Leading Through Language: What Do You Speak (And Hear)?

Abstract

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger famously coined the phrase, “Language is the house of being.” The language we speak and the words we use can reveal our cultural mindset and world-view. But meanings are easily lost in translation; the same terms used in one culture can have vastly different meanings in another, with profound and all too often disastrous consequences for international business. Under hyper-globalization, all entrepreneurs and managers must be global citizens. More important than knowing how to bow, kiss or shake hands or whether to bring wine to dinner in Singapore, they must be competent at working with, persuading, and empowering people from totally different value systems. Leaders and managers can greatly enhance their cross-cultural competence by learning even fragments of another language—an essential key to the capacity to stand in the shoes of the target culture.