The Freedom of Choice
by Dr. Keith E. Webb
May 2008

Americans worship choice.

The freedom to choose seems to be one of its highest cultural values. Consider:

• 302 breakfast cereals
• 94 shampoos
• 100+ types of dog food
• Democracy
• A tall decafe extra shot skinny vanilla latte
• 3 worship services, each with a different style of music, sermon length, and dress code

In many places of the world, choices are much more limited. In Japan, if the breakfast menu shows a picture of bacon and 2 eggs sunnyside up, don't ask for scrambled eggs. You won't get it - I've tried!

Choice and the freedom to make independent decisions are also called personal autonomy.

Many cultural contexts around the world allow for little independent decision making, unless you are a senior ranking person. Personal autonomy tends to be higher in the USA and Northern European countries and lower in more group-oriented societies like much of Asia, Egypt, Italy, and Mexico.

Expatriates, including coaches, are sometimes unaware of how this dynamic effects them and their clients. Becoming aware of and working through social environments can maximize results.

How to Coach It

Raising Awareness
When exploring a situation, dig into the interrelated influences in the coachee's social environment:

* What outcome does your organization desire?
* How do your team members view things?
* What's the opinion of your local ministry partners?
* How does your spouse view the situation?
* What's the normal cultural way of handling this? (If they don't know, make sure their homework is to find out!)

Creating Actions
When setting action steps or creating a plan ask questions about the coachee's social environment:

* Who have you consulted regarding this plan?
* What does your boss, team, local partners think about the plan?
* Who will be effected by this plan? (Help the coachee to think through the implications for each person/group. Ask about other people/groups that he or she left out.)

Freedom to Act
Many people are not empowered by their organization or context to make decisions and act. Operating with less freedom to choose may feel confining.

By "going with the flow" of the group - the social environment - it's possible to get consensus, make decisions, and move forward. Negotiating all those interrelated relationships may take time up front, but it pays off when others are on board and cooperating with the group's decision.

It's said that Americans make decisions quickly then troubleshoot and change later. Japanese discuss thoroughly and make slow decisions that rarely change later.

As with many cross-cultural differences: it's not right or wrong, it's just different.

-------Join the dialogue and leave your comments here-------

Copyright © 2008 Keith E. Webb & CRM

Find more coaching articles here.

Editors, publishers & webmasters: You may reprint these articles free of charge if you follow our reprint guidelines.

Dr. Keith E. Webb is a trainer and experienced cross-cultural leadership coach helping organizations, teams, and individuals multiply their cross-cultural impact. Find free articles at http://www.CreativeResultsManagement.com.