings with the women. From their cultural values and norms, only our women could meet with their women as it was very disrespectful for our men to interact with their women. Our women leaders would also tend to the elderly and children in medical situations as this was a role identified by the host nation as a woman’s type of work or role. The lines were very distinct and very clear as to which gender could visit or work with the other gender or in the various situations. In America, our society is working through the leadership labyrinth with women working in many leadership roles, so working in a culture where this is forbidden can be confusing and frustrating (Northouse, 2016, p. 406).
Another very interesting dynamic took place as well during the meetings with the country’s leadership. Each meeting had a set agenda. First the Gentlemen would discuss family matters with the preliminary questions of “How are you”, “How is your family”, How are your children”, and normal daily living discussion. Next, the Gentlemen would discuss information from the previous meeting to ensure that each past matter needed any further attention or if the problem had been resolved. Then they would discuss today’s business without setting a schedule or budget. These matters were brand new and needed to be digested and thought through with a set of solutions presented at the next meeting. Then they would finish the meeting with tea and discussing world affairs and daily life matters.
To discuss anything out of sequence would be ignored and the conversation with continue in the very same sequence. If the matter was pressed by my team, the Gentlemen would become greatly irritated and end the meeting without resolution or discussion of anything further until the next meeting. This sequence of events took us a very long time to learn and adjust to as American we are direct and go right to the point quickly about all manners of subjects.
Applying the information from Mr. Northouse’s chapter on Culture and Leadership, understanding how gender egalitarianism and future orientation affected meetings with our host nation could have help smooth out our flow of information as a group (2016, p. 433). Using any assertiveness in this culture is met with conflict and meetings set at another time. Studying the host nation culture and values is critical to building trust and cohesion to get the groups working together even if it means one gender must stay in the other room due to society norms.
Reference:
Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Chapter 15: Gender and Leadership and Chapter 16: Culture and Leadership. Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc. Pages 397-466.