An International Leaders Guide to Time Orientation

You are leading a meeting with attendees joining from the various offices around the world. Everyone flew in at least the day before and you are all staying in the same hotel as the conference room you booked for your 09:00 meeting.

As the lead, you are down early at 8:30 to check the room is set up, check everything is working and make sure you are prepared for the rest of the day.

A couple of people arrive around 8:45, one at 8:55, another couple at 8:58 and one at exactly 9:00. There are still a couple of people missing, so you wait before starting the meeting.

At 9:08 one more person arrives, and at 09:20 the last person comes into the room. No-one apologises or explains why they arrived after 9:00.

Before you have even started the meeting you observe tension and hear various comments such as "inconsiderate" "badly organised" "unfriendly" "rigid" "rude".

 So, what's going on?

Well, how we perceive and experience time is different. On a basic level time is constant, we all have 24 hours or 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds every day to use, lose, spend, save, crush, slay, waste, enjoy, savour or simply exist through.

Easy to think, therefore, when it comes to time, we would see things in the same way, no matter where we live or come from on this big rock we call Earth.

Easy to think, but wrong. In fact,

time orientation, which influences interactions with others and attitudes towards actions and behaviour, differs in different cultures and is actually one of the major cross-cultural differences encountered in international business.

All national cultures sit somewhere on the scale of time orientation.

One extreme sees time primarily as a limited resource to be saved (high time orientation, also known as monochronic). The opposite end of the scale sees time primarily as a series of moments to be saved (low time orientation, also known as polychronic).

The high time orientation cultures value punctuality, schedule time, tend to do one task at a time and are inclined to value time and career most highly.

Low time orientation cultures, on the other hand, focus on adaptability, conduct numerous interactions and/or activities at the same time as standard, and are more apt to value human interactions above time and other commitments.

 The table below highlights some key aspects of each time orientation

Why do different national cultures have differing attitudes towards time?

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but the major trend as to where a country's national culture sits on the low/high time orientation scale is usually consistent and based in the history and/or systems of a nation.

Countries where things go pretty much according to plan, where transport, weather, governments and the systems in place have been relatively consistent, by their nature, tend to have far greater time orientation.

In countries where they have experienced/are experiencing greater unpredictability, whether that be due to unpredictable or strong weather systems, such as droughts, extreme natural phenomenon such as earthquakes, volcanoes or hurricanes, an ever changing political climate or less/no reliable transport systems, the ability to be flexible and adapt to ever changing circumstances is far more valid (and valuable).

When you look at it like this,

it makes total sense.

The attitude to time is deeply connected to national culture

So deeply connected, you can see it embedded in language, phrases used and the way people talk about time.

Below are some examples of how the time orientation of a national culture is revealed by the proverbs and words used.

Where do the different nations sit on the time orientation scale?

 In her book, The Culture Map, Erin Meyer lays out where 19 different countries lie on the scale.

This is useful when dealing with one or two other national cultures, but if working with many different nationalities on a daily basis it can help to think about wider cultural groups.

Note, all positions on the scale should be viewed in relative terms.

It's also super important to remember, as with all things cultural, individuals have their own personality, influences and experiences which shape them as well as their culture.

And if you, or anyone else feels they do not agree, the scale is representative of the *majority* of a population and is to be used as one (very small) part of your cultural leadership knowledge, not as the whole.

Besides, it is never cool to stereotype anyone so make sure you avoid doing so.

So, now we have all this additional knowledge on time orientation.....

....back to our meeting and what was going on.

In many northern European cultures, the US, Canada and Australasia, time is thought of in the same way as money. In other words, as a valuable asset. Consequently, it is seen as rude to arrive late for meetings, as you are wasting others time/valuable asset. People from these cultures tend to arrive early, to avoid being late.

There is a slight difference between cultures as to what amount of time is deemed acceptable, from around 15 minutes early in Sweden for example through to roughly 5 minutes early in the USA.

In Germany and similar cultures as well as Japan, they do not like uncertainty. Arriving early or late create uncertainty, especially for the host, so they like to arrive right on time.

Sometimes arriving 1 or 2 minutes early is also seen as it gives time to find your seat and allows for the meeting to start precisely on time. Anyone arriving outside of 2 minutes or less before the meeting can be deemed inconsiderate or tardy.

Most cultures globally, such as Latin, Asian, African and Arabic cultures view time as flexible. They deem it rude and disrespectful to end one meeting/discussion before it's natural end, just to get to another. So they arrive as it fits into their schedule. As this is normal, there is no reason to apologise or 'explain' yourself.

As with those cultures who arrive early, there are differences as to what amount of time is deemed acceptable, from say around 10 minutes in many African cultures all the way through to well over an hour..... or even considerably longer.

Based on this wide scale of different viewpoints, there is no surprise that tensions can mount.

It is quite normal for highly time orientated time cultures to (incorrectly) view low time orientated cultures time cultures as inconsiderate, unapologetic and disorganised.

In reverse, it is just as normal for those from low time oriented cultures to (also incorrectly) view those from high time orientated cultures as rigid, shallow and unfriendly. This is the tension observed once everyone was present at your meeting. 

What steps could you, an international leader, could have taken?

Create Awareness

As with all things cross-cultural. Awareness should always be the first step.

Make the team aware of the time orientation vs culture relationship. You can do this as a simple inform style exercise or be as creative and interactive as you wish.

I was once with an international group and the facilitator shared with us this phenomenon. We were then asked to stand in a line, guessing where our native culture's time orientation sat in comparison to everyone else in the room, with highest time orientation on the left to lowest on the right. It was great fun, there was lots of laughter while we discussed with each other things like why 'I should be on your left, not you on mine'. At the end we had to explain, as a group, what led us to the final line up we decided. The facilitator then finished up with moving us into the 'correct' positions.

It was a learning experience I will never forget and created a bond and shared understanding within the group.

In this fictive meeting example you could have done it before the meeting, or, if faced with the scenario as is, you could adapt to start the meeting with this discussion point. It can even be used as a great icebreaker, creating a positive energy to take into the original agenda.

Create Protocols

Some call them rules, I prefer the term agreed behaviours. This is a great one.

Developing a shared set of agreed behaviours and ways of working creates a very clear and aligned 'meeting culture'. Everyone is then clear on what to expect and what is expected of them. Plus, when in place these can override cultural norms and avoid most misunderstandings.

If this is a group who will meet regularly, such as an organisational team or project team, I suggest creating these together so there is an agreement that reflects the combined thoughts and preferences of everyone.

If this is not a group that will meet regularly, I would propose an agreement based on time be put in place such as 'meetings will always start at the stated start time'.

Extra tip, I also like to add something about cross-cultural appreciation such as 'we accept that we view the world through our own cultural lens and that others see things differently, so will always be respectful, listen to each other, and appreciate the value in the different perspectives we bring'

Build a Buffer

Providing opportunities for people to have informal conversation is a hugely important part of creating a more supportive and accepting atmosphere.

 In this scenario, you could have breakfast served in/around the meeting area. It

• occupies the time of those who arrive earlier
• gives people an opportunity to have an informal/social moment, or discuss work related topics, whatever they want.

With such a cultural minefield surrounding just the aspect of time, the 10 key takeout's for international leaders and teams are;

1.  We do not all perceive time in the same way
2. It is difficult for each time orientation to understand the other which can become a major source of friction and frustration
3. Each time orientation views the other as an 'almost impossible' way to get their work done
4. Each time orientation believes their way is efficient and the other way is totally inefficient
5. Neither way is better or more efficient than the other way - they are just……different
6. As with all things cross-cultural, awareness is the first step towards achieving success
7. Encourage respectful, participative (even fun) conversation about national cultures and how people on the team see the world
8. Agreeing a set of meeting protocols manages expectations and can override cultural norms
9. Provide informal opportunities for the team to mingle, this creates a much more supportive and accepting ethos
10. We are more than a product of our national culture, so avoid stereotyping

You can also view my supporting videos about time orientation at the following links

Introduction to Time Orientation

Time Orientation - Leading a Meeting

Time Orientation - Speaking/Presenting