As we approach the 2020 elections, there are concerns among those of us who find the president interculturally incompetent. Living in the US for the past 4 years during this painful time of this presidency, proved that Intercultural Competence is integral to every human profession including that of a president. Since the 8th Nov 2016 elections, I continued to work on bringing this important aspect to my Neocharismaitc Leadership model through training, coaching, and writing. American culture has many embedded sub-cultures in it. What an outsider gets is what the media and film industry focuses on showing. From an insider’s point of view and coming from an intercultural background, it strikes me as an intercultural melting pot.
When a leader speaks about organizational culture while assuming that they are familiar with it and that they can lead it towards its objectives, rest assured that they are bound to fail. In this and the following articles, I want to argue against a simplified approach that many leaders take. This, being the assumption-based approach.
Regardless of what the media conveys, what is the truth about who we are as ‘Americans’, which culture is dominant, and whose culture it is, the assumption around a dominant culture is still embedded deep in many leaders’ mindset.
Human adaptation is geared towards survival. When we face a new situation, the first thing we consciously do is find ways to anchor ourselves, so we regain control and feel safe. This assumption serves a purpose in our inability to adapt. Leaders are not immune to this. The danger is when you freeze your progress of exploration and curiosity which drives learning and growth to the first assumptions, thus building a safety net around yourself.
Neocharismaitc leaders remain open and willing to be influenced, this is the first role of “Assessing the Environment” in the first stage, “The search for the opportunity”. It means the assessment and adaptation to the environmental variables are what support our integration and survival in new situations instead of projecting our own perceptions and values to the context!
