Speaking of India by Craig Storti

Author:Craig Storti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Published: 2015-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

Going Through the Boss

Probably the most common problem the empowerment difference causes in the workplace is when Westerners try to deal directly with subordinates on an Indian team without going through the Indian boss, even concerning very routine matters. Not surprisingly, subordinates who have not been empowered are not comfortable acting without the knowledge and concurrence of their manager, and they would typically try to avoid responding to any contact that did not go through the chain of command. If they received an e-mail sent directly to them, for example, requesting some information, asking their views on something, or asking them to do something, they would typically either not answer or would show the e-mail to their manager.

If they were approached in person by a Westerner and asked to do something or asked their opinion of something, they might try to stall until they could alert their superior, dodge the request somehow, or put the Westerner in touch with their boss. An American woman told me how she e-mailed all the members of a newly hired team in India to ask them for their employee identification numbers and did not get an answer. She e-mailed them a second time and again got no reply, but on the third try she received an e-mail back from the team’s boss (whom she had not e-mailed) saying he was collecting the information she had asked for and would be forwarding it. Another Western client told me that after she had trained an Indian team at a call center on a new procedure, she asked the participants for their feedback and any suggestions for improving the training. The participants said very little, but the next day she got an e-mail from the group’s team leader saying he understood she had asked his team for feedback on her training and indicating that he would consult his team and get back to her with their suggestions.

For related reasons, Indians who work directly for a Western boss will want to check with him or her before doing the most routine tasks, including tasks that have explicitly been delegated. Another American manager told me that every time an Indian man she worked with offshore, nine and a half hours away in New Delhi, wanted to take his dinner break, he asked her (via instant messaging) if it was OK. She told him it wasn’t necessary to ask, but he insisted it was “because I’m your subordinate.” Eventually he did stop asking for permission but still routinely notified her when he was going on break and what time he would return. When Indian subordinates routinely check in with a Western manager, thinking they’re being polite and respectful, they’re actually annoying the manager, who considers it a waste of time to have to deal with matters he or she has delegated.

Westerners are used to contacting subordinates directly, since they assume that within reason subordinates can make their own decisions and exercise whatever authority has been delegated to them. When Indian

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