Leading across self-concepts

 

If you were to have asked me as a child whether I lived in individualistic or collective society, I would not have hesitated to guess collective. I would have guessed wrong. The United States is a prime example of an individualist culture. Individualistic cultures promote an independent self-concept, whereas collective cultures promote interdependency in the like (Bhawuk & Munusamy, 2010). Idiocentric individuals, who practice more individualistic approaches, and allocentric individuals, who practice more collective approaches can be found in cultures practicing in both styles. Seeing multiple generations of my family so interconnected, interdependent on one another, I would never have considered that we were a part of an individualistic culture. Later in life, outside of siblings, parents, spouses, etc., I started to feel that same interconnectedness to others, strangers. To the best of my ability, my self-identified self-concept would be more so an allocentric. Thinking back to finding and creating my own relationships as I have moved through the world, I find I would more closely identify with using communal relationships and could recognize my own experience that I find it difficult to move on from relationships, even if I could acknowledge that it no longer serves me.

 

So What?

Self-reflection can be a great tool. Being able to recognize that, though I am apart of a larger individualistic culture, to some degree the culture that I share with my family may have been more interdependent thus contributing to me being the same. This allows me to better understand the world view I walk with and the direct impact this has on how I lead. Those who tend to be more competitive and be more self-oriented would likely be more idiocentric and those, like me, who are more empathetic would connect moreso for the allocentric (Kaestner & Malamud, 2022). Similar to how women and men are expected to behave and react in certain, different ways (Eagly, et al, 2020), there may be expectations or assumptions about how idiocentric or allocentric individuals will behave, will move through the world, and will interact with one another. This does not mean that men cannot lead women, just like it does not mean that allocentric individuals cannot lead idiocentric individuals; It just means that we have to take what we come to know about those we work with and individualize it to the circumstances. It also means that we cannot assume that because someone world view is different from ours, that we cannot move towards a common goal together. In fact, perhaps this is an opportunity in leadership to utilize the strengths of our team to be successful.

 

Now what?

Leading across any differences, it is important to acknowledge that different is not a negative. It can make for more difficult conversations to have and obstacles to overcome, but it is still possible to have a successful team. As a leader, it is your responsibility to come to understand your subordinates or team members, as they are. In doing so, you can play to their strengths, their self-concepts, and utilize the best pieces of each individual to make the optimal conditions to meet the goals, whether it be for a job, school, an organization, community, local or global societies. This will also require you to reframe the goal so that it appeals to different people: if they are empathetic, you can use that as a tool to motivate them, whereas it may not be the same motivations you would use for someone who works more transactionally. This is how we manage expectations, between leaders and followers, by understanding and being able to identify the differences. Even as a leader, being able to self-identify and express how my values have shaped my leadership skills and decision making can highlight to others, the shared characteristics or characteristics that are different than what they see in me. We all have goals; some believe that a goal that is good for them is higher value than another or even that because it benefits them as the individual, that is beneficial to the masses. Others hold the value of goals that benefit a collective, which is a key component to global society leadership. However, if working together and persuaded with what they feel is beneficial, both concepts can be utilized for the same goals.

 

 

References

Bhawuk, D. & Munusamy, V., Leading Across Cultural Groups: Implications of Self-Concept. Hannum, K., McFeeters, B. B., & Booysen, L. (Eds.) (2010). Leading across differences: Casebook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Eagly, A. H., Nater, C., Miller, D. I., Kaufmann, M., & Sczesny, S. (2019, July 18). Gender Stereotypes Have Changed: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of U.S. Public Opinion Polls From 1946 to 2018. American Psychologist. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000494

Kaestner, R., & Malamud, O. (2022). Headstrong Girls and Dependent Boys: Gender Differences in the Labor Market Returns to Child Behavior. ILR Review, 76(1), 112-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939221086929 (Original work published 2023)