Richard D. Lewis is a leading British linguist. Besides his native English, he speaks ten other languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, and Japanese). In the 1950s he founded the Berlitz language school in Europe and Asia. He also spent several years in Japan as a personal tutor to Empress Michiko and five other members of the imperial family. He became world-famous thanks to his book called When Cultures Collide which has already sold more than half a million copies and has been published in the third edition. In the book, Lewis summarizes his findings on cross-cultural differences, a sector in which he is also an expert. He gives lectures on this topic in workshops and speaks on this topic for international organizations and governments.
We can have a look in When Cultures Collide thanks to businessinsider.com which recently published an article on cross-cultural differences in leadership that Richard Lewis discovered. The article describes a total of 24 different leadership styles from the UK or Russia to China and Australia.
"Even in countries where political and economic change is currently rapid or sweeping, deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs will resist a sudden transformation of values when pressured by reformists, governments or multinational conglomerates," explains Richard Lewis. For each nation, a specific standard of behavior can be observed which is reflected in leaders' actions in the following ways:
- British managers are diplomatic, natural, willing to compromise and to be fair, though sometimes they can be ruthless.
- American managers are assertive, aggressive, self-confident, optimistic, goal-oriented, and ready to change.
- German managers are perfectionists but on the other hand, they are willing to reach an agreement. Every organizational structure is based on clear hierarchy of leadership from the top down.
- Russian managers tend to focus on key people and personal alliances. They are willing to get around formal systems to achieve results.
- Chinese managers generally look for consensus. In the companies controlled by the state, the leading group decides. Leaders of private companies and local officials without a strong connection to Beijing are, however, gaining greater influence.
If you want to learn more, see the pictures and more detailed descriptions of leadership styles in different countries in this article.
-Kk-