Negotiators face a dizzying array of behaviors. When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures by communication consultant Richard D. Lewis (3rd Edition, 2005) focuses on the most familiar definition of culture and, as such, is a valuable resource for developing negotiation skills.
When Cultures Collide presents a three-category system of national styles, decades of experience and analysis underlie Lewis’ work on these “cultural roots of national behavior.” And defining culture along national lines makes his approach quickly tangible to those engaged on the international stage.
Three-Sided Order to the Puzzle
Lewis created a model for understanding national cultures based on our “deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs.” This model has three classifications. One is reactive: introverted, deferential, and respect-oriented listeners. Another is multi-active: relationship-oriented, interactive, people engagers. The final is linear-active: organized planners oriented toward task execution.
When Cultures Collide starts with an overview of psychological conditioning, tapping ideas about the influence of context and communication patterns. Lewis applies his model in the business world, the environment for most of his readers. The book ends with an extensive, nation-by-nation, series of country profiles.
Lewis reinforces that these profiles are only averages: they are the most prevalent styles and not applicable to every individual. (Indeed: I had a difficult time deciding which cultural reference to review first; there are several other approaches available.) This averaged behavior means that When Cultures Collide is unavoidably incomplete, particularly for the experienced negotiator.
Untangling But Not Solving the Maze
Lewis notes, "people view from different angles and perspectives." Behaviors and attitudes are ingredients of both cultural and personal styles. A variety of verbal and nonverbal methods communicates predispositions and intentions.
Therefore, a high-level system such as Lewis' can only provide a coarse, average profile of a people's diversity.
When Cultures Collide recognizes, but in the end leaves unanswered, the breathtaking diversity in cultural differences from regions, companies, and families. Also, Lewis' model requires adding context and the influence of time to address business topics like status, leadership, and teams. The crucial elements of listening, decision-making, and negotiation are touched upon but primarily out of scope.
A negotiator needs to incorporate other lower-level systems in order to reflect actual engagement. These address the 'what' (i.e., communication, cooperation, and organizational structure) or the 'how' (i.e., problem-solving) of a culture. Nevertheless, Lewis' system excels through simplicity by providing a model that any negotiator can recall under pressure.
On the Alert for Bewildering Behavior
I learned about Lewis’s system while traveling every other week between Germany, Saudi Arabia, and other destinations such as Russia. After many hours of translated negotiation in one such visit to the wooded countryside east of Moscow, we retired to a local lodge for a relaxing ritual of vodka and dinner. People packed the lodge’s bar, but the dining hall and its adjacent dance area were strangely empty.
After dinner, a quick succession of disruptions overwhelmed me—my fellow diners departed to procure more vodka, a deafening band started playing, and my brother called from Houston. Soon, a solitary man staggered out of the bar, across the floor, and implored me eagerly to come dance with him. My mental presence in Houston collided head-on with everything around me.
After a momentary flash of panic, I acknowledged that I really did not know what in the world was going on. To my inviter, I shook my head side-to-side rapidly and blurted out, нет русский, nyet russkiy, ‘no Russian.’ He attempted more conversation but was met by my silence … and perhaps my own wide-eyed look of confusion.
Reluctantly, he moved on to the floor, initiating a dance with an invisible partner. Just knowing that there were many possible explanations helped me step out of myself … and perhaps avoid an international incident!
An Essential Building Block for Understanding
When Cultures Collide provides a framework for the complicated and conflicting aspects of cultural diversity. The reference provides a creatively, simple approach for observing and evaluating how a culture generally views various topics. Negotiators will find When Cultures Collide a useful reference.
Next month, I’ll review Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.