The Harvard Business Review article “Leading Global Teams Effectively” (May 2025) spotlights a critical challenge: Western leaders, trained in individualistic values like autonomy and transparency, often struggle to engage the 70% of the global workforce shaped by collectivist, hierarchical cultures. While the article identifies four common missteps—too much autonomy, psychological safety, emphasis on differences, and transparency—it stops short of offering a practical roadmap for sustainable change.
As a cross-cultural trainer working with leaders from Shanghai to San Francisco, I’ve seen how well-intentioned Western assumptions derail collaboration.
To bridge this gap, I developed and teach the Triple A Model—Awareness, Appreciation, Adaptation—a framework that moves beyond stereotypes to foster inclusive, agile leadership. Here’s how to apply it to HBR’s four pitfalls.
1. Too Much Autonomy: Recognize That “Empowerment” Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
Western leaders often assume autonomy universally motivates, but in hierarchical cultures (e.g., Vietnam, Saudi Arabia), unclear directives can signal neglect rather than trust.
Triple A Approach:
- Awareness: Map cultural preferences using tools like the Globe Study’s Performance Orientation dimension. Recognize that autonomy may trigger anxiety in teams accustomed to structured guidance.
- Appreciation: Understand that reliance on hierarchy isn’t a weakness—it’s a system that ensures clarity and shared accountability.
- Adaptation: Blend autonomy with scaffolding. For example, a U.S. tech leader I coached redesigned workflows for their Mexican team by pairing open-ended goals with weekly “check-in anchors” to provide reassurance.
Key Shift: Replace “Why aren’t they taking initiative?” with “How can I clarify expectations in a culturally resonant way?”
2. Too Much Psychological Safety: Respect Silence as Strategy
While Westerners equate psychological safety with open debate, many collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan, Ghana) prioritize harmony and indirect communication.
Triple A Approach:
- Awareness: Use anonymous surveys or small-group discussions to uncover how teams prefer to voice dissent.
- Appreciation: Recognize that silence isn’t disengagement—it’s often a sign of respect or a desire to protect group cohesion.
- Adaptation: Create alternative channels for feedback. A German CEO I advised introduced a “pre-meeting consensus round” where team members shared concerns privately with managers beforehand, ensuring quieter voices were heard without public friction.
Key Shift: Move from “We need more candid dialogue!” to “How can we design safe spaces that honor diverse communication styles?”
3. Too Much Emphasis on Differences: Balance Culture with Commonalities
While understanding differences is vital, overemphasizing them breeds stereotyping. A Dutch team I worked with labeled their Indonesian colleagues “risk-averse,” missing their innovative approaches to relationship-driven problem-solving.
Triple A Approach:
- Awareness: Audit team assumptions. Tools like the Cultural Orientations Framework help identify biases without reducing individuals to cultural caricatures.
- Appreciation: Celebrate how cultural values (e.g., collectivism’s focus on stability) can complement Western priorities (e.g., innovation).
- Adaptation: Focus on shared goals. For a U.S.-Indian team, we reframed “deadlines” as “milestones for collective success,” blending American urgency with Indian flexibility.
Key Shift: Replace “They’re just different” with “How do our differences strengthen our shared mission?”
4. Too Much Transparency: Honor Face and Indirect Feedback
Radical transparency can alienate face-saving cultures (e.g., South Korea, Turkey), where public critique risks shame and eroded trust.
Triple A Approach:
- Awareness: Learn how “face” operates in your team’s cultures. For example, in China, indirect feedback preserves dignity.
- Appreciation: Recognize that indirectness isn’t evasion—it’s a nuanced way to maintain relationships and long-term alignment.
- Adaptation: Layer transparency with tact. A British executive I coached began framing mistakes as “team learning opportunities” and shifted critiques to private, one-on-one settings for their Korean team, boosting morale and accountability.
Key Shift: Move from “Why can’t they handle honesty?” to “How can I deliver feedback in a way that preserves dignity?”
The Triple A Model in Action: From Theory to Practice
The Triple A Model isn’t about abandoning Western leadership principles—it’s about curating them. For example:
- Awareness: Train teams to recognize their own cultural lenses through immersive simulations (e.g., negotiating a project timeline with a “hierarchical” vs. “egalitarian” mindset).
- Appreciation: Host “Culture Storytelling” sessions where team members share personal experiences of values like “success” or “trust.”
- Adaptation: Co-create hybrid rituals, like a “flexible autonomy charter” that defines where teams need structure vs. freedom.
Global Leadership is a Journey, Not a Checklist
Cultural intelligence isn’t about memorizing dos and don’ts—it’s about cultivating curiosity, humility, and the willingness to re-examine your assumptions. As I remind clients: “Your cultural lens is just one way of seeing the world. The magic happens when you learn to see through others’ eyes too.”
Download your free copy of the Triple A Cheat Sheet Here
Terence is a cross-cultural trainer and founder of Upskill Consulting. He specializes in helping leaders transform cultural friction into innovation.
Adapted from HBR’s “Leading Global Teams Effectively” (May 2025), reimagined through the Triple A Model—a practical framework for leaders committed to inclusive, adaptive collaboration.