Flex
Book

Flex

The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences

Jane Hyun and Audrey S. Lee
HarperBusiness, 2014
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7

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The topic of diversity makes many managers uncomfortable: Men hesitate to talk to women. Baby boomer managers sometimes can’t relate to tech-knowledgeable, independent generation Y. The assertiveness of Western culture can be a problem for employees from other cultures. Authors Jane Hyun and Audrey S. Lee believe people should acknowledge and embrace their differences. They show leaders how to “flex” or adapt their communications, and how to understand status differences or “power gaps.” They emphasize ways to close power gaps between people of different genders, cultures and ages. getAbstract recommends their approach to HR professionals, department heads and line managers, especially those with a diverse workforce.

Summary

Part I: Bridging the Gaps

Today, your employees are more likely to be multicultural, female, part of the millennial generation or all three. In this setting, a manager’s lack of diversity training can lead to expensive turnover. “According to HR executives, costs to replace an employee who has left to go elsewhere can range from 150% to more than double an employee’s salary.” One health care employee recruiter lamented that his company lost 30% of new hires within nine months. His firm’s top-down, hierarchical culture wasn’t a good match for its new recruits, mostly recent college graduates seeking a flexible workplace and meaningful assignments.

“Fluent” leaders save time and money by recognizing and valuing individual differences – by “flexing.” Many workplace leaders ignore cultural, gender or generational differences. They may adopt the unrealistic attitude that everyone is the same. In the 1980s and 1990s, this was part of diversity training. Most programs were designed to combat “isms” and to help the company avoid lawsuits for sexual harassment or discrimination.

Take Jim, a senior vice president at a global company: He supervises 21 direct reports. He...

About the Authors

Jane Hyun, author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, is an executive coach and global leadership strategist to Fortune 500 companies. Audrey S. Lee is a global leadership strategist and executive coach, working with with Fortune 500 companies, universities and nonprofit organizations.

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