What are possible areas of culture conflict that may impact leadership performance?

Hofstede(1980) identified four culture dimensions that may impact leadership/follower behavior as; power distance, uncertainity avoidance, masculunity, and individualism. Culture conflict raises its head in the areas of validation, decision making, perception, time management and task versus relationship etc. It is prudent that today's leadership be able to manage cultural diversity in the work/market place on the back drop of fast globalizing world and different values, beliefs and norms. Thus leadership style should be sensitive to the potential cultural conflict that may impact one's leadership efficacy.

Does culture context impact one's leadership style?

The way people think and perceive things is modelled by their culture values, norms, beliefs and past experiences ( Hofstede, 1980). Culture is likely to influence one's behavior and how they react to situations. Empirical eveidence suggests that transformational leadership style transcend cultures (Globe, 1999). What is important in leadership is to understand the context under which one is leading. The process dymanics in decision making and validation between different cultures may impact the process of leadership hence it is importnat for one to adapt their style in order to achieve desired results.