How cultures and leaders deal with inequalities differently
The first cultural dimension of the ‘Hofstede five’ we will consider is that of power-distance. Simply, it reflects how countries tend to deal with inequalities. To measure this the Power Distance Index (PDI) was created. Three questions were used to compose the survey: the first seeking to understand if the employee...
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Understanding cultural dimensions and their implications for leading
Realizing the important role of culture in shaping our values, thinking, and behavior, numerous scholars have sought to define different dimensions of culture to help address some of the problems common to all societies. In 1954, Alex Inkeles and Daniel Levinson suggested that there existed three basic problems that held...
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How does national culture impact organizational culture?
The virtues of a leader shape his or her vision of the world, and as a consequence, the way leadership is perceived and practiced. But these are not developed in a vacuum. The impact of a person’s culture, and cultural norms (or standards of behavior) are major determinants of behaviors,...
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How does culture shape leaders and the virtues they adopt?
In numerous articles, I have addressed the importance of virtues in a leader’s life, and how the degree to which they are absent or present can define that leader’s character and the impact it will have on his or her ability to lead others. There is a considerable difference between...
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How societies choose to fail or succeed
Having recently been challenged on the subject of global warming and climate change as issues that require leadership (see my earlier post What has the Lorax got to do with leadership?), I was introduced to the New York Times Bestseller, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared...
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If you want to lead, you’ve got to read
Recently, I was in a meeting with a CEO who expressed concern that he no longer had time to read. “I’ve read more books on leadership than most, and they all say the same thing.” We entered into a healthy discussion about this topic, and I discovered that the reason...
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What has ‘The Lorax’ got to do with leadership?
Before I answer this question it is important for me to be transparent with you. Up until recently, I knew relatively little about global warming. However, recently there have been three ‘event’s that have helped me to understand what a complex issue it is, and because it is, not to...
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Does leadership coaching improve organizational performance?
While the economic downturn has been detrimental to many businesses, positive approaches have emerged that will help organizations deal with the challenges while helping to lay a more solid foundation for the future. Importantly, the key challenge for organizations is to engage, align and motivate their leaders around the critical...
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Why joining the dots shouldn’t be difficult
Many of us can remember ‘joining the dots’ as a child. A maze of simple dots each numbered but seemingly placed randomly on a page of paper waiting for someone to join them together so that a picture could come to life! Somehow, as adults the ‘game’ took on new...
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Periods of isolation for a leader can be debilitating or life transforming
For children of the 1960’s and 70’s, “Gilligan”, “Skipper”, the “Howell’s”, “Ginger, the movie star”, “The Professor” and “Mary Ann”, were household names as key characters in CBS’ Television series, Gilligan’s Island[1]. It’s 98 episodes focused around the plot of finding a way to get off the island where they...
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