"WE DO NOT SEE THINGS as they are. We see things as we are.” (Rabbi Shemuel ben Nachmani in the Talmud, often attributed to Anais Nin or Stephen Covey) 

Despite the travel and mobility challenges of COVID-19 and the ensuing global economic downturn, Rwanda remains a growing international market- and workplace. As such, it needs leaders, who are ‘culturally competent’ and who can successfully navigate the intricacies and nuances of working and communicating effectively across borders, cultures and differences in general.

Local cross-cultural expert, Justin Ngoga, says in his ‘Rwanda Cultural Awareness’ book: "I have witnessed many conflicts and problems resulting from cultural differences. In most cases, these issues could have been avoided through some timely education in cultural awareness.”

This and the next monthly ‘Leading Rwanda’ column will focus on these cross-cultural differences as they relate to all leaders, whether they are Rwandans working with people in or from other countries or foreigners working with Rwandans (and other nationalities). Not to mention gender, generational and other differences, which can impact behavior, morale and productivity in the workplace.

For all leaders, the place to start is, as ever, with their own individual "culture”, which is heavily influenced by their particular personal background, professional experience and core values. Some of the most important questions to ask themselves might be:

What in my past has shaped who I am today? What is important to me now as a leader (and a human being)? How do I view others who are different from me? How do they view me? Do I have any conscious biases, assumptions or hot buttons in relation to others? Do I wear any conscious masks or hide anything from others?  If so, why? What are my specific goals in leading others who are different from me? What might get in the way and stop me from being effective? What will success look like for me as a cross-cultural leader?

Once leaders have undergone this journey of self-discovery and -awareness, they can then begin identifying cultural differences with those around them and planning how to bridge any gaps.

There are many models for comparing values, motivations and behaviors across cultures and one of the simplest but most useful ones was designed and outlined by the US interculturalist, Robert Kohls, in his seminal article "The Values Americans Live By” in 1984.

There are 13 dimensions in all in the Kohls model but here is an amended version with the five continua that seem to relate the most to cross-cultural leadership:

These five continua are not absolute, but relative. As such, there are no numbers or scores on purpose. So first think about where you would place yourself in a work leadership context anywhere along each continuum:

1. The old joke is that the only person who welcomes change is a baby with a wet diaper. But do you yourself really value change, risk and innovation? Or do you prefer to stick with things that are already tried and trusted? Does the phrase "it’s not been done before” mean a new opportunity to you or a good reason not to alter a winning formula? Or can you hold both realities at the same time, depending on the circumstances?

2. Do you believe that everyone at any level has the right to speak up, contribute and succeed? Or do you believe that we need to pay more attention and respect to seniority, rank and status?

3. Are individual privacy, autonomy and achievement important to you? Or group harmony, unity and consensus? Or both?

4. Are you more focused on tasks, targets and getting the job done on time or are you more concerned with taking the time to build solid relationships and team rapport, even if deadlines sometimes get pushed back?

5. How do you prefer to communicate and resolve conflict? Telling it like it is in a clear, concise and direct manner? Or making sure to preserve harmony and ‘face’ by not putting anyone on the spot and using more indirect means, such as non-confrontational language and third parties or go-betweens, etc.?

Dr. Kohls found that in US American culture, traditional, core values are more to the left. How about Rwanda?

Most people would say that traditional Rwandan values would be more to the right although maybe less so than in the past.

Mr. Ngoga picks out the fifth dimension of Communication as the most challenging. Not just directness and indirectness but also expressiveness. "Rwandans tend to be less expressive, especially with foreign bosses,” he says. "So foreigners find it difficult to know what Rwandans are really thinking and to understand what they really want to say.”

July’s ‘Leading Rwanda’ column will explore how to overcome this and other related cross-cultural challenges.

The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the writer who can be reached at jeremy@jeremysolomons.com