Does “Social Power Distance” Play a Role in the Business Letter Tone? (2)

No 1, Vol 8, October 11, 2023

Dysfunctional companies are alike; every dysfunctional company is dysfunctional in its own way. This is a truism that cuts across all industry sub-sectors. In a groundbreaking book written by education experts Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker titled School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It, published on January 16, 2015, the authors say that

“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”

Even though today’s discussion is about organizational management, many people from countries with dysfunctional political leadership will easily resonate with the viewpoints of Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker.

The following is a quintessential illustration of ignorance not being bliss.

The leader of a company where a former classmate worked was inadvertently but actively promoting a dysfunctional or broken company. On the one hand, he stressed the inevitability of teamwork and cohesion among staff.

At the same time, on the other, he self-sabotaged the efforts.

How?

He promoted and encouraged cliques and fiefdoms, members of which he remunerated handsomely albeit surreptitiously, pitching them against other staff in a divide-and-rule approach. And used them to spy on his perceived enemies among staff.     

The closest to this intriguing phenomenon is what psychologists call approach avoidance.

According to Kurt Lewin,

“Approach-avoidance conflict arises when a goal has both positive and negative aspects, and thus leads to approach and avoidance reactions at the same time.” The author says it’s when two competing forces of positive and negative valence act upon an individual in parallel.

“For example, if a person wants to eat a cake (positive valence) but also wants to avoid gaining weight (negative valence), this constitutes an approach-avoidance conflict that has to be solved.”

The billionaire Founder and Executive Chairman, whose high social power distance was unapparelled, didn’t realize he was running the corporation to the ground. He was too preoccupied with his assumed self-worth that the entourage of consultants on the company’s payroll was too scared to tell him the truth.

Using a hilarious visual metaphor, my friend said office furniture ‘used to tremble’ whenever the man sneezed. His unbridled arrogance was incomparable.

So, all sorts of mind games grew and festered.

It’s little wonder that his business and several subsidiaries collapsed in 2015.

Continuing the impact of Social Power Distance on the business letter tone, let's critically examine the following attributes.

Disagreeing with a wealthy and influential boss with a high social power distance whose ego was more prominent than a cathedral marked a turning point in my career.

After submitting what I considered a well-articulated professional stakeholder-centric communication plan regarding a forthcoming media launch of an innovative pipelay barge, ticking all the critical boxes, my boss opposed the strategic intent.

He remained adamant for six days about the disaster-laden idea he proposed instead. His ill-informed opinion would have put us all at the mercy of investigative journalists searching for scoops to sell their titles. And I wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight. The die was cast.

How do I get this profoundly entitled billionaire to see the folly in his envisaged approach without deflating or bruising his unbridled ego? After deep introspection in my office, I meticulously documented the disadvantages of deploying his approach, itemizing the disaster waiting to happen in a business letter.

Afterward, I resigned myself to my fate. He swallowed the humble pie five hours later, against my wildest expectations. Calling me into his office in the company of the COO, he gave what I felt was the best version of a veiled apology such a boss could give his subordinate.

Egocentric bosses with an overinflated sense of self-worth hardly apologize. 

"Val, I saw your submission; thank you very much. We shall provide the resources you need for next week's outing. Please work with the COO; if you need more hands, don't hesitate to let him know," he said.

I expected more, but you must recognize the pains he endured, coming down from his high horse, accepting defeat albeit tactfully. How could I feel his pain? I have never been a billionaire before! So, if you have been postponing that difficult discussion with your boss as you read this, this is the time to confront the ‘bull in the China shop.’

Do your best to document every letter of the discussion. To recap the conversation, you may do a Contact Report or a formal Business Letter. And get it officially registered, like passing it through the company email system.

A Substantial High Social Power Distance in the Workplace Reduces Subordinates to recruits running around with a military General.

Do you often wonder why nothing moves when the big boss is out of town in some organizations, predominantly family-owned corporations? Overbearing leaders and those with high power distance are often bosses, not leaders in the real sense.

Staff do the boss's bidding because they must, but they follow the leader because they want to.

So, a high-performing, enlightened leader often earns the trust and loyalty of his team members. The critical challenge with social power distance is that leaders with high social power distance – that is, leaders who are much more influential, wealthier, and more connected than their team members need to work harder to earn the loyalty of their team members.

There is a direct correlation between poor leadership and High Social Power Distance in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Staff and citizens are encumbered in organizations and governments with significantly high social power distance regarding consciously engaging and interrogating their leaders.

Both corporate and political leaders wield so much power that voices of dissent are suppressed. Suppose followers are unable to constructively engage and interrogate their leaders. In that case, the followers are left to the whims and caprices of the strongmen.

Recognizing the pitfalls of the society parading strongmen (a fallout of high social power distance) and weak institutions and countries, Barak Obama said the following when he visited Ghana on July 11, 2009, according to the Office of the Press Secretary, White House Briefing Room, July 11, 2009.  

“Africa doesn't need strongmen; it needs strong institutions. As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans. The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans -- including so many recent immigrants -- have thrived in every sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult past, and we've drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra.”

Conclusion.

As Bruce Lee, the Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor, said, a victorious warrior is the average man with laser-like focus; managers currently working with bosses with high social power distance must refocus.

It would help if you focused on becoming even more professional and delivering your KPIs more efficiently.

You need to prioritize your relationship with your entitled high social power boss. Now that you know he may act in a particular manner, I believe you’re better prepared to deal with whatever he throws at you.

An African proverb says that even a madman has friends, so the onus is on you to find a way to work with him.

Next week, we will discuss How to Reduce the Effects of “Social Power Distance” on Productivity in the Organization.

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