• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Women's Executive Board

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Member Login
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Membership
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Member Login
Back to Blog

Leadership is Knowing How to Ask

In my experience, assumption is already the #1 business sin; the destroyer of deals, the terrorizer of team dynamics — yet it continues to pervade businesses the world over and therefore ought to be at the very top of the list of behaviors to be trained out of talented professionals.

One area in which assumption can most visibly rear its ugly head is in the coming together of different cultures and generations in a global team.

Although the varied skills and experiences of global teams can make for a vibrant and highly capable business unit; bringing together different ages, different upbringings and different sociological influences can also conspire to create a team which finds it hard to understand each other. This is something I call diversity tension in my book Global Leadership: The Next Generation.

I often find myself speaking on the subject of ‘appreciating diversity’ — which is the natural antidote to diversity tension — and the need to take a deeper look at the actions of the people you are working with.

At one recent global conference I was giving a keynote on how to build a global coaching culture. I was sharing the typical characteristics of different generations of employees and remarking on how different generations are often unable to appreciate the positives of each other and how important it is to understand and value colleagues of different generations for their contributions — however different to your own.

I was considering the impact that upbringing has on Generation X and Y employees compared to their parents in the Baby Boomer generation. Although, in many respects, the emerging generations are perhaps more naturally suited to global leadership, due to the impact of technology on their awareness of other cultures, music, news and lifestyles; different cultural forces in their upbringing still create differences in working style that the global leader must take the time to understand.

For example, during the speech I talked about the impact that China’s one child policy has had on a generation of employees. Known as ‘Little Emperors and Empresses’, what impact does the focused attention and resources they have enjoyed from their parents and grandparents mean for them as employees? Does it make them individualistic? Or does it make them privileged with expectations that can’t be met?

During a break in the conference, a young Chinese delegate came up to talk to me. She argued that yes, she and her generation were privileged but this focus of attention came with an equal pressure of responsibility, with no siblings to share it with. “We can’t fail, we are expected to live out our parents’ expectations of us,” she said. Compare this to the typical characteristics of a Generation Y worker in Western society who is perhaps more focused on work-life balance and you can see how a global leader with a diverse team will have to figure out two completely different ways of hiring, motivating and rewarding two members of the same generation!

Each generation and culture has something unique to offer and different ways of tackling challenges. Yet it is all too easy for each generation or culture to assume that they are the best and others are less effective.

I was teaching an Executive Education class at a leading university recently and I asked the delegates to group themselves into their respective generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y.

I asked each group what was important to them, what they felt they had to offer and, perhaps most importantly, what they wished other generations could appreciate about them and what they needed to be successful.

What was most striking about their responses was that, among the differences in working styles and approaches, there was a common need to be understood and respected. Each group felt there were too many assumptions made about their generation: ‘baby boomers are out of touch’, ‘the younger generation is lazy and too informal’ were comments they often heard.

Talented global leaders, with diverse teams, avoid making these broad assumptions and are intrigued by different perspectives, rather than threatened by them. They are also proactive in rooting out unhelpful assumptions held by others.

Here are some key points to consider:

  1. Take advantage of any opportunity to work within the rich tapestry of global cultures, generations and traditions that create your business landscape
  2. Listen to all points of view in your team, no matter how apparently different they seem from your own
  3. Remain open and curious about how other people think and operate
  4. Actively explore the differences between team members in order to increase understanding and strengthen working relationships, rather than letting them inhibit progress
  5. Make asking, rather than telling, your leadership style. Ask questions, ask for information, ask for ideas — and ask for feedback.

As the internationally-renowned business thinker Peter Drucker put it: “The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.”

By taking this open, curious approach, any diversity tension you find in your team will quickly dissipate — creating a powerful and truly global dynamic within the business that can deliver a tangible, commercial edge for you and your team.

About the Author: Maya Hu-Chan is C-Suite Coach with Executive Development Associates, in addition to an international management consultant, executive coach, and author. In 2013 she was rated one of the World’s Top 8 Global Solutions Thinkers by Thinkers50, and one of the World’s Top 30 Leadership Gurus.

Harvard Business School has chosen her book Global Leadership: The Next Generation to be one of their Working Knowledge recommended books. She is also a contributing author to 10 leadership and management books.

Maya was born and raised in Taiwan and lives in San Diego, California. She has worked with thousands of leaders in Global Fortune 500 companies around the world.

Previous Post
Virtual Leadership – Trust Not Control
Next Post
FREE DOWNLOAD: How Smart Investment in Culture Increases Revenue

This amazing group of women has become an important part of my life, both personally and professionally! I love the mentorship of the group and the benefit of taking away different lessons from each perspective.

Allison Dickens, Owner, Ludger's Bavarian Cakery

Being an entrepreneur can be a scary road for what lies ahead. However, being with a group of entrepreneurs walking the same road that helps you devise a plan for the unknown and to revel in the joy…well that is WEB.

Tani Kelley, Advertising Specialties and Spirit Accessories, President and Owner

I joined WEB with the hope of networking with other women in leadership roles. But what I get out of it is vastly more. I have relationships with a trusted group of mentors that inspire me and provide guidance and support in all aspects of life. My confidence in my problem solving and leadership has grown exponentially through the ability to present specific business challenges and receive constructive feedback and guidance. WEB provides a safe environment along with the support and encouragement needed to continually work on my personal and emotional growth. As a result WEB is an essential component for achieving my professional and personal goals.

Sarah Fields, President, Jetta Corporation

As you move higher up in an organization, you find yourself is a somewhat lonely position. You aren’t always certain who to trust and often you can get caught up in your own perceptions of issues. WEB has allowed me to work through some of my most complex and passion-filled challenges in a safe and accountable environment. The women in WEB hold me to my highest standard; value the trust of the organization; and have impacted my business in a positive and lucrative manner. WEB is the best investment I have made in my personal and professional self in the last 15 years. It makes the budget every year because the ROI can’t be beat.

Ashley K. Perkins, Vice President, Omaha/Sun Valley, Cox Business

WEB is a wonderful opportunity to network and collaborate with other executive women in many industries. Sharing real personal and professional challenges with an intimate group of trusted executive women who experience similar trials in their profession each day has become an important part of my own growth and my decision-making process- I learn as I share, and I learn just as much from the experiences of others.

Sara Tsoodle, VP of Client Services & Operations, Tricorps Technologies

I joined WEB while my business was small, and my knowledge of business ownership was limited. The founder, Lynn Flinn is insightful, and her business acumen and savvy are unmatched. She is one of the most influential and community-focused leaders in Tulsa. Through her leadership at WEB, women are learning to grow their businesses, lead effectively, deal with difficult situations, and pursue excellence and balance. The women in the group serve as a type of advisory board to your business. Because of the WEB group, my business has grown from one to fifteen employees, my client list has grown, and I am a more confident professional.

Angela Byers, Owner, Byers Creative

WEB is a safe and comfortable environment to share your business’s successes and challenges. To me, this organization serves as my unofficial board of directors. As such, they are an integral part of my planning, goal setting, and strategic business decision making process.

Managing Partner, real estate investment firm

“It’s lonely at the top” is more true than I thought before joining WEB. Being able to share problems and opportunities in a small, trusted setting of other women leaders has been enriching in my business and personal life. This has been true in surprisingly different ways … smart women from completely different backgrounds can still provide a wealth of advice, related experiences and encouragement … finding like situations among other women in leadership and benefitting from those … making lifelong friends … the small groups and retreats provide bonding opportunities unlike any other group I’ve joined.

Pleased and rewarded to have been a member from Day 1.

Joyce Madewell, Executive Vice President, SpiritBank

Ready to step up your game?

Apply for Membership

© 2023 Women's Executive Board. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.