In this episode of Work Matters, host Thomas Bertels welcomes Steve Crom, former chairman and partner emeritus of global consulting firm Oxygy. With over four decades of experience in transforming work and improving productivity for leading global companies, Steve shares his insights on managing across cultures and how national culture influences how work gets done. Drawing from his personal experience as well as research by Fons Trompenars, Steve offers a practical framework for understanding differences in national cultures by looking at two dimensions: Structure (egalitarian vs. hierarchical) and focus (people-centered vs. task-focused). He describes the four basic archetypes and explains why understanding cultural differences is crucial for global leaders to effectively manage and motivate their teams.

Thomas and Steve explore the challenge of balancing global standardization with the need for local adaptation and ownership. Steve explains that while global companies benefit from economies of scale and standardized operating models, these can sometimes conflict with the unique cultural characteristics of different regions. He suggests a pragmatic approach where countries are clustered into archetypes based on similarities, allowing for a more manageable number of models that can be tailored to fit the specific needs of each cluster.

Emphasizing the importance of involving local employees in the design and implementation of solutions to ensure they are culturally appropriate and effective, Steve shares an example of a sales organization operating in multiple European countries that successfully optimized local processes by first asking teams from each country to design a solution for their local challenge - and then share that solution with their European peers, inviting them to adapt what makes sense - and reject what does not.

Steve concludes by discussing the practical implications for global leaders, the importance of humility and curiosity, and the value of helping people achieve their goals in ways that make sense to them, avoiding the imposition of one-size-fits-all solutions.

Overall, this episode of Work Matters highlights the complexities of managing across cultures and underscores the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptability for global leaders. Steve/s experiences and insights offer valuable lessons for anyone looking to navigate the challenges of a globalized workplace effectively.

To learn more, we suggest the following article:

https://www.isixsigma.com/europe/using-six-sigma-europe-cross-cultural-perspective/