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Week 35, 2019
Cultural Archetypes, Part 2: Appreciate, Acknowledge, and Adapt
Each week I share three ideas for how to make work better. And like last week, this one is all about culture, diversity, and self-directed organizations.
Why am I writing about this? Last week’s issue introduced the Lewis Model of Cross-Cultural Communication (see diagram). You can read more about that here. But in brief, it divides the world into three cultural archetypes, each one with specific idiosyncrasies and preferences. And this got me thinking: is one archetype better equipped for self-management than the others? And if so, which one and why? Let’s dig in.
1. Appreciate
It’s a loaded question. And deceptive one. Because it’s easy to assume that the linear-active archetype is best equipped for self-management. It is, after all, the archetype most closely associated with planning and organizing — two traits that seem fundamental to self-direction. But. We should not forget that we’re talking about self-management within organizations and that organizations demand collaboration. It’s not just about you. It’s about you in conjunction with the people around…
