Page 224 - Fearless Leadership

Talking Straight Responsibly 211

bly—and engage in brash and presumptuous behavior. In other cultures,
it is inappropriate to have certain conversations publicly, and they need
to be handled offline. You can build committed partnerships in any cul-
ture as long as you respect cultural differences and build partnerships that
support the values, beliefs, and practices of the culture.
When you do not respect or understand cultural differences, break-
downs occur, as was the case with a merger between two giants in the man-
ufacturing industry. There were hiccups because of the cultural and
language differences between companies from Brazil and the United
States. The acquiring company from Brazil was hierarchical with a com-
mand-and-control approach, while the U.S. company was viewed as argu-
mentative and arrogant.
The two CEOs and their respective senior teams met together shortly
after the acquisition. Joao, the CEO from the Brazilian-owned company,
was charismatic and brilliant and had a movie-star quality. He was confi-
dent and never took no for an answer. During the meeting, Joao discussed
something he wanted done in the next several months. Harrison, the CEO
from the U.S. company, saw a problem and spoke up: “That’s just not real-
istic. We can’t complete this in the next three months.”
Joao graciously listened to Harrison’s input. However, after the meet-
ing, he took Harrison aside and said, “It is not the custom in our company
to speak of differences in meetings. The next time you have a differing
opinion, talk to me off-line, not in a public meeting.”
One size does not fit all. Cultural differences must be taken into con-
sideration when building a high performance organization or team. Do
your homework and learn what is valued and important to others, and
build committed partnerships in a culturally sensitive manner.

HOW TO TALK STRAIGHT RESPONSIBLY

A global company was going through major change and Henrik, the man-
ager of a business operation, was in the midst of tough restructuring deci-
sions. One of his direct reports, Samantha, questioned his commitment
to a significant company initiative during a meeting of senior leaders.
Henrik was not in the mood for one more problem, and he barked back
saying, “You know me better than that. I’m on board. I suggest you stay
focused on your area, which needs your attention a lot more than I do.”