Global Workplace Success Blog with Pat Tith

I hope the Chinese Year of the Rat brings you all that you wish for and more. More than 1 billion Chinese are celebrating Chinese New Year or as they say in China Spring Festival.

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR SOME CHINESE NEW YEAR FUN.

Click on the link above, put your cursor to open the door. Move the mouse around the card. The fish will swim following your mouse. Swimming fish are symbolic for life and water represents the flow of prosperity! This greeting was sent to me by a Chinese friend.

The US Presidential primaries in many ways represent what you have in your workplace. The different kinds of employees that managers and leaders have to work with are reflected in these primaries.

Here are some of the differences I have come up with that we are seeing in the Presidential candidates and you are seeing in your workplace.
1. different genders
2. different races
3. different religions
4. different generations
5. different experience
6. different regional backgrounds and cultures
7. different communication styles
8. different approaches to the various issues
9. different opinions
10. different personalities – THE BOTTOM LINE!

A lot of “differents”! These differences are obvious to many of you. They are, unfortunately, not so obvious to many who are interacting with differences on a daily basis in their global workplace. They are not operating - leading and managing - with a global mindset. There are many reasons for this that will discussed in future postings.

We need to be aware of these differences and be reminded once again that it is not business as usual and hasn’t been for a long time!! You cannot keep managing and leading in the “same ole same ole” way.

Things WILL be VERY different if Hillary Clinton, a woman or Barack Obama, an African-Caucasian, or John McCann a 71 year old, or Mitt Romey, a Mormon become President of the USA. Things ARE ALREADY different in TODAY’S workplace…………Are you?