Question

Ebrima Kanteh works as a supervisor for an engineering company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the UK he had a reputation for speaking his mind and by doing so getting the best out of his staff. At the current project in Riyadh he supervises 12 British staff and nearly 50 Saudi staff. After a few months Ebrima has become increasingly frustrated by what he sees a less than effective Saudi team. Their lack of competence and slow work pace is worrying George. What should he do to try and bring the Saudi staff back into line?

Answer 1

Answer:

He should try to analyze and understand how Saudi workers view the role of a leader and teamwork. Cultural differences between Saudi Arabia and the UK are huge, the only similarity is that both are monarchies, but British monarchy stepped aside and doesn't rule anymore. While Saudi monarchy rules with an iron fist.

Some behavior or actions that are considered completely out of place or might even be illegal in the UK are totally normal in Saudi Arabia, and vice versa. I met someone that used to work in the middle east and he remembers that subordinates have a great respect for their leaders and do not question anything. But at the same time, normal motivation techniques didn't work with them. I remember he told me that in order to be able to make his team work he had to be rude with them and basically order them what to do and make sure they did it. This behavior would be unacceptable in western countries, bosses do not yell at employees all the time, but it worked for him there.

It wasn't the same country, but in order to work properly he had to overcome several cultural barriers and adopt several local customs. By the way, his subordinates were happy with him. No one ever confronted him and told him not to yell at people, since that is normal for them.

Ebrima will need to treat his British subordinates one way, and his Saudi subordinates another way. He should also talk to his fellow British employees and explain them why he is acting that way. If he doesn't, some of them might think he is abusing his authority. When my friend told about his experience I also thought he had become a really bad boss, but them he explained things to me in greater detail.