The following are some excerpts of a research report that I did for a multi-national company operating in Southeast Asia  that has Western expatriates leading national managers.  Five key principles were discovered through the stories told by the nationals that Western managers working cross-culturally should take to heart.

All respondents want more of a relational style of communication from their direct supervisors.  This comment was the strongest need expressed from all the participants.  Their supervisors primarily use a direct, one-way communication with them that rarely goes beyond work related issues.  The host culture is one that values relationships, family, and the whole person.  It is vital for Western supervisors to take time each day to ask how their subordinates’ family members are doing (M1).   Westerners tend to use logic (their head), while Indonesians tend to use feeling/emotions (their heart).  If the Western supervisors could open up their hearts to their subordinates, the nationals would respond more favorably (M2).  The nationals are looking for either a father figure in their leaders or a close friend that they can trust. (more…)