When communicating, the American is listening for signs that his or her individual accomplishments have been noted and appreciated: a compliment, a positive tone of voice, some evidence that the other person is impressed is what he or she is expecting.
The American, however, is not likely to get much attention from some of their overseas counterparts who have different expectations.
For an American, individual performance is acknowledged and rewarded. However, in many cultures, performance acknowledgment is group oriented, group rewarded and group focused, not individually focused.
Because of these differing attitudes, American leaders are sometimes viewed by persons from other cultures as being arrogant. This is a false assumption.
In turn, Americans may tend to view people from group oriented cultures as being weak, which is also a false assumption.
What is your attitude? What is your focus?
