On some level I have no right to complain about what I complained about in yesterday’s post. When I first went to China at 23, I was a roiling mess of self-righteous “concern” for China in its failure to be exactly like the U.S. It’s taken almost 20 years of learning for me to nuance [...]

In today’s online Wall Street Journal, this piece appeared. Reading it was an odd experience. The headline goes like this: “Obama, Hu Highlight Cooperation.” The first three paragraphs are right on point, with high-level summaries of the nature of Hu’s and Obama’s conversations. Then, suddenly, the fourth paragraph:
Mr. Obama’s statement also pointedly noted the U.S. [...]

Back from a week of consulting in China. The organization is a new company looking to implement a new model of outsourcing. For many reasons I’m optimistic about the company’s prospects, not least of which is that the leadership combines experience from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. The multiple perspectives will play [...]

Humans are emotional beings through and through, despite our pretensions about “logic” and “rationality.” Still, now and again a logic presents itself that is so compelling that it forces us to take notice. One such logic revolves around how we judge ourselves and others, with culture winding up, per usual, at the center of things.
Each [...]

Any leader needs to be mindful of resources. Leaders are often evaluated on how they use an organization’s resources.
The twist here is that in China the stakes are raised to a level that at times approaches the absurd. One small-seeming cultural snafu here or there can cost an enormous amount of time, money and goodwill. [...]

In any organizational setting, leaders are best off keeping their cool and avoiding big swings — in mood and in direction. This goes tenfold for the Western leader in China, where there’s much more than the standard fare to knock you off your game.

If curiosity and humility are “head” qualities of the culture-savvy leader, empathy is all about the heart. Empathy toward whom? Everybody: peers from your culture, superiors “back home,” direct reports from both cultures…everybody.

Leaders face all manner of obstacles in culturally complex environments. Our home cultures provide us with many resources for overcoming obstacles — including a sense of self, born of belief in the values of the culture. When confronted with different values, though, that sense of self can feel under threat. Humility is a powerful antidote, [...]

Today we begin taking a look at the qualities of what I’ve come to call the culture-savvy leader. Success in China depends on many factors. “Leadership,” broadly defined, is one of them — but not just any kind of leadership. Success in China requires culture-savvy leadership.

So you’ve laid them bare, all the “shameful” thoughts. Now what? The first instinct is often to reject, to wish the thoughts away. “That’s not really me,” we think. Or, a common response to some of the milder thoughts is to believe them, to reaffirm them: “Well, Chinese really are [insert stereotype].” Neither of these responses will [...]