Coaching in Different Culture Settings

The issue at hand is one which I have come across since I have started coaching. As a European, (German) coaching in Singapore and other Asian countries often leads to cross cultural issues. I have asked myself that question several times: is the obvious western method of coaching adequate for an Asian setting and mindset?

First, the western thinking and mindset is distinct from an Asian one (whereby Asia is a lot of things which is the same for the West). Let’s first say, it is different. Let’s assume that Western thinking is more oriented toward seeing objects, rather than the Eastern, seeing more holistic pictures, thinking is more analytic in the West and while thinking in the East is better grasping the interdependence and the whole. As well, the very individualistic way of thinking and seeing oneself in the West is rather different from the more group and family related one in the East. And setting goals for an individual in the East therefore is different from setting goals for a person in the West.

Nevertheless there is one thing for me that is clear: all humans have basically the same senses to take in their environment, language, relationships, feelings and reflecting. All human brains function in basically the same way.
Now, if that is true, than how have these different ways of thinking and seeing come about. The brain takes in information of the reality outside, reflects on it and builds perceptions which again create the world inside the brain.

That might be the reason for cultural differences: the different upbringing instills different learning and so different perceptions. And that could have been followed by rules and “laws” and understanding, especially of social and organizational issues.
I assume everyone has on an average, the same ability to think and feel. But the combination of thousand factors creates the thousand individuals, and different cultures, may be dependent on the environment people live in and the way they adapt to it to survive and strive.

Let’s go from here: all human beings have basically the same basic needs and, after they have been more or less fulfilled, have new ones, building up on that. Can these higher needs be transformed by different cultures, so that people in the E have less individualistic needs than those in the W? Obviously yes, just take a look at the difference between Americans and Europeans.
But still, can a western concept work on eastern minds? Yes, I would say, because the coaching approach is an intercultural approach. Coaching can take both views: It can take a more holistic view as well as a more analytical view. Point being, coaching lets the individual define what is important, what he wants, how she sees her environment and how to find the options available to change or go wherever they want to go. As long as the coach sticks to this and does not try to influence the way the clients thinks, feels or values, there should be no problem with it.

One result is that coaching, should it be successful, needs to follow these principals: it’s the client’s agenda, goals, values and relevancies which have to be followed through. The individual, analytical, object related thinking and seeing of the coach should simply be not on the table.
Furthermore, the coaching approach is very much based on a holistic way of seeing things, a systemic way of thinking, taking into account the influences of ones environment and especially, in the Solutions Focus approach, the knowing, that action is in the interaction. And here, the client defines the interaction he or she has and wants to have.
What definitely has to be taken more into account by Western coaches in an Eastern setting is the knowledge of their Confucian and Taoist values and learned behaviors. This would help to give some more support for eastern clients.

And, taking into account my own experience, eastern clients show that they very well take advantages from coaching, which helps them in their management or leadership practice and role. But there remains a lot to better understand from where clients are coming and to understand their “ticking”.