Final Post

Trait Theory on Danish Leadership

Based on previous findings posted on the blog, we will try to find the connection between Danish leadership and 9 traits of effective leaders (Power Point, 2017, p 12) and discuss the different perceptions. 

Dominance

In the Danish culture, a leader will often be perceived as person skilled to dominate. However other cultures associate Danish leadership style with lack of ambition and authority. Danes in general are raised to participate not to lead, which make their leadership style seem less dominant to other cultures. Danish leaders delegate and empower their employees, which reflects decentralized organizations as they value equality and high team performance rather than individual performance. This does not necessarily mean that they are less dominant, but it can be perceived as lack of dominance for foreigners from cultures with more centralized organizations. 

High Energy

Danish leaders are very personal engaged in general and have a natural desire to lead and inspire. The high energy is reflected in the focus on involving their employees and the personal engagement is the drive. By their high drive they try to affect their employees by encouraging a high energy level.

When trying to master the English language, Danes sound very robotic, which make them seem dispassionate and low on energy.

Self-confidence

The fact that Danish leaders delegate a lot of work can be perceived as low self-confidence. I might seem like they don’t have the confidence to do it themselves, and therefor ask their employees to do it. But in fact, Danes view this as self-confidence leaders, because they have trust and confidence in their own employees.

Danes don’t show a lot of ambition, because they don’t like to disappoint. This can be interpreted as a lack of self-confidence. However, in Denmark it’s a social norm not to show to much ambition, because it makes you seem arrogant.

Locus of Control

As mentioned, delegating and empowering are well known in Denmark. Danish leaders might think that delegating work to employees is the same as taking control of the future. They hire their staff for a reason, and by giving them proper work, they secure the future within their organization. Some cultures, though, see it differently. By delegating work tasks some will say that you lose control of the organization’s future.

Stability

Within our findings there aren’t any signs of emotional instability, so we argue that this trait is perceived in the positive way from both Danish and foreign leaders.

Thinking of social norms in general, Danes are very proper and constraint in their mannerism compared to Italians for example, who are very much in touch with their emotions. Discussions can get heated, which can be perceived as being unstable. Danes tend to make discussion based on rational arguments.     

Integrity

Danes are very direct and honest in their interactions. In Denmark it’s a sign of trust, but in other contexts it might seem rude and too straight forward. Depending on the eyes that see, the directness can be seen as either rude or a respectful way of telling the truth. Danish leaders are very transparent and the open communication in general engenders trust. By showing trust in your employees, they are more likely to see you as trustworthy leader with integrity.

The use of irony and sarcasm, though, can maybe change people’s perception of your words and appearance. Danish leaders often lose their integrity in foreigners’ eyes, when using this type of humour.

Intelligence

The fact that Danes in general master English very well show a prominent level of education and skills, which lead to an understanding of intelligence. In a Danish organization all employees are equal, which make the leaders seem like they are on the same intelligence level as their employees. In some cultures, it might be expected that leader’s intelligence should be on a higher level.

Flexibility

One of the highly noticeable skills of Danish leaders are the ability to adjust quickly in different situations. They don’t accept status quo, but instead prefer change, creativity and innovation, which show flexibility within the organization.

Danish leaders encourage the need for separating personal life from work, which both allows more flexibility for the employees and the leaders. If an employee has a personal issue, Danish leaders are likely to make a compromise to accommodate their personal needs and thereby show flexibility.

Sensitivity

An important part of sensitivity is effective communication. For some cultures, the informal way of communicating may have an implicit outcome, which often create misunderstandings. This issue can be common for Danish leaders.

Sensitivity also includes understanding of group members, which come natural for Danish leaders, as tasks are often developed in groups. To do that, you need to be cooperative and understand your group members.

In general, Danish leaders are very people centered and sensitive to other people’s feelings. 

Reference: Forsyth, Deborah (09.21.2017). "Leadership & Management cont'd". 9 Traits of Effective Leaders. Power Point Presentation in Class. P 12-15.

Danish Leadership Style in a Global Context

The article is based on a survey sent out to 15 different international organizations. Danish and foreign leaders within those companies have in interviews explained their own views of Danish leadership style in a global context. We have to be aware about the fact that the article doesn’t define which companies are represented.

Perception of Danish Leadership Style

Both the Danish and foreign leaders were told to explain, what distinguishes Danish leaders from other. In the survey both parties mention that everyone in Denmark is equal, even if your rank is different. They have a flat, decentralized culture with low power distance, where it is expected to express your own opinion in a informal way. The importance of empowering and delegation is huge, and Danish leaders trust their employees.

Foreign leaders also percept Danish leaders as respectful, direct in their communication and very good to achieve a work-life-balance.

All of it comes down to the following five characteristics: of Danish leader: Democratic, equality-orientated, informal, trusting and open. Furthermore, Danish leader see themselves as very effective and quick to adjust to new environment and people.

Foreign leaders also percept Danish leaders as very direct in their communication, while still being respectful. They also feel that Danish leaders are very good to achieve a work-life-balance, and in the same time, they respect for privacy and a life outside work.

Click on the picture to enlarge

Adjustment of Leadership Style
When using a Danish leadership style, the respondents find both positive and negative consequences. The style helps the employees to drive themselves and be independent, which make them more efficient. They are also good at asking questions and see things from different perspectives, which lead to creativity and innovation.
But when using informal communication in a global context, messages sometimes become implicit rather than explicit, because the other party are used to a more formal approach. It can in several ways be difficult to be an employee, when you are suddenly expected to ask questions and find out everything yourself. The Danish approach is often perceived as lacking authority from the leader, which several cultures are missing.
Because of the negative factors and the different perceptions between cultures, Danish leaders need to adjust their leadership style in certain environments. For a Danish leader, it is therefor important to be able to change your communication approach. Mainly they should focus within four areas. In some situations, it may suit more to be formal, use a more hierarchical approach, be more closed and be more autocratic. It is all based on the situation and time is a very central dimension in this matter.

Click on the picture to enlarge

Reference: Staub-Bauer, Andrea (08.08.2015). "Danish Leadership Styæe in a Global Context". Confederation of Danish Industry, Industriens Fond, CBS. Di.dk: https://di.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Global%20Leadership%20Academy/Danish%20Leadership%20Style%20in%20a%20Global%20Perspective_210x280_WEB.pdf

5 Traits of Danish Leaders

An investigation of some experienced, Danish, top executives from both the private and public sector has led to 5 traits of Danish leaders. It is important to be critical of this investigation, but looking at the representation of Danish leaders, they have captured a broad spectrum of leaders from many different industries. However only top executives have been interviewed. So, it is important to keep in mind that these are traits for top managers. 

1. Danish leaders expect properness and are not afraid of bringing themselves into play.

• Personal engagement is the drive for Danish leaders and this rubs off on the employees as well. Danish leaders are very proper and expect the same from their employees. Danish leaders have a natural desire to lead and inspire others and to involve their employees to make them feel engaged.

2. Danish leaders delegate and make transparent decisions.

• Leadership for Danes means creating results together as a team. The leader is a support to the employees and helps them reach their goals, but at the same time, Danish leaders wish to be involved in the process to make sure to motivate the employee. They don´t only delegate the task but also the responsibility. They use empowerment. It is a high priority for Danes that the employees feel that their leader is available. This helps the employees to better understand their goals in a personal way.

3. Danish leaders think holistically and base our knowledge on the consumer. 

• The consumer is always the fulcrum. Their needs and experiences have a high priority. A Danish leader is in active dialog with the consumer. In Denmark, it is commonly believed that the consumer is always right and can make or break an organization.

4. Danish leaders create value and strike for a higher purpose.

• Danish leaders are not afraid of asking questions or challenging the processes in an organization. Danish leaders are role models for their employees and make the higher purpose understandable to the employees. 

5. Danish leaders challenge status quo and creates an innovative culture.

• Danish leaders never accept status quo. They investigate for a smarter solution and encourage their employees to do the same. 

Reference: DI Rådgiverne og Managementrådgiverne (2016). "Managementrådgiverne - Forretningsudvikling".  5 Dogmer for dansk ledelse. Di.dk: https://mr.di.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/5%20dogmer%20for%20dansk%20ledelse%20A3%20til%20bladresystem.pdf

Why do Danish leaders seem rude?

In the following video, Skip Bowman, founder and CEO of Global Mindset, explain his perspective on Danish leadership and why Danish leaders seem rude. He explains his view on five issues regarding Danish leadership.

Click here to watch this video

One perspective on Danish leadership

• Mastering English
• Danish people are known as some of the best speakers of English as a second language, and sound very proficient when they speak. Therefor Bowman's argument is, that everything they say is meant literally. 
• Irony and Sarcasm
• It is hard to determine the impact of irony and sarcasm in a foreign language. A leader's job is to create clear communication, direction, and confidence, which sarcasm and irony blocks.
• Ambition
• In Denmark leaders don't like to show too much ambition, because they don't like to disappoint. Compared to other cultures, this make Danish leaders seem less ambitious.
• Competent - not charismatic
• The Danish accent sounds very robotic, which sounds component but dispassionate. Danish leaders should therefor learn to use their intonation, pauses and grammar better.
• Taught to participate - not leading
• In Danish culture children are taught to participate in the classroom, speak up and listen to each other. In many other countries, children are taught how to lead. Danish leaders often misunderstand foreign leaders' actions, because of their own beliefs.

Reference: Bowman, Skip (2017-09-22). "Why do Danish leaders seem rude?". Global Mindset. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoPMN2AuGmM (read: 2017-11-01)

Why is Danish leadership important?

Danish leadership is important because leadership styles and theories varies from culture to culture. At North Island College we learn about the Canadian culture and leadership style. Since we are from Denmark it would be interesting for us to investigate if Danish leadership style is different. It would also be important for others to know about Danish leadership style, as it is important as a leader or manager to be able to adapt to different cultural styles or at least have the knowledge about the differences.

Research Questions

• What characterizes Danish leadership/management?
• How is danish leadership/management perceived?