is leadership culturally bound?

Is Leadership Culturally Bound?

Introduction

Culture is a characteristic of a specific group of people defined by their social, economic and political relationships. In the world, culture has created a sense of identity and lifestyles for groups of people who are able uphold and follow a certain way of life. In this regard, culture has influenced the relationship between the exercise of authority and influence on people. Hence, leadership in the society in culturally bound.

How culture affects leadership in the society

Over the years, different cultures have affected the style of leadership, the concept of leadership and decision making in leadership.

Style of leadership

A style of leadership is the methods used by those in authority to ensure that a certain task is implemented. The culture of the society determines a leader’s choice of method for implementing a given task. For example, most Asian countries prefer the use of autocratic leadership whereby the leaders issue orders for the sub-ordinates to follow. However, this method has proved to be ineffective in the Japanese culture which advocates for joint solutions by both the employees and their subordinate staff.

Concept of leadership

Culture has influenced people’s reasoning and view point about the concept of leadership in the society. This is because a person’s environment influences his / her thinking and behavior in respect to the authority. In the United States society, children are brought up with the concept that leadership is about giving guidance and direction to the rest of the society. This can be attributed from the teaching methods in schools, the constitutional laws, and the general nature of the society’s point of view. However, in the Middle East and other known monarchies in the world; the society understands leadership as respect and absolute obedience towards those in authority. The people in this society would therefore be unable to question decisions made by their leaders.

Shapes decision making

The decision making process by the leaders of a specific group of people is influenced by the culture and the general public perception. This is because the leaders cannot impose rules and regulations that are against the public’s beliefs and culture. For instance, the United States government cannot abolish Islam religion in the country because freedom of religion is part of the society. Also, the leaders in Jamaica are bound not to make decisions that illegalize the use of cannabis sativa drug due to its general acceptance in the society.

Application of leadership and culture in business today

Culture has proved to be an essential ingredient of leadership in today’s business world. Though not clearly visible; it has helped in the decision making process, fostering interpersonal relationships, confidence building and hence increased productivity by the employees.

Interpersonal relationships

The understanding of employees’ cultures has helped in building good interpersonal relationship between the leaders and the rest of the employees in the company. This is because the appreciation of personal culture would omit misunderstanding and employee rebellion hence boosting the company’s production level. For example, the leaders in the company would not force employees to adopt a specific dress code which may be demeaning to their culture.

Method of delegating duties

A manager’s culture would influence his /her method and style of delegating duties in the company. Some cultures have a tendency of giving individuals complete responsibility in a given section without follow up while others; such as the European culture, involves constant delegation of duties and supervision by the managers. Therefore, the success of the business depends on the managers’ ability to use the most favorable business culture in delegating of duties.

Internal business culture

Every business has its own culture in regards to method of operations on their day to day activities. This may include the company’s code of conduct, the relationship between the juniors and superiors, the company’s dress code etc. This determines the nature of leadership to be practiced because the company’s employees are accustomed to a specific way of life. For example, an organization that encourages direct consultations between the junior employees and the management may develop this culture hence the leadership style would be rather consultative as opposed to autocratic leadership.

Key lessons

Leadership and culture has led to the understanding of the society’s conceptual knowledge and view points on how culture affects the innate qualities of human beings. The following are key lessons learned through-

Text and outside articles

According to the article, “leadership is culturally bound” by Sree Rama Rao; leadership depends on the context of the culture (Rao, 2008). In this regard, the leadership style varies from place to place depending on the culture of the inhabitants of the place. For example, the leadership style in the United States is more of guidance as opposed to that in Arab countries which involves the use of orders and instructions.

In the Ivey Business journal, Arlkadi Kuhlmann in his article “culture driven leadership” asserts that the culture shapes the leadership style of the society. In this regard, only leaders who are able to blend in and identify themselves with the given culture would be able to deliver fully and be a success (Kuhlmann, 2010). This is because they would face little resistance in their exercise of power, thus resulting to more production levels in the company.

Class discussions

Leadership and culture have a mutual relationship that assists them to co-exist in the society. As a result, leadership affects the culture of the people in that given society while at the same time; the culture influences the leadership of a given group. For example, the rules and regulations set up at the set up of a company would result into development of a given culture which in essence the culture would shape the future leadership styles of the company.

In the class discussions, the concept of leadership and culture was found to be relative according to ones perception. While other leaders would opt for a full exercise of power, others would prefer a softer and understanding method of leadership. Regardless on the nature of leadership adopted, all the leadership styles and skills are affected by the society’s culture.

Personal experience

The quality of leadership is affected by the type of culture within which a person grows and develops in. Since culture is part of human environment, it affects a person’s perception and beliefs of the society. For example, a person growing in a racially divided society would not be able to exercise good leadership qualities because of his/ her prejudice on racial capabilities. This principle also applies in the integration in the society due to gender, race, religious and other forms of human differences.

Though culture plays an important role in nurturing one’s leadership skills, it takes an effort for an individual to master good leadership skills. Sree Rama Rao in her article states that the culture would provide the framework for enforcing leadership skills but it is up to an individual to develop good leadership skills. This explains the occurrence of good leaders in a society that is deemed to be intellectually and morally incompetent.

Conclusion

In conclusion, leadership is culturally bound due to its mutual relationship in the society. Culture affects the style of leadership, the concept of leadership and the decision making process in the society. The concept of culture and leadership can be applied in the running of business activities because it fosters interpersonal relationships, affects methods of delegation of duties etc. In this regard, the lessons about leadership and skills from articles, class discussions and life experience have generally created a good understanding on how culture affects an individual’s leadership skills.

References

Rao, R (2008). Leadership is culturally bound. Citeman online journal. http://www.citeman.com/3609-leadership-is-culturally-bound.html

Kuhlmann, A (2010). Culture driven leadership. Very business journal. Retrieved from http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/culture-driven-leadership#.Uez4mqw35dg