Brainthrough Lazy Sunday #28

Hello and welcome. It is August. Can you imagine? August! We just had New Year’s Eve.

Also on the menu: last month of Northern hemisphere summer! Please enjoy!

There were rumours of snowfall in Australia this week. Snow!!!!

Enough ☀️ and ❄️….

Topic of the week: power distance

Two weeks ago, we started to look into culture, its impact on management / leadership and its influence on neuroscience (or vice versa). If you missed it, read it here.

Last week, we went a bit more granular.

Over the years, cultural studies defined various “dimensions” across which culture can be compared. The most prominent study, by Hofstede, mapped countries across an “individualistic” and “collectivistic” scale. Read last week article here.

Today we go into another dimension called “Power Distance” (PDI).

In my experience, this is the most important cultural dimension. Power is the basis for all relationships. Every organization is based on power distribution.

Most managers stumble here.

Now, what is “Power Distance”?

Power Distance - Scientific Definition

To quote from Hofstede and Minkov:

In a less scientific way: think about power distance as hierarchy. How much do individuals, e.g. employees, accept and rely on the fact that other members, e.g. managers, have more power and status, to make decisions for the good of the overall group?

The central point of power distance is the acceptance of inequality.

I know this might sound like a weird statement for some of the readers, but many cultures, corporate cultures included, are based on that.

Before we go into the examples, let us have a look at the culture map for power distance.

Let us pick some countries on both extremes of the scale:

Power Distance and “Individualism vs. Collectivism” (Ivs.C)

Interestingly, Ivs.C and power distance are very similarly distributed across the nations.

Cultures with large power distance are more likely to accept hierarchy. Kids accept that parents or grandparents make the decisions. Subordinates accept that managers have the power to decide. The is little open, joint discussion on the way forward.

Countries scoring high on individualism, also have small power distance between the members of society, within groups and families.

They are more likely to openly argue with their manager as they care about making decisions that are best for them. Power distance to the boss is small, and individualistic scale (”me”) is high.

Power Distance in real life

I am taking you to India. In 2015, we were a couple of months into driving a big development project. We hired a development team in Hyderabad and things were slow. So I flew over to meet the team: two managers and around 13 developers.

If we have a look at cultural differences between India and Germany we see that India scores pretty high on the power distance scale.

During my visit, two things stood out:

• the managers and I, were the only one talking: unless there was a specific ask from the manager to the team.

• I was expected to make decisions and give guidance on features of the project, although they were (in my view) hired to do exactly that.

Back in 2015, I did not really understand this.

But, in countries with large power distance, like India, the manager

• has the right to talk

• is expected to make decisions

• is not to be interrupted or argued with in front of others

• is looked up to for guidance.

This results in a direct, authoritative, one-way leadership style.

Boss decides, subordinates deliver.

The team of developers trusted their managers and me to go through the project plan, features details and design elements.

But there was another level of power distance I did not realize:

I was the customer. Hence, I had the “largest” power in the room. For that reason, I was supposed to say how I wanted things to be. They did not think to discuss my requests, even when it was 💩.

My expectation was different.

I wanted THEM to offer best practices because we hired THEM to be a thought leader. In my mind the power distance was flipped. The partner was the one to offer the best guidance to then decide jointly on the best way forward to achieve the best outcome. If that was to contradict my initial idea - that was fine.

It was a great trip to Hyderabad. The food is amazing, culturally it has much to offer. The project was a hard one to get over the finish line, because expectations were different.

Small power distance vs. large power distance

In societies with large power distance individuals can be:

• parents / grandparents

• teachers

• social leaders

• bosses

• politicians

These higher power individuals:

• are (to be) respected

• are (to be) accepted

• are (to be) looked up to

• are (to be) trusted

• have authority to decide (for the group)

• can not be argued with openly

• but have the burden to do best for the group

The last point is important but often overlooked in research and articles. All this “power” is given to make the life of the collective (social group) better for everyone.

(lower = less hierarchical, correlation between Individualism vs Collectivism and PDI)

In small PDI countries, hierarchies are flat.

Employees voice their opinion openly.

Emotional display and employee self-esteem is much more important and accepted.

Decisions are often made jointly, often are subordinates expected to provide solutions and decisions - very common in the US.

Employees across management levels uses first names, joints same events, eat lunch together.

Even further:

When “large power” leaders become “individualistic”

In nations with large power distance, that is overall acceptance of hierarchies, there is one main expectation: decisions made are to be beneficial for the social group (family, team, larger society).

Groups lower in the hierarchies, which is the majority of people, typically have a lot of patience. But when leaders misuse their power, the majority can quickly turn against them, while leaders will aggressively defend their power. Look at the Arab spring or political demonstrations in South America over the last decade.

PDI in neuroscience

Brain imaging studies have shown a couple of interesting findings survey-based cultural research could not determine with such detail. The most interesting one:

Individuals in large PDI, such as India, Korea, and Russia relate much easier to their group, and much less with “others”. To study, these individuals were shown pictures of people from their or other countries. Brain regions associated with “belonging” and “empathy”, called the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), lightened up much more when the images showed other Koreans or Indians.

The impact?

If individuals feel a sense of belonging, it allows for increase in empathy in communication. It also gives perspectives why certain nations cluster in main major cities and why Russians make easy friends with Russians when abroad. Their culture “clicks”.

Communication in the power distance dimension

I once had a manager from a country with large power distance. Overall, she was pretty good.

But she was set on how to make decisions and run meetings with the team. Mostly, she made decisions for the group, sometimes without asking anybody. She operated in micromanaging teams.

The team did not like that. Some tried to discuss this in meetings, but there was little room for discussions. Especially, as “discussing” could be seen as “questioning”, and in front of a group - that’s two ❌❌ in a row.

The team, mostly from Europe, got demotivated: ”Well, she can run the show then. Why should I bother?”

To be honest, I hate seeing talent go to waste - for both the manager as well as the team. I thought I could try and help. But to do that, I needed to keep the hierarchy. By that time, I knew about cultural differences and the impact it can have on getting stuff done. I had some strategies and tools I could use.

I started to propose ideas, but only in 1-on-1s. I phrased each one of them softly. To give some examples:

1. Instead of “I disagree, and I think we should do XX because you are wrong…” turned into “Another strategy we could try out one day is XX.”

2. Instead of “The team feels undervalued because you bulldozer over their feedback” I suggested asking for more opinions specifically in her 1-on-1 with each team member, given their wide variety of technical know-how.

3. The manager often ended up micromanaging. You can imagine, this was frustrating. So as a team we selected one individual to regularly provide progress feedback to the manager, and simultaneously request short-cycled feedback. This “buffer zone” gave the team less frustration, the manager was able to “be in control” and give guidance on request. Requesting feedback allowed the team to basically say “we respect your experience”. It worked out well for us.

For some, this all might sound odd. Why bother “bending” yourself?

Yes, sure. But you are basically saying: “You are the one to change. Not me!”.

In one article around anticipation earlier this year, I talked about “social anticipation”.

When two people connect well, their brain waves synchronize, and they have a more mutual perspective, aimed to benefiting BOTH. Not just one OR the other.

Cultural awareness allows influencing exactly that.

Find my research: power distance

Power Distance - Chinese companies operating in Europe

This is really a great source of examples of how greatly different cultures can be. Especially, people in tech operate in a small power distance bubble. I have seen “tech-bro” culture clashing with traditional management often, sometimes ending in loss of business.

(AIMS Education)

The Nature of Power Distance

What is the correlation between power distance and well-being, attitude, emotions, or even justice? This paper is easy to read and reviews research of the past 20 years.

This is really interesting because power distance is a theme in every (!) organization. While I mostly discuss culture on a nation level, it is applicable to teams, companies, and other social groups.

(Journal of Management)

Power Distance at the Workplace

When we mainly consider power distance as hierarchy in organizations, the larger the power distance, i.e. hierarchy, the bigger the fear from authority.

Fear might be a big word, it is mostly respect, not fear. But respect can quickly turn into fear, and fear kills transparency and innovation rapidly.

This study compares leadership styles in Chinese and US companies, and its impact on employee satisfaction, communication, and innovation.

(Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

Find my research: neuroscience

Researching placebo effect as a way for new treatments

Placebo, basically expectation management of our brain, is an enormously powerful avenue for any kind of treatment. “The Expectation Effect” by David Robson is incredibly and surprising. I will share a summary of this book at one point.

Simply put: the brain can engage pathways to reduce pain even though no medication has been given, when patients think there were given medication. It works for other areas as well. Studies have shown that thinking you’d lose weight, drinking healthy drinks, changes the metabolism. Even if the drink was a placebo.

Researchers have been trying to understand the exact brain pathways engaged in this process and found some clues.

Through neuromodulation or stimulation, these could open up new areas for pain treatment without medication.

Most treatments e.g. for pain modulation post operation are chemical. Taking pain medication consistently over a longer period of time has side effects. I know because I was there four weeks ago. Avoiding purely chemical pain relief would be a great outcome.

(University of North Carolina)

Find my research: office

Robots do the job and young workers don’t get to learn

Almost exactly a month ago, I wrote about AI simulations and its impact on training and skill improvements in educational and professional environments.

This article by Wall Street Journal describes a different side. AI and AI-powered robots do support jobs in risk settings, like operation theatre or investment banking.

and

Banks don’t need junior analysts any more because AI can do the groundwork. Maybe you require somebody to check for hallucinations, but you don’t need 20 for that. You might need 1 person.

With all of that in mind, the case for developing strong simulations and training environments becomes even more important to education for junior jobs in all industries.

It also shows how rapidly requirements are changing for entry-level positions. Maybe it is time to also think more about what entry-level jobs we need in the future?

How would that look for surgeons and investment banking? Honestly, I don’t know.

(WSJ)

On top of tech

India-based Neuphony to introduce affordable neurotech wearables

I have written about Neuphony before. An India-based company focusing on low-cost neurotechnology. They were featured on Shark Tank India, and even got an offer to sell.

Certainly, their headsets don’t look sexy, but they are cheap and useful and therefore not everything can be “Designed by Apple”.

It is backed or supported by substantial bodies in defence, advanced computing and sports in India. It comes with a mobile and desktop application.

It is aimed at helping with brain health and mental performance.

It also indicates that neurotechnology is not just a US topic. Companies from all around the world are gaining traction in this space.

As I am very bullish on India in general, I am very happy to see companies from the sub-continent receiving funding.

(KRQE)

Another story from the world of AI-dogs

Remember the story about Spot and the Ddog project, a collaboration between MIT and Boston Dynamics? I wrote about it in January, read the MIT article here.

We have another doggy friend joining the ranks of EEG-controlled mechanical dogs! Welcome Unitree Go2, just around US$ 1,600.

The goal? To create mechanical companions for rehabilitation or aged care which can automatically detect the state of the people it interacts with through analyzing EEG and other physiological data.

I am still not sure that I want a thing like this?

(New Jersey Institute of Technology)

More funding for neurotech

Alto Neuroscience banks another $11M USD to develop their platform technology for treating depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, and other mental health conditions.

Then there is RetiSpec closing $10M USD round to commercialize AI-driven eye test for detecting Alzheimer’s

And Austria-based Syntropic gets €1.1M for light-based brain stimulation depression treatment.

Media Box

Neural Data Protections Law in the US

Source: Rep. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins.

NB: Chile actually amended their constitution to protect such data could not be used commercially, manipulated or trafficked.

It is good that things are moving. Yet too slow, if you ask me.

(Colorado House Democrats)

Misc but not least…

You have heard about Lululemon, right? No? Ask your wife or girlfriend. It is one of the most-valuable fashion brands. Pretty nifty, considering the brand is “only” 25 years old.

The founder is somewhat of a unique personality. Last year, he committed around $100M USD to cure a rare disease impacting his muscles. He also once said, that “not all women’s bodies are made for yoga pants.” I mean, yeah, sure - might be correct, but do you have to say this out loud?

But, I like people who dare to have character, dare to swim in the opposite direction and dare to get out of their comfort zone - better even, get other people out of their comfort zone.

This is an interesting interview, with a founder who built a massive company and is fighting his personal daemons.

Thank you for reading.

Got till here and got some feedback? Hit reply and let me know!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Alex