I was priveleged to attend a seminar by Rochelle Kopp last week on bridging cultural differences as a leader in Japan. I found the session incredibly useful, not because it was incredibly new content, but because it refreshed me on the different backgrounds westerners and foreigners come from. We often forget the below when we are working with our Japanese colleagues, but when you think about it, it can be attributed to many of the problems.
The following is a summary of the seminar from my eyes on how Japanese people tend to be different from us in the West. It is a bunch of generalizations, but gives a good overview of how things happen in a Japanese office.
DECISION MAKING
- Decision making is very consensus driven.
- Decisions tend to take a long-time to make, as much “ne-mawashi” or (individual discussion with each stakeholder to gain their buy in) is required, before the formal decision is made
Different ways of approaching decision making, but in the long-run neither method is faster or slower (perhaps). For Japanese people, the time taken in the “lead-in” means that they are able to implement quicker when the decision is made.
WORK DELEGATION
- In the west we “delegate” work, but in Japan “delegation” takes a different form; it is not so much “delegation” as “working together”, and it looks like “micro-management” to the west
- The basis to delegation is “Hoo-Ren-Soo” (report, touch base and seek advice) and if this happens properly, there is a lot of back and forward on the delegated work, which would be regarded as micro-management in the west.
JAPANESE STAFF VALUE THESE THINGS HIGHLY
- Good company profile, prestige and recognition; often this can be done through CSR activities
- Group social events, group meetings, group coordination
- “Kikubari” or consideration for others feelings. There is an expectation for managers to be on the look out for how their staff “feel” about things, and that they understand how staff will feel under different circumstances.
GROWING TRUST WITH JAPANESE
- Be consistent in what you do. Act consistently.
- Spend time with your Japanese colleagues. Do lunches with them, do social events and dinners
SEEKING OPINIONS
- As Japanese communication is often “in-direct” or “non-verbal” seeking opinions can be difficult.
- Japanese typically don’t like conflict, so you need to be careful in how you ask for opinions; asking directly will not work in many cases (eg. Don’t ask “What do you think” or “What is your opinion”)
Advice for seeking opinions
1. Don’t say what you think first or don’t give your ideas first (particularly if there is hierarchy and you are of a higher level than the other Japanese members)
2. Be clear with what you are talking about; write things down as you go, use visual aids and use agendas
3. Once the topic is clear and set, use questions such as “Do you have any advice for me?” or “Do you see any difficulties with this?”
RECOGNITION
- Giving feedback in public is often counter-productive in Japan, as Japanese feel uncomfortable being singled out from amongst their peers. Giving feedback to teams in public is a better way to go.
- Japanese people generally dislike general positive feedback such as “I think you did a great job”, so you need to give concrete examples of what you like about them or what they are doing.
- Japanese are typically not good at providing “positive feedback” as it is not something taught in Japanese society historically (in fact many look down on positive feedback, as there is a saying “home-goroshi” or “killing by praise”). It is therefore recommended that training is undertaken on how to give positive feedback.
- Often Japanese prefer a different form of positive feedback such as being given a different status (job title, etc.) or being asked to join special projects, etc.
MOST RECOMMENDED WESTERN WAYS OF DOING THINGS (things you should implement!)
- Performance based reward systems
- Making an office fun
- Shorter working hours
- Hiring of those generally not respected by Japanese companies; female staff, staff over 50 years of age, and staff without “official qualifications"
TYPICAL JAPANESE BEHAVIOURS TO BE AWARE OF
- Japanese are often uncomfortable to tell you about things you don’t want to hear (ie. bad news) - Japanese are very harsh with each other when it comes to their level of English. They can be very un-accepting of other Japanese members with English levels better or worse than their own
- Japanese often believe there is “one best way to do things” through proven methods. This explains why they can be stubborn about doing things differently, if they believe they know the “one best way” and it is “proven”. In this case, the following wording can be useful; “I have a suggestion that would be even better”.
- Decision making is very consensus driven.
- Decisions tend to take a long-time to make, as much “ne-mawashi” or (individual discussion with each stakeholder to gain their buy in) is required, before the formal decision is made
Different ways of approaching decision making, but in the long-run neither method is faster or slower (perhaps). For Japanese people, the time taken in the “lead-in” means that they are able to implement quicker when the decision is made.WORK DELEGATION
- In the west we “delegate” work, but in Japan “delegation” takes a different form; it is not so much “delegation” as “working together”, and it looks like “micro-management” to the west
- The basis to delegation is “Hoo-Ren-Soo” (report, touch base and seek advice) and if this happens properly, there is a lot of back and forward on the delegated work, which would be regarded as micro-management in the west.
JAPANESE STAFF VALUE THESE THINGS HIGHLY
- Good company profile, prestige and recognition; often this can be done through CSR activities
- Group social events, group meetings, group coordination
- “Kikubari” or consideration for others feelings. There is an expectation for managers to be on the look out for how their staff “feel” about things, and that they understand how staff will feel under different circumstances.
GROWING TRUST WITH JAPANESE
- Be consistent in what you do. Act consistently.
- Spend time with your Japanese colleagues. Do lunches with them, do social events and dinners
SEEKING OPINIONS
- As Japanese communication is often “in-direct” or “non-verbal” seeking opinions can be difficult.
- Japanese typically don’t like conflict, so you need to be careful in how you ask for opinions; asking directly will not work in many cases (eg. Don’t ask “What do you think” or “What is your opinion”)
Advice for seeking opinions
1. Don’t say what you think first or don’t give your ideas first (particularly if there is hierarchy and you are of a higher level than the other Japanese members)
2. Be clear with what you are talking about; write things down as you go, use visual aids and use agendas
3. Once the topic is clear and set, use questions such as “Do you have any advice for me?” or “Do you see any difficulties with this?”
RECOGNITION
- Giving feedback in public is often counter-productive in Japan, as Japanese feel uncomfortable being singled out from amongst their peers. Giving feedback to teams in public is a better way to go.
- Japanese people generally dislike general positive feedback such as “I think you did a great job”, so you need to give concrete examples of what you like about them or what they are doing.
- Japanese are typically not good at providing “positive feedback” as it is not something taught in Japanese society historically (in fact many look down on positive feedback, as there is a saying “home-goroshi” or “killing by praise”). It is therefore recommended that training is undertaken on how to give positive feedback.
- Often Japanese prefer a different form of positive feedback such as being given a different status (job title, etc.) or being asked to join special projects, etc.
MOST RECOMMENDED WESTERN WAYS OF DOING THINGS (things you should implement!)
- Performance based reward systems
- Making an office fun
- Shorter working hours
- Hiring of those generally not respected by Japanese companies; female staff, staff over 50 years of age, and staff without “official qualifications"
TYPICAL JAPANESE BEHAVIOURS TO BE AWARE OF
- Japanese are often uncomfortable to tell you about things you don’t want to hear (ie. bad news) - Japanese are very harsh with each other when it comes to their level of English. They can be very un-accepting of other Japanese members with English levels better or worse than their own
- Japanese often believe there is “one best way to do things” through proven methods. This explains why they can be stubborn about doing things differently, if they believe they know the “one best way” and it is “proven”. In this case, the following wording can be useful; “I have a suggestion that would be even better”.
The above blows away some of the business theory suggested in Western business literature.... and makes you think!
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