The majority of leadership advice tells leaders to prioritize autonomy, transparency, and “speaking up.” But these same practices can backfire on global teams shaped by very different expectations.
In my newly released article in Harvard Business Review, I outline four leadership mistakes that derail cross-cultural collaboration—and how to use cultural intelligence (CQ) to lead today’s complex, hybrid teams:
- Too much Autonomy
- Too much Psychological Safety
- Too much emphasis on Differences
- Too much Transparency
It’s not that the Western advice surrounding these ideas is entirely wrong. But it requires cultural intelligence to adjust the way leaders apply these ideas to global teams.
“Leading a global team requires more than just knowing broad cultural distinctions; it demands the cultural intelligence to accurately assess each situation and adjust the level of guidance, autonomy, and control to the unique values and preferences of each team member.”