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The essence of people


I work in a number of different countries and I have clearly experienced the differences between cultures and communities, indeed much of my work is focused on this area: increasing awareness, understanding and skill in order to improve effectiveness.

I am also struck by how people are, essentially, the same. They may look different, they may sound different but they have a shared common core. Most people want to be liked. Most people want to help others. Some are better at it than others, clearly, and some are motivated to do it more than others. In different cultures people help others differently. In some cultures to help is 'to tell it how it is', in others it is 'to only praise and encourage, never criticise'. The essential desire, however, is the same - to help others and to treat others how you would like to be treated; yet the delivery is totally different and can be at two ends of the spectrum. The unfortunate reality is of course we treat others how we would like them to treat us and not how they would like us to treat them.

Effective leadership, personal or organisational, is to be able to transition between cultures, geographies, corporate environments, etc. seamlessly. At the same time we need to be true to ourselves - to our core values and believes, to our drivers and motivators. The trick, therefore, is to be able to translate these into interventions that suit the particular circumstances that we face.

I find this area of work both fascinating (I am learning all the time) and rewarding. Sometimes it is the small intervention or observation that is called for, other times it is the more flambouyant - it all depends!



Published by: Lisette on 01/04/2009 - Add a comment

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