cross-cultural leadership


Malaysian Communication-Stating an Opinion Outright vs Implying a Point

An international organization held a conference in Malaysia to standardize its manufacturing line processes across the different regions and participants came from all over the world. The organizers had offered to provide transportation for the delegates from their hotels to the conference site. As the Japanese participants had initially politely […]


Why Don’t Malaysians Like Asking for Help?

Katrina*, a Danish national, is here in Malaysia for a 2-year expat assignment to assist in standardizing the company’s policies and procedures on a global scale. After understanding how a particular process is done in Malaysia, Katrina explained how it is done on a Group level and provided suggestions on […]


Implicit Leadership Theory – What Makes a Good Leader, to You?

Have you ever briefly interacted with someone new and deduced that the individual must be in some form of a leadership role? Even though you hardly know that person, you connect some of the attributes displayed by that individual to what you view as good leadership qualities. Such a phenomenon […]


What is Double-Voiced Discourse and How Does it Affect Us at the Workplace?

Double-voiced discourse is a phrase coined by the Russian philosopher and linguistic theorist named Mikhail Bakhtin. While we may not often speak of this term, some of our everyday actions would fall under its very definition. As opposed to single-voiced discourse (where a topic is expressed in a straightforward way), […]


CQ Self-Assessment Pro – Part 3 Benefits of the Assessment

In this final part of our CQ Self-Assessment Pro series, we will consider the benefits that result from participating in this cultural intelligence assessment. Designed to measure an individual’s capability for working and relating across cultures, the outcome will certainly prove to be useful insight for individuals and corporations looking […]


CQ Self-Assessment Pro – Part 2 The DeBrief

In this second part of our CQ Self-Assessment Pro series, we will discuss the processes involved in debriefing participants after the assessment has been taken. The debriefing session will be conducted by a trained facilitator, whose goal is to help participants fully understand their existing cultural intelligence (CQ) capabilities (drive, […]


CQ Self-Assessment Pro – Part 1 Taking the Assessment

Culture Boleh Global Training PLT is licensed to administer and conduct debriefing for CQ Self-Assessment Pro, a cultural intelligence (CQ) assessment developed by Cultural Intelligence Center, LLC. As a part-time blogger for Culture Boleh, I was given the opportunity to take this assessment and am excited to be documenting my […]


The Concept of Saving Face in a Malaysian Cultural Context

As with many Asian countries, Malaysia is known to be a face saving culture. Although the term is not commonly used in everyday conversations among Malaysians, the concept is deeply ingrained in our cultural makeup and affects everything that we do. To save face means to preserve one’s reputation, credibility […]


Do Malaysians Like To Be Micromanaged?

Your boss has given you an important project with a set deadline. In the days that follow, would you prefer if your boss touch base with you periodically or would you rather your boss frequently drop by your desk to check on your progress and direct your every move? No […]


Malaysian Hierarchy-Learned at Home

When I was very young, one of the most difficult things I had to learn was how to correctly address my multitude of aunts. In Chinese culture, there are specific titles for each family member. I couldn’t just call them Aunt Jane or Aunt Mary. I had to learn the […]