Today, almost all business is global business. Cultural awareness is core for successful businesspeople today. This post is part in an ongoing series to help readers leverage insights into the eight dimensions of culturally based work style differences, so you can raise your own global business productivity.
Rod Serling introduced “The Twilight Zone” each week with the words: “You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind.” Had he been expert in multi-cultural work styles and communication, he might have added “…and of time.” Time Orientation, it turns out, is profoundly deep-seated in humans and their cultures. And for some, the challenges of working with multi-cultural teams is not unlike entering “The Twilight Zone.”
Simply put, Time Orientation describes the amount of control you believe you have over time, as well as how that belief affects the way you manage time, personally and professionally. Do you proactively control your schedule and time, or do you let the days unfold in more organic, flexible ways?
The CultureWizard Intercultural Model© defines Time Orientation as a dimension of culture that runs from “Controlled,” on one end, to “Fluid” on the other, encompassing:
- Levels of adherence to agendas and deadlines;
- Levels of comfort with short-range versus long-term planning;
- The importance a society places on relationship-building versus time-keeping;
- The rigidity of start and finish times for both business meetings and social functions.
Those who come from a Controlled culture use expressions such as “saving time,” “spending time,” or “managing time.” In Fluid cultures, people generally believe there are many unpredictable circumstances that impact time and, therefore, one’s ability to move through tasks in a given period
Time Orientation is both simple and complex. Time differences are easily recognizable when you watch how people behave in multi-cultural work environments. You can see it in a person’s general preoccupation with meetings and agendas, the speed with which people move between activities, and the perceived importance of schedules. The complexity arises when Time is influenced by other dimensions important to intercultural communication, such as the need for harmony in the workplace and the importance of investing in relationships.
Multi-Cultural Views of ‘The Time Keeper’
I was once a part of an intercultural team that was meeting in New York with members from Latin America and Europe. The meeting was led by executives who came from Controlled cultures and an organizational culture that was laser focused on keeping to fixed schedules and to making “every minute count.”
At this particular session, the chairman identified a colleague to be the “time keeper,” and presented him with a large, analog timer that was set to ring whenever anyone had reached the predetermined time limit of their presentation. The Latin Americans who were part of our multi-cultural team looked at each other in quiet dismay. Theirs, of course, is a famously Fluid culture when it comes to Time, and they couldn’t quite believe that such a device would be used.
One delegate from Colombia started speaking but couldn’t take his eyes off the ticking timer. He eventually surrendered the floor without making many of his prepared points. Another delegate from Mexico couldn’t believe that the timer went off in the middle of her presentation. When the time keeper told her that she was out-of-time – indicating she should leave the podium – she was shocked, saying, “I’m hardly finished!”
Some of the Latin American delegates didn’t return to the session after the break, and others only spoke during the Q&A segments. I asked them how they felt about the timer, (as if I didn’t know) and several explained that they decided not to give their presentations because they felt uncomfortable and worried that the time keeper would cut them off if they didn’t finish “on time.” They said they could not understand how people worked like that!
The Clash of Culturally Divergent Work Styles
The clash of culturally divergent work styles – that is, between Controlled Time and Fluid Time people – can be frustrating, indeed, and it plagues businesspeople perhaps more than anyone. Because time is so pervasive, it influences just about everything in the business world: meetings, deadlines, production timelines, social engagements. . . the list goes on.
No one argues with the need for a schedule of some sort, but differing cultural attitudes towards time-keeping are often disguised. While schedules might be thoughtfully designed, they might not be adhered to at all.
For example, you might arrive at an international business meeting and receive a comprehensive two-day agenda incorporating 15-minute business-unit summaries, only to find that speaker after speaker goes on twice as long as scheduled. So, while it is simple to set up the agenda, getting people from different cultures to adhere to it can be challenging. As U.S. comedian Jerry Seinfeld once explained: “You know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding.” The most important part of the schedule, for some, is adhering to it, not just setting it.
Or you might find that, at the conclusion of a meeting, members of the group put together a comprehensive, detailed action plan. Yet three months later, you realize that some of the individuals are working on a completely different schedule. While there appears to be agreement about the schedule and tasks, the true meaning of that agreement can vary dramatically for colleagues from different cultures.
Culturally Determined Attitudes Towards Time
In the world’s many Fluid Time cultures – which includes Southern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa – people believe that time is a variable, not a taskmaster. These people tend to pay greater attention to relationships and the long-term than to short-term schedules. In practice, this can mean that plans might change frequently to accommodate what these cultures consider to be more valuable objectives: preserving harmony, building interpersonal trust, adhering to a hierarchy, and saving face. Consequently, when someone is late, or goes over the “time limit,” it doesn’t reflect negatively on that person’s character or ability.
Controlled Time cultures – such as those of Northern Europe, the U.S., Canada, and some parts of East Asia – view time as finite; a commodity that can, and must, be controlled, lest it be wasted. Many of the old-time proverbs are based on this concept: “A stitch in time saves nine,” “Make haste, not waste,” and “The early bird gets the worm.” Thus, activities are carefully crafted and prioritized to fit within a limited number of hours. These cultures so value time that they take time-management courses.
How might this different perception of time play out interculturally? A colleague and I scheduled an important meeting with an HR leader based in Mexico. It took weeks to identify a convenient date, and as the project deadline loomed, we were able to set a call at 1:00 PM central time. Unfortunately, I was to be in transit at that time. In order to make the call, I left rather early for the airport so I could set up in a quiet place in the terminal.
At the stroke of 1:00 PM, we dialed into the conference line and, after a few minutes, the client was still not there. We started texting to remind her of the time, and when 15 minutes passed, we started calling her. At 30 minutes past we wrote an email explaining that we were still online waiting.
After another 10 minutes she finally joined. At this point we were quite frazzled, knowing that we no longer had time for the call due to the boarding time of the flight. But instead of apologizing, she said that she’d seen our texts, but was finishing lunch with a close friend, and she didn’t want to be rude by leaving before the meal ended! What’s more, she was a bit surprised that we had to leave in 10 minutes to board a flight. “Why do you schedule things so closely?” she asked.
This kind of behavior goes much deeper than Time Orientation; it demonstrates a clash in the fundamental belief that one can – and should – accomplish many things in one day. As this anecdote attests, this attitude is at odds with cultures that value quality over quantity. Leisurely finishing the meal with a friend was more important than a rushed meeting.
Strategies for Multi-cultural Work Style Success
In Controlled Time cultures, your effectiveness is judged by your on-time performance. The corporate financial structure is designed to perform and report achievements at quarterly intervals. The inability to adhere to the schedules related to these events have profound ramifications on corporate-wide earnings. Therefore, managers are praised when they adhere to schedules and reprimanded when they miss their targets.
So, to work successfully with Controlled Time cultures, remember:
- There will be a strong preference for implementing and adhering to very structured systems and processes for managing time and organizing work. Don’t be afraid to diplomatically challenge this thinking by suggesting that it’s possible, for instance, to continue a productive discussion even though the meeting time has ended.
- Controlled folk may have little tolerance for spontaneous, loosely structured, unscheduled conversations, emails or phone calls. Try to model that approach and communicate in a direct, brief, targeted style.
- Very structured, time-focused people can interpret delays in responding to requests for information as demonstrating a lack of competence, efficiency, commitment, or interest. Providing some context about why there was such a delay can mitigate negative perceptions.
- People from Controlled cultures often feel comfortable developing detailed plans and timelines for the short- and medium-term. If you feel some variables have not been adequately considered or the timeline does not seem reasonable for the cultures involved, explain your thoughts.
In Fluid cultures, performance is based on one’s flexibility and relationship focus. A belief that solid relationships lead to a quicker and less problematic result often overrides schedules and timelines. There might even be a perception that a more linear, controlled-time approach is too constraining and narrow, not leaving room for new ideas and for movement between roles and responsibilities.
To work successfully with Fluid Time cultures, remember:
- Individuals prefer to build flexibility into processes and timelines. They consider it counterproductive to end a discussion merely because the scheduled meeting time has expired.
- Others might not share your preference for more direct, concise forms of communication. It’s a good idea if you develop a tolerance for more loosely structured, unscheduled conversations, emails, and phone calls.
- Others might want to have checkpoints to measure progress and, even if those checkpoints are not accepted by everyone, the project-conclusion date must be respected.
- Acceptance of a deadline does not mean that other individuals are as committed as you are to adhere to it. If the deadline is crucial, it’s best to closely manage the milestones, have regular updates, and explain the negative impact of not meeting the deadline.
The rise of global, multi-cultural organizations creates challenging situations regarding punctuality and time, because each of the cultures present holds its Time Orientation value deeply. Compromising relationships to meet schedules does not work in Fluid Time cultures, and people from Controlled Time cultures have difficulty seeing the value of being more flexible with time. Consequently, as you approach someone on your multi-cultural team who has a different perspective on time, think carefully about their point of view and try to see where flexibility is possible so you all can achieve the best outcome.
