The Invisible Culture Gap: Doing Business in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia/NZ

Join Jed and Bob as they talk about how business might be conducted differently between the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Certain to offend some, and please nobody, don’t miss this podcast.

Watch the ‘Cross Cultural Differences’ Video (15 mins 34 sec):


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Cross Cultural Differences (Where You Wouldn’t Expect Them): Doing Business in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia/NZ

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People have increasingly raised their awareness of Cross-Cultural Differences in the past couple of decades – particularly where those Cross-Cultural Differences are obvious and well defined.  But what about Cross-Cultural Differences that are more difficult to spot?  Below we discuss Cross-Cultural Differences that may occur between the seemingly similar nations of:

  • The United States
  • The United Kingdom
  • Canada
  • Australia
  • New Zealand

Specifically, we talk about:

  • Why you should care about Cross-Cultural Differences between these countries.
  • Comparison of Cross-Cultural Differences of these countries on 5 different dimensions.

Why Care About Cross-Cultural Differences?

On the surface, many people may be hard-pressed to identify any significant differences between these countries.  However, people that have worked in more than one of these places will testify as to the multitude of Cross-Cultural Differences.  Further, the Wily Manager website and podcast audiences come overwhelmingly from these five countries.  Even if your organization does not do business internationally, you may have people you work with that come from one of these other countries.

When managing Cross-Cultural Differences, it is often easier when the other culture is substantially different so the potential points of conflict or difference can be identified and mitigated.  In many cases, it is much more difficult when the Cross-Cultural Differences you are trying to bridge originate from an American working in Canada, for example.

Caveats to this Discussion of Cross-Cultural Differences:

  • We make many generalizations about these countries, and the people that come from them.  Inevitably these generalizations will not apply to every person in every situation.
  • The content below are merely observations, not evaluations.
  • If you are from one of these countries, you will almost certainly be offended by at least one of our assessments below.
  • NOTE:  The Wily Manager guys have worked in all of these countries except New Zealand — an oversight we’d like to correct!  For now, we’ll take comfort in our numerous visits to NZ.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Managing Conflict

  • Canada & NZ: Both these nations produce chronic avoiders of conflict.  Their history is littered with examples of keeping the peace at any cost.  In many cases, this has served them both well.  In the context of business, avoiding conflict is an unhealthy response to a situation.
  • United States:  Americans are much more prone to surfacing disagreement, and dealing with it.  While others may find this approach confrontational, conflict is often resolved more quickly, and more permanently.
  • UK & Australia: These two countries most often find themselves between the two extremes noted above.

International Awareness

An individual’s awareness of the rest of the world will influence how she conducts herself at work.  Specifically, it can make dealing with Cross-Cultural Differences easier or more difficult.

  • The US and Canada
    • Most North Americans are typically unaware of what happens outside of North America.
    • Many Americans and most Canadians will disagree with this assessment, which can be quickly be proven by asking them to name the Prime Minister of Australia or New Zealand.  Further, until recently less than 10% of Americans, and less than 25% of Canadians held a passport.
    • The majority of North Americans have never left the continent.
  • The United Kingdom
    • The British are (sometimes reluctantly) connected to Europe, as well as to the Commonwealth and the United States.  As such, they have a broader sense of the world.
  • Australia and New Zealand
    • The remoteness of these two nations creates a greater need to look outwards.  Many (if not most) Aussies and Kiwis (those from New Zealand) spend months or years abroad

Water Cooler Chat

Those topics that are considered appropriate or inappropriate in a professional setting can be some of the best examples of dealing with Cross-Cultural Differences.  Below is an assessment of how likely people are to talk about religion and/or politics in a work setting:

  • Canada & New Zealand – Discouraged in business settings.  Such conversation would normally be avoided or minimized in work settings.
  • Australia & UK – The Aussies and the British are only slightly more likely to talk about such things in business settings.
  • United States – In many American workplaces, it would not be unusual or inappropriate to be asked what church you attend, or who you might be most likely to vote for.

Tolerance for Authority and Government

How people view authority and government is a key factor in managing Cross-Cultural Differences:

  • The United States – Americans are more focused on the individual and individual freedoms than any of the other countries compared here.  The fact that this nation was born out of rejection of authority and government is still obvious in how business is conducted today.
  • Australia – Much like the US, Australia is a product of its history.  The individualism is not as strong as it is for Americans, but Australia has a proud independent streak that is obvious in business settings.
  • United Kingdom – The British have a strong respect for their institutions, although in the past 30 years, there have been significant tests of authority and government by its citizens.
  • Canada & New Zealand – Once again, the Canadians and the Kiwis are grouped together as people that have relative tolerance for authority and government.  This is not to say that people do not disagree, but compared to the other three countries, these two have the most respect for authority and government.

Time off

If you work with people from one of the other profiled countries, you will notice almost immediately their expectations and attitudes about time off.

  • The United States:  Americans get very little time off — in many cases only two to three weeks per year.
  • Canada: Canadians only get marginally more time off than their American neighbors.
  • United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia: These three countries have much more time off than the North Americans.  Many employees have six to ten weeks of holiday (vacation) time.  There are also many more statutory holidays than are found in the United States.

Three Things to Remember About Managing Cross-Cultural Differences

  1. Just because someone may look and sound like you, they may have a vastly different life experience.
  2. There is nothing wrong with discussing cultural differences, as long as you do it with sensitivity.
  3. You don’t have to travel, or do business internationally to need cross-cultural skills.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Cross Cultural Differences (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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Managing Cross Cultural Differences

This week the Wily Manager guys talk about cross-cultural differences where you might not expect to find any.  What happens when you speak the same language, and then assume there aren’t any cultural differences in how you work?  Join us this week to find out.

Monday’s Tip: Watch for the cues. Just knowing someone is from another country is your first cue to look for things that might be different.  Remember that we are all products (and sometimes victims) of our personal histories.

Tuesday’s Tip: Don’t be afraid to talk about differences.  Do not hesitate to ask intelligent and sensitive questions about how things may be handled in a different culture.  These conversations are only off-limits when they are managed poorly.

Wednesday’s Tip: Don’t make assumptions. Just because someone looks and sounds like you, does not mean they will see the world the way you do.  The invisible culture gap between similar countries makes this even harder.  Also, don’t allow yourself to think “Canadians always to this, and Australians always do that.”

Thursday’s Tip: Don’t wait to cross borders to practice cross cultural skills. You don’t have to work internationally to need cross-cultural skills.  It is quite likely you have someone from another culture working with you now.

Friday’s Tip: Be tolerant. Do not allow yourself to fall into the “they are here now, so they should act like us” trap.  You can make life far easier on all concerned if you practise some tolerance for cultural norms that are different than what you are used to.

Overwhelmed? Try the 3-Martini Lunch

Back when I had a real job, I would occasionally find myself completely overwhelmed with all the things going on around me.  So I did what I was supposed to do:  I took a couple of minutes, and tried to find some way to dissipate the stress, and refocus that energy.

It didn’t work.

First, I got one of those foam stress balls, but I found myself squeezing it so tightly, that what I really wanted to do was to bite little pieces off, swallow them, and then crap it out and throw it at the people who stressed me out.

I next got one of those audio files of soothing sounds.  Being born near the ocean, I decided to play the “Sounds of the Sea”.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t relax because I kept checking to see that those seagulls I could hear, weren’t going to come along a crap on me.

I took up yoga, but failed to find anything relaxing about some other stressed out individual invading my personal space by shouting “ohmmmmm” in my ear.  Rather than calm me down, it inspired in me the need to punch people.

Finally, I resorted to the old standby of stress relief — booze.  Of course, in this day and age, the 3-martini lunch is frowned upon, so you need to find more discrete ways to manage stress if you choose this option.  I opted to take a flask to the food court – not very discreet.

Then I realized the thing that stressed me out most, was people telling me not to be stressed out.  I figured out that for the last million years or so, humans have been stressed out, and what I was experiencing was really nothing new.

Feelings of stress are good indicators that it’s time for you to take action.  Stress tells the body it needs to defend itself against external stimulus.  In the case of the caveman, feelings of stress helped to not be eaten by a sabre tooth tiger.  In the case of the modern office worker, it to not be eaten alive by corporate bullshit.

Feelings of stress at work are the modern equivalent of the “fight or flight response”.  When faced with situations or people that inspire stress, you should quickly sum up your odds of winning, and react accordingly.

We still feel the fight or flight response, but we fail to quickly sum up our odds.  As a result we try to win every battle, and end up spending far too many hours at the office.

It’s either that, or figure out the 3 Martini lunch.

“I’m Overwhelmed”: Dealing With Work Overload

Join Jed and Bob as they discuss how to overcome the feeling of being completely overwhelmed at work.  Also learn what some of the tell-tale signs of Work Overload are.

Watch the ‘Overload at Work’ Video (14 mins 00 sec):


Download the ‘Overload at Work’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides

Overload at Work

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Overload at Work is problem that often is seen, and rarely dealt with.  Many people seem to feel that Overload at Work is inevitable, and make no attempt to impact change.  Below we talk about:

  • Symptoms of Overload at Work
  • The Good and Bad News About Overload at Work
  • Three Steps to Overcoming Overload at Work

Symptoms of Overload at Work

In some cases, people don’t recognize Overload at Work, as more of the dysfunctional behavior seems to become normal:

  • Continually working obscene hours.  If there is a project, or some exceptional circumstances going on, then working extended hours may become necessary.  When this temporary situation becomes permanent, it is a symptom of Overload at Work.
  • Missed deadlines.  Sooner or later, the volume of work means that deadlines are consistently missed.
  • Paralysis. If you find yourself too overwhelmed to make a decision, or to take action, you are probably experiencing Overload at Work.
  • Poor mental or physical health. Stress can have very negative effects on the body.  If you detect deterioration in mental or physical health, it could be a result of Overload at Work.

The Good and Bad News About Overload at Work

Often people feel powerless about Overload at Work.  Here are the realities that contribute to this challenge:

  • Overload at Work is often self-imposed.  Many people believe their stress is caused by the organization.  In many cases, people put far more pressures and demands on themselves than are imposed externally.
  • You will need to do something differently than you are currently.  This may mean giving up some things you actually enjoy doing.
  • YOU need to solve this.  It is unlikely that anyone will rescue you from the current situation.  It is contingent upon you to fix the problem.

Overcoming Overload at Work

Here are three steps to overcoming Overload at Work:

  1. Know where your time currently goes
  2. Ruthlessly schedule priorities first
  3. Push back on demands

1. Know where your time goes

Before you make changes to improve your situation, you need a solid understanding of where you are now.

  • Audit your time for a period of two weeks.  We suggest you record your time in 30 minute increments two or three times a day.  This should take no more than a few minutes every day.
  • Do not lie to yourself.  It is important not to rationalize where you spend your time, but rather simply record it as honestly as you can.
  • Use the data you collect to see where you can begin to make changes.

2. Ruthlessly Schedule Priorities

In order to overcome Overload at Work you need to schedule your most important priorities first – before you become overwhelmed by what is seemingly urgent.

  • First, you need to determine your priorities if you haven’t already done so.
  • Ensure that you have agreement from your boss on those priorities.
  • Even if it is only an hour a day, you need to get out of “fire-fighting mode”.
  • Block space on your calendar for specific priorities.
  • Beware of things you might like doing, but are not actually priorities
  • Remember that email is not work.  Most often email is a huge time-killer that needs to be minimized.


3. Push Back on Demands

  • Question the value of every meeting you are invited to attend.  If you do not see clear value in that meeting, then look for a way to get out of it.
  • Filter all requests through your priorities.  Any demands you get need to be assessed against your priorities.  If you boss is the one making those demands, then it can lead to robust discussion about the task, and your priorities.
  • Make yourself inaccessible at times.  Do not hesitate to close your door for an hour or two at times to work on your priorities.
  • Ask for help where appropriate.
  • Delegate where appropriate

3 Things to Remember about Overload at Work:

  1. Only You Can Fix This.
  2. Know What Your Top Priorities are and get agreement on them.
  3. You may have to give up some things you like doing.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about how to deal with Overload at Work (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …

Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!

Managing Work Overload

Are you reading this just to escape from the nightmare that has become your daily routine at work?  Join the Wily Manager guys this week as they talk about how to handle it when you become completely overwhelmed at work.

Monday’s Tip: Determine your top priorities. It is quite possible that there are many things not that important that are eating up your day at work.  You need to figure out what the most important things are, and act on those.

Tuesday’s Tip: Get agreement from your boss on top priorities. Sometimes we do things we think are important that our boss and the organization could care less about.  Make sure you have agreement on your top priorities.

Wednesday’s Tip: Schedule your priorities in first. Once you know what your priorities are, you need to schedule them into your day.  Far too often, the urgent overwhelms the important.

Thursday’s Tip: Delegate and eliminate. You need to be ruthless about determining what tasks you should no longer do, and what tasks you may be able to hand off to someone else.

Friday’s Tip: You may have to give up some things you like doing. The hardest part about changing habits is giving up those things that may not be a priority, but we really like doing.  Be brave – give up you pet projects if they are not top priority.

Dealing with Employee Dishonesty (and a Bright Red Firebird)

Sooner or later it’s going to happen – you’re going to have to fire someone for dishonesty.  Of course, all the management gurus will tell you that you need to trust your people absolutely, and because you’ve heeded this advice, you’ll feel betrayed and stupid.

On the opposite side of the trust spectrum, I was once told a manager must assume that every one of his people is trying to rip him off at all times.  In this case, when you do have to deal with dishonesty, it’s not a shock or a surprise, but you live the rest of your work life in a perpetual state of jaded negativity.

Both mindsets are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Organizations’ inability to manage this dynamic is why employee orientations often suck so badly.  There’s really nothing more welcoming in an organization, than when they spend an hour or so reviewing all the possible contingencies under which you will be fired.  You can bet the HR and legal teams worked overtime on this stuff.

But I’ll bet you Jim Rockford’s bright red Firebird (if you were born after 1975, look it up) there’s a way for managers to negotiate this grey area.

You absolutely need to trust your people – much like you trust your children.  You must also open your mind to the possibility that some employees are going to betray this trust every now and again – much like your children.

However, the parallel with children ends here.  In most cases, you’re stuck with your kids, and all their mistakes.  You have no such obligation with employees.  If an employee breaches your trust by acting dishonestly, you have a responsibility to act quickly, decisively, and severely.

There are very few circumstances of employee dishonesty that I can think of that should not end in the termination of an employment contract.  Failure to do so treats shareholders, and all the honest employees you have with great disrespect.

And don’t try to weasel out of this managerial burden by having the HR and Legal teams get together to put 400 pages of policy in place.  You can’t legislate honesty… but you can fire the dishonest.  Quickly.

I was unable to embed the video clip I wanted this week, so go look it up on YouTube yourself:  “SNL Sexual Harassment and You”

 

Workplace Investigations: Going Columbo

Mrs. Columbo loves the Wily Manager podcast.  Join Jed and Bob this week as they talk about how to properly conduct a workplace investigation.  It would be nice if Managers didn’t have to deal with this, but it’s one of those “burden of leadership” things.

Watch the ‘Employee Investigations’ Video (15 mins 00 sec):


Download the ‘Employee Investigations’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides

Employee Investigations

Members Click Here for Additional Tools

Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!

Employee Investigations are one of those burdens of leadership that every manager must deal with.  Below we discuss the following aspects of Employee Investigations:

  • What is at stake if Managers don’t deal well with Employee Investigations
  • Employee Investigation Steps:
  1. Assess the Complaint
  2. Determine who should be involved in an Employee Investigation
  3. Interim steps in an Employee Investigation
  4. Conducting an Employee Investigation Interview
  5. Finalize the Employee Investigation
  6. Take Action

Disclaimer: The Wily Manager guys are not lawyers, and as such, you need to use the information here as guidelines, but be well aware of applicable legislation in the jurisdiction you are working in.

What is at Stake in Employee Investigations

  • Dollars – Mismanagement of Employee Investigations can lead to very expensive litigation.
  • Company Reputation – a poorly handled Employee Investigation can make your organization famous in an unflattering way.
  • Brand Health – Poor publicity or reputation management can badly damage an organizations’ brand.
  • Employee Relations/Morale – An Employee Investigation impacts many more people than simply those involved in the investigation.  Poor Employee Relations can cause higher turnover and lower employee productivity – both of which are costly.
  • Organized Labor Risk – if you are not currently unionized, and wish to remain so, it is imperative that Employee Investigations be handled well.
  • Careers are at Stake – Someone’s career and reputation may be at question in an Employee Investigation, so it critical that they be handled in such a way that is fair and equitable to all concerned.

Employee Investigation Steps

1. Assess the Complaint. Your first step is to assess the scope and seriousness of what you’re dealing with:

  • Law – Were any laws broken?  Do law enforcement agencies need to become involved?
  • Policies – Were organizational policies breached?  If so, to what degree?
  • Does it involve people external to the company – Are customers, suppliers, regulators or some other stakeholders involved?  If so, how does this change the seriousness or scope of your investigation?
  • Formal or informal response required – can this adequately be handled with an informal discussion, or are documented interventions required?
  • What does the complainant want – ask the complainant what s/he would like to see as an outcome.  You need to be careful not to promise that outcome before completing your investigation, but it helps to determine the scope and seriousness if you know what the complainant wants.

2. Determine who should be involved in the Employee Investigation:

  • Independent – can you, as the manager, handle this on your own?
  • HR – a good HR person can assist with assessing the risk, and providing investigation tools.
  • Legal – similar to HR, if you have a legal department, you may have access to expertise to assist in the investigation
  • Management – do you need to reach out to peers, or to your boss to properly conduct the investigation
  • The Police – if you believe local laws have been broken, then you have a responsibility to alert law enforcement officials whether you want to or not.
  • Health and Wellness/Safety – if there are potential health and safety issues, you should alert the appropriate people in your organization.  Remember than many forms of harassment are covered in “violence in the workplace” legislation, and as such would require the involvement of your Health and Safety people.

3. Interim Steps in an Employee Investigation:

In many circumstances you will have to make decisions before concluding your investigation.  In these cases, advice from HR and/or legal is particularly helpful.

  • Reporting to work – does an employee continue to report to work as normal, or is there another accommodation put in place.
  • Reporting relationships – Should an employee temporarily report to someone else during the investigation?
  • Short term disability – are there provisions for employees during the interim period of the investigation?

4. Conducting the Employee Investigation interview

  • Quickly – you need to interview all concerned as soon as possible after a complaint is made.
  • Where – think about where you will conduct the interviews.  They must be in private, but it may be good to find a place that is not conspicuous.  Remember that someone accused of something should be treated as innocent until evidence presents itself as otherwise.
  • Who/how many interviewers – as a manager, it is highly advised that you have support and a witness in any interview.  This can be a peer, a boss, or someone from HR or legal.
  • Complainant and suggested witnesses – you will want to interview the complainant again, after you have gathered information from others, and have refined your questions.  You should also ask the complainant who s/he thinks you should speak with.
  • Respondent and suggested witnesses.  The respondent should also be interviewed, and asked who s/he thinks should be interviews.
  • Provide information carefully – do not betray confidences, and do not ask leading questions.  Approach every interview with the intention of learning more about the situation.
  • Be thorough, and ask each person you interview if there anything you haven’t asked that they think would be helpful?

5. Finalize the investigation
There are three possibilities from your investigation, and you need to articulate this:

  • The complaint is substantiated
  • The complaint is not substantiated
  • The investigation of the complaint is inconclusive

6. Take Action
Finally, you need to do something about the complaint.  If you choose to do nothing, you need to communicate to all concerned that you are not going to act, and why you aren’t going to act.

  • Determine appropriate outcomes.  What should happen, and in what time frame.
  • Inform complainant and respondent of the outcome and why.
  • Witnesses should be informed the matter is closed, but need not be informed of outcome.  In sensitive matters, it is particularly important to maintain confidentiality.  As such, it is appropriate to tell people the matter is closed, but without revealing the outcome.

Three Things to Remember About Employee Investigations:

  1. Stay objective.  Do your best to minimize any biases you may have.
  2. Stick to the relevant facts.  There will be many externalities brought into the investigation.  Make sure you stick to the matter at hand.
  3. Move quickly but don’t rush.  You need to begin your investigation as soon as possible after the complaint, but don’t be pressured into making a decision before gathering the appropriate information

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Employee Investigations (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …

Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!

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