The Culture Problem

To be a successful leader you need to be inclusive. But the problem of culture makes it very difficult to be inclusive. There is what is known as the iceberg effect. You see how big the iceberg is above the water but you cannot accurately depict how much of the iceberg is under the water. There are many things that you do not know about a culture until you actually deal with the culture. For a small example most people do not know that it is incredibly rude to show the soul of your shoe in the Middle East. It would be the same as giving somebody the middle finger here in the west.

A greater example was when I arrived in Tucson. I come from a very large metropolis where you must be on time to everything and everything that happens, happens very quickly. It took me a long while to notice the difference when I came here but the speed at which things happen is very different from the city. People talk very slowly and expect the same out of you. When I talk at the speed that I am used to talking people find it very difficult to understand me so they ask me to slow down. When people show up to class I am very used to being in class at least five minutes before I am required to. It seems here that people are used to arriving between 5 or less to class. Now this could actually be one of two things. One it could be the culture of Tucson or two it could be the culture of the university. One way or another it is still odd and it is something that I did not see coming. Lastly was the way that I talked. Most people here have a basic American accent, which I also thought that I had. It turns out that I have the slight tint of a Chicago accent that some people questioned why I talked that way. It is also distracting to me when people try to say Chicago because I say it so different from them.

These are all part of the iceberg effect things that I could not see until I traveled under water out of my comfort zone. It is important to travel underwater as a leader.

A good leader has to be willing to exit his or her comfort zone for the betterment of society. When volunteers head over to japan to help with the earthquake the must understand the needs of the people that they are dealing with. The way that you greet people in Japan is very different from what you do here in the United States. Things like this should always be considered.