Last week, we talked about rationality and irrationality. I asked you how you might use "irrational" thinking as a leader and still manage and create change and progress towards goals. This week, we talked about different ways of thinking - that cognitive processes are not universal but may also be affected by culture. So, now leaders not only have to deal with appearing irrational, but also have to deal with ways of thought (mind bugs) that may vary by country, ethnicity, religion, etc. This could easily be overwhelming. But, we've sought to make this manageable by describing the principals that underlie cultures (Hofstede's 5 characteristics), and the principals that underlie rationality.
In this post, think back to a time when you have had interactions where you experienced a "(mis)meeting of the minds." Have you had experiences which, in retrospect, didn't go well because you had different assumptions about causality or use of logic than your interaction partner? What is the geography of your thought and can how does it affect you in your interactions with others? What are the elements of your cultural mindset?
I feel that i am very aware and accepting of other cultures principles and priorities. I keep a very open mind to learn as much as possible when in another country or when interacting with someone from a different background than me. Culture differences are noticeable even between southern california to Northern california, but the degree of differences from country to country and between religious believes are quite extreme sometimes. I love living in northern california and the bay area because we are exposed to such a wide variety of diversity.
ReplyDeleteI have been a victim to cultural mind bugs and stereotypes in my professional and personal life. One specific situation that i have written about before was with the tech crew from the UK i worked with a couple years back. I was both unaware and untrusting of the skills they possessed because of things i had heard in the past. This lead to an almost catastrophic situation for myself and my client. I was lucky enough to be able to push past and through this cultural mindset of the UK that i had to be able to let my own experience with the culture dictate my opinion and actions.