Making sense of the subcontinent
You made a careless phrase.
…or you forgot to cc someone on an email.
…or you unknowingly made a senior person look bad.
…or the hint of sarcasm in your email wasn’t taken the right way.
…or you forgot to invite someone to a meeting.
If you stick around India long enough, it’s not a question of if, but when you offend someone.Therefore, instead of discussing how to avoid it, let’s talk about how to recover from it. [Read more…]
You have identified an ideal partner for your business in India: strong financials, common interests, and experience in the field. The company is an older family-run business. You soon realize that the key to sealing an agreement is a meeting with the patriarch, an older man who doesn’t come to the office much anymore. His blessing is essential, but you are having a lot of trouble getting his attention. What do you do?
In this episode of Working With India, I talk with Arjun Buxi. Arjun is a native Indian who grew up in a Punjabi family business, and is now a Communication Consultant and Educator in the San Francisco area. Arjun is a true expert in the field of Indian business culture, especially when it comes to how family dynamics affect things. His knowledge is both experiential and scholarly.
Here are a few of my favorite moments in this show:
Here are some of the links mentioned in the show: [Read more…]
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The story of a great parent is inspiring. The story of a dysfunctional one is depressing.
In the last article, we looked at the best version of a Parent Leader, or leaders who excel at paternalistic leadership. The key trait of a great Parent Leader is their ability to take a legacy approach. All the other good traits flow from a leader who has good vision and cares for his ‘family’.
But not all those who use a paternalistic leadership style are like Atticus Finch. Some are more like Homer Simpson.
Here are some classic traits of really dysfunctional Parent Leaders.
They never relinquish any authority. Dysfunctional Parent Leaders don’t fully trust anyone to work independently of their wisdom and guidance. Therefore, they never fully give any authority. While they may have several VPs around them, they all much check in with Mom/Dad before they blink an eye. Decisions taken independently are either seen as an act of rebellion or a declaration that you are ‘too good’ for the family. [Read more…]
Understanding the idea of Parent Leadership, or paternalistic leadership, is important if you work in India or many other Asian countries, but you might still be on the fence about it. Leading as if you were a father or mother might sound rather sticky or messy, especially when you think about your own family.
However, Parent Leadership is a legitimate leadership style, and instead of judging if the style itself is bad or good, you should look at good and bad examples of people who use it.
In my time in India, I’ve interacted with many leaders who naturally use this style. Some are very inspiring, like the one who made it a point to visit the housewarming ceremony of a junior employee. Others are extremely dysfunctional, like the one who refused to believe anyone else could do a better job than him at any business function.
In the next two articles, I will offer a picture of the best and worst sides of Parent Leadership. First, we’ll look at the best-case scenario to see the enormous potential this style holds. Next, we’ll look at a worst-case scenario to show just how bad things can get. [Read more…]
Being able to identify someone’s primary community is an awesome skill to have in India. But sometimes just figuring what name to call them is an even greater feat.
Names are complicated in India primarily because there are so many Indias to deal with. So much so that the British Government even issued this official naming practice guide with a lengthy section on India. Here are just a few of the things that go into an Indian name. [Read more…]
I was visiting an American friend who told me about an Indian colleague of his. I asked him what the colleague’s name was.
“I don’t remember exactly. Something like Vinny Submarine.”
Oh, you mean Vinay Subramanian?
“Yeah, that’s right.”
From Tamil Nadu? Highly educated? Vegetarian?
“Uh…yes, actually. How did you know that?”
This is one of the most amazing skills you can pick up when you are working with Indians. A person’s name unlocks a trove of potential connections and ways to build rapport with them. [Read more…]
I often envy my Indian friends who come from family businesses. Their fathers and grandfathers have put in the hard work to carve out a niche and set up an established company. It’s not that it’s an easy position, but it seems great to have that kind of upbringing, heritage, and opportunity.
But it’s nearly impossible to break into the inner circle of that sort of family business…
Unless you marry into it.
Here is the story of Rohan and Shannon. [Read more…]
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Why won’t they just give me a straight answer?!
Many westerners feel that Indians are always beating around the bush. They never seem to get to the point, and it’s hard to determine if their yes may mean no.
You need an honest opinion about your new marketing plan, and all you get back are smiles and niceties. You are evaluating a team member that you think may be causing problems, but no one will say a bad word about him. You need advice on handling a special high-needs client, but you feel like no one is actually contributing any insights.
How do you get an Indian to give a direct answer?
Ask better questions. [Read more…]