Page 114 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 4: Control Versus Passion ■ 97

tionless. The amount of emotions that are shown is often the
result of situation and/or agreement. That said, even in a cul-
ture where people generally keep their emotions under strict
control, strong emotions of pleasure or pain might show.
What is different is that cultures will share their emo-
tions in varying degrees. The fury of the Frenchman whose
car has been bumped and the manner in which he uses his
body to show his anger is almost legendary. In stark contrast
to this, it is almost forgivable if you think that your Japanese
boss has fallen asleep during your presentation because he
appears motionless. For those who do not realize that his way
of sitting still with his eyes half-closed is a sign of respect, it
could be quite irritating. Similarly, the long silences after a
presentation can be unnerving for some, if interpreted as a
sign of boredom, rather than a show of deep thought.
This specifi c dilemma is more nuanced and diverse than
most of the others. This is because there is an ongoing dis-
cussion about which situations call for affective or controlled
behavior. Despite their puritanical background, it appears
that Americans are quite affective. They like to show their
enthusiasm over products, visions, missions, and projects,
but are less expressive in their relations with each other. They
are OK about positive emotions, such as enthusiasm, but not
about negative ones, such as anger and sadness. They talk
about emotions (I am feeling anger) in a lightly therapeutic
way, but they seldom show physical signs of anger.
The British often use humor to express their emotions
and are known to start a speech with a joke to relax the crowd.
Germans and the Swiss would see this as frivolous. The Japa-
nese and Koreans will often show their wish for intimacy by
going out drinking together. Generally Germans would rather
keep their emotions to themselves, but will share their life
philosophies. The patterns here are all extremely complex.