Definition-

Are you a learner of English at the upper intermediate level (CEFR level B2)? This part provides reading exercises to assist you in comprehending texts with a broad vocabulary where you may need to take the author's perspective into account. Articles, reports, messages, short stories, and reviews are all examples of texts.

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Example-

Successful Brazilian project manager Gabriela was hired by a multinational corporation to lead a team in Sweden. Although she was thrilled about her new position, she quickly realized that leading her new staff would be difficult. 

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Gabriela didn't feel respected despite their warmth as a group. When she gave orders to her new team for a task, they frequently carried it out independently without consulting her, publicly challenging her recommendations in meetings. They would keep voicing their ideas as though the subject was still up for discussion after she stated her decisions on it.

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Gabriela's displeasure with her team drove her to email her Swedish manager after many weeks. Her manager only queried whether she thought her team was still performing and sought her opinion on how she could work more effectively with her team. Gabriela didn't think her manager was handling the problem effectively because she found him to be evasive. 

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Gabriela was going through a cultural expectation clash. She was accustomed to a more hierarchical structure in which the manager and team leader took charge and provided detailed directions. Her team in Brazil benefited from her more directive management style, while her new team in Sweden did not, as they were more accustomed to a flatter structure and more democratic decision-making. When Gabriela brought up the problem with her Swedish boss, he decided to play the role of coach and encourage her to come up with her own answers rather than telling her what to do. 

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Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist, used the idea of "power distance" to explain how power is distributed and hierarchy is viewed differently among cultures. Gabriela was accustomed to a high power distance culture where authoritative figures are revered and everyone has a position in society. Leaders make the important decisions in this type of culture and are not frequently questioned. However, her Swedish colleagues were accustomed to working in a low power distance culture where employees frequently collaborate with their superiors to solve problems and take decisions. Here, leaders take on the role of coaches or mentors who support free thought and anticipate being tested. 

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Gabriela initiated an open discussion with her team about their opinions of her leadership once she became aware of the cultural gaps between her and them. Gabriela's staff openly said that they weren't accustomed to being instructed what to do while appreciating the opportunity to share their opinions. More room for initiative and creative flexibility was appreciated by them. They thought she didn't trust them to execute their jobs successfully when she explained to her team exactly what she required them to do. They were able to explain that it was how they had always operated after realizing that Gabriela was taking their attempts to question or alter her judgments personally.

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Gabriela and her team were able to modify their method of working because they had a greater grasp of the underlying causes of one another's behavior. After that, Gabriela was able to modify her leadership style to better suit her team's expectations and inspire them to reach their objectives.

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Conclusion-

Each lesson includes a model text with writing tips, and tasks to test your understanding and practice various writing skills. Begin right away. Hope that this article helped you and for more information on relevant topics you can visit the SpeakoClub website and can learn and explore more about English speaking and writing.

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