Leadership Journeys [125] – Abhinav & Raghav Aggarwal –“You are the sum of all the things you do daily” Top-down scale – Such deciding scales follow a hierarchical structure where those on the top of the ladder – the leadership, mostly make the decisions. While decisions are made faster on this scale, the need for regular alterations makes implementing changes slower. Countries such as India and China follow such a deciding scale. These 8 categories of cultural differences have helped us in the way we train companies, employees, and lead our personal lives. We highly recommend you take the time to read this book and start making your life easier when working with groups around the globe.

Meyer outlines eight cases with two outliers and some in-between, highlighting that culture and personality both matter when it comes to understanding different people. Some takeaways from The Culture Map

Unlike the egalitarian North, the East is strictly hierarchical : in Japan, it will be a mindless act to disagree with your superior. Big D or Little d: Who Decides, and How? Consensual scale – Cultures with consensual deciding scales involve everyone in the decision-making process. The final decision is made after all concerned reach a consensus. This type of deciding scale helps in making decisions faster. Countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands are examples of consensual deciding scales. Meyer suggests that most cultures that disagree openly are equally open with their emotions, while disagreement-avoidant cultures are emotionally reserved. However this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule: While all of us express emotions in our faces and mannerisms, their frequency and intensity is dictated by culture. (Shortform note: The rules that govern these norms are known by psychologists as “ cultural display rules.”) Strategies for Disagreeing Across Cultures

Disagreements are natural and inevitable in a social construct. However, different cultures perceive disagreements in different ways. Based on cultures, disagreements can be confrontational or they endeavour to avoid confrontations. It is obvious that culture affects the leading styles of managers and leaders as well. Therefore, even as an employee in a global network, it is imperative to have knowledge of how cultures affect the workspace. Trust is a factor that is central to all business negotiations to be successful. Trust can be divided into cognitive trust and affective trust, where cognitive trust refers to the trust that is built by working with someone for a long time and establishing reliability, and affective trust stems out of emotions. Such trust is often attributed to close relationships such as friends and family.

Egalitarian: The ideal distance between the manager and subordinate is low. The leader is one of the equals, whose role is rather to facilitate than manage (for example Sweden).

Meyer recommends several generally applicable strategies to use when working with cultures that perceive time differently. First, adjust your schedule to the other culture, especially when you’re the visitor. This may take time to get right, so experiment until you find what works. Secondly, If you’re leading a team, set clear expectations about scheduling among team members to reduce frustration. Finally, withhold judgment. Scheduling is particularly vulnerable to cultural superiority, as both types think the other’s way is wrong. But the only correct way to perceive time is the one that works for you. (Shortform note: These strategies are all applicable more broadly to dealing with other cultures. Meyer may pinpoint them here partly because adjusting your schedule is easier than adjusting other ways you do business or because people are particularly judgmental about scheduling.) What to Keep in Mind to Work Effectively Across Cultures Avoids confrontation: Confrontation is considered a disruption of the group's harmony (for example Indonesia). Here is an Interview with Erin Meyer on CNN discussing the challenges of culture and how the culture map can improve your cultural understanding.

In The Culture Map, cultural communications expert Erin Meyer presents a framework you can use to analyze how cultures differ from yours as well as practical strategies to mitigate any cultural misunderstandings. She also explains why these cultural differences developed in the first place. The Culture Map details “Eight Scales that Map the World’s Cultures” and points out that these scales are beyond our inherent preferences. The author points out that there is a relative value within each scale. This indicates that you can have two cultures on the same end of the scale, but one culture could be more or less given its relative value to its neighbor on the scale. There is also a concept of grouping where similar cultures are grouped within the scale. On the other hand, people from coconut cultures are starting with less welcoming gestures. They rarely smile at unknown people, don't chitchat, and barely ask or answer questions about their personal lives. Managers handling different cultures should be able to understand the differences between flexible and linear cultures and use culture schedules accordingly for individuals. At the same time, the manager should fix the schedule style for the team as a whole and adapt and change when necessary. In 2013 “Business Inc.” selected her as one of the ten best business school professors worldwide. “The Culture Map” – her only book so far – was published the following year and was met with wide critical acclaim.