In a recent newsletter, I presented a classic cross-cultural conflict where a junior marketing employee (Emily) wanted to discuss opportunities for promotion with her Japanese manager (Suzuki-san), but Suzuki-san felt she was not ready. Emily produced great marketing results, but Suzuki-san felt Emily needed to make more effort in consulting with management before taking action and helping her teammates. The cultural issues here are related to what people believe employees need to have in order to qualify for a promotion - in Emily’s case, showing results, and in Suzuki-san’s case, being a team player.
Unfortunately, I did not receive responses from Japanese readers (granted, posing questions in Japanese next time would likely help). However, even within the foreign community, the responses are mixed.
Come check out what readers had to say:
If Emily is in a Japanese company based in Japan, she is going to have the same problem wherever she goes. Expats in Japan often find that some self-reflection is important in understanding cultural mis-fit, and may look to work at Western companies based in Japan to help them transition to work and life in Japan. Emily is going to have to recognize that every company, not only every country, has specific cultural values that require navigating. Her boss Suzuki-san has provided her with very specific suggestions (management approval on content, attend team social events) that if she implemented would help her be more effective quickly.
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Fire Suzuki-san, give Emily the management role. Put her in charge of modernizing the company.
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The scenario is possibly flawed - My understanding is that Emily is working towards a non-Japanese market and an expert in her field - feelings and the Japanese way of achieving goals is irrelevant & redundant - for this target market online - there is a risk that 'the Japanese way' will indirectly mess up - confuse the message and perhaps Emily and misalign the intended brand identity by owners of the brand/project with the brand image. Which comes back to why did they hire a non-japanese person in the first place? is it because they can not do it? Trust is missing from the equation.
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I would remind Emily that she's in Japan not the US, and there's different work ethics. I'd also tell Emily to get educated in Japanese culture and learn the way Japanese companies expect from their employees. I would remind the manager that she's dealing with an American that has ingrained work values that are quite different from her Japanese counterpart. Tell manager to send Emily to a workshop that teaches the Japanese way and what's expected.
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In this case, Suzuki-san may perceive Emily’s approach as too aggressive in lieu of her limited time with the company. A request for promotion based on the success of a single project (despite Emily’s disregard for protocol, etc.) might pose a red flag for a lot of Japanese employers, now wondering if every successful project Emily completes will immediately be followed by another demand in pay or position.
At the same time, however, Emily probably feels left in the dark as to what conditions constitute consideration to a promotion. She would definitely have a higher sense of security if such conditions were written into her contract.
If Suzuki-san’s company does not have an established set of conditions for such consideration and base promotions on a more overall assessment, then this should be simply explained to Emily so that she does not carry false expectations and can leave the company if she does not agree with their “unwritten” policy. Suzuki-san should be as truthful as possible and let fate decide. If, however, she can come to appreciate the wholistic approach the company uses when considering promotion, it’d be an educational experience for her as well as a plus for the company.
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Suzuki-san is toxic and needs to be let go. Suzuki-sans poor hiring choices resulted in the fact that most employees were lagging behind Emily, who is top performer, whom Suzuki-san is about to lose. Giving Suzuki-san’s role to Emily would result in higher productivity across the board as her direct approach would mean that less time is being wasted. On top of that, being the SME Emily would be able to lead by example and mentor other employees in the process.
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I would suggest Emily needs to understand the environment she is working in and while I understand her western approach its also important to consider the culture within which she is working. In stead of looking for a new job (and most likely stepping into a similar situation again) maybe she could work with her manager in setting some teamwork KPI's to support her continued great results in productivity.