Learning India

Making sense of the subcontinent

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, Parent Leadership

Working for a Parent Leader

Parent Leadership Working for a Leader

Now that we’ve identified what a Parent Leader is and looked at some tips on acting like a Parent Leader, what if you are working for a Parent Leader?

In the past, multinational companies (MNCs) based in the US or Europe would open up offices in India and send their own management to begin all the operations. When they came, they needed to learn about how to lead Indians.

But today’s world is different. Huge Indian conglomerates like Tata, Reliance, and Aditya Birla are hiring high-level leaders from around the world to work for them. They are buying up foreign companies that will help them expand their reach. Homegrown Indian technical companies like TCS, Infosys, HCL, and Cognizant are quickly becoming the world leaders in their industries.

In today’s world you are nearly just as likely to have an Indian for a boss as you are to have one working for you. Therefore, it is helpful to know how to behave as a team member if your boss is a Parent Leader.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

Giving an Introduction in India

Giving an Introduction in India

Quick! You are attending an event with an eminent speaker, and your colleague suddenly comes over to you and asks you to give the introduction. You’ve never heard of the speaker before, but your colleague gives you three printed pages highlighting the speaker’s career. What do you do when it is your turn to speak?

A.) Read aloud all three pages line by line in their entirety

B.) Scan through the pages and deliver a one-minute summary, picking out the most relevant information

C.) Choose one or two parts of the speaker’s profile about which you can share a story to establish a person connection with the speaker, and tell everyone why they should listen
[Read more…]

Filed Under: #IndiasNotIndia, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, Daily Living, On the Job

What Indians Wish You Would Start and Stop Talking About

Mastering Small Talk in India

Small Talk Indians

In the West, small talk serves the same purpose as the kiddie side of a cold swimming pool. You wade in slowly, throwing around meaningless comments about the weather and sports until you reach an equilibrium and then dive in to the deep stuff.

Not so in India.

In India, small talk is an investigation. Your conversation partner is trying to piece together something about you. Who are your parents? What do they do? Where do you work? Where did you go to college? How many children do you have? What is your wife’s name? Do you have brothers and sisters?

These are not just polite conversation starters; these are interrogation questions.

Your Indian partner has two goals in this interrogation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: #CustomerIsAlwaysThere, #ThinSkinned, Communication

Are All Indians Indirect?

It is standard practice in the world of cross-cultural knowledge to say Indians are indirect in their communication. And it is true. Sometimes.

You have likely interacted enough with India to know that such a simple and generalized statement will break down eventually.

Indians can be very direct and very indirect, all depending on the context.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s hear from one of the great modern writers on India.

 

Craig Storti’s Model

In 2007, Craig Storti gave the world an extremely helpful framework for understanding the differences between communication in India and the West. His book, Speaking of India
described a communication spectrum with indirect communication on the left, direct communication in the middle, and rude or blunt communication on the right side. [Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #See1See100, Parent Leadership

How to Lead a Family (in the office)

Carol Mitchell Indian Family

Earlier, I introduced the idea of Parent Leadership as a model for a majority of the Indian business world.

But what if you are stepping into a situation where you are the leader and you feel like everyone is looking to you to be the parent?

Instead of running away, here are a few things you can painlessly put into practice to help both you and your new team get off on the right foot.

But first, how do you know if your team is thinking like a family? [Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #See1See100, Parent Leadership

Parent Leadership: An Overview

Parent Leadership

 

In my experience working in an Indian company, I quickly discovered there were a lot of voices I needed to listen to.

There was my reporting manager who kept an eye on me and who was looking for me to make a big difference in the company. There was the subject expert who had built up a reputation for being great at the work I was now doing. And there was the visionary leader who was more focused on the company reputation but also involved in day-to-day operations.

Each one was helpful in her own way. (All three were women.) Each one wanted to give guidance and oversight. Each one wanted to show she cared, but also demanded certain respect. Each one wanted to be the voice of reason and direction.

I remember the day it dawned on me that I had three mothers. And I was having trouble keeping all of them happy. I could usually keep 2 out of 3 of them in good spirits, but like the elusive Triple Crown, I was never able to complete the circuit.
[Read more…]