ANGLO CLUSTER
The Anglo cluster in the GLOBE Research Program consisted of Australia, Canada (English speaking), England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa (White sample), and the United States. All of these countries except Canada are represented in this volume with the chapter on South Africa also representing the Sub-Saharan cluster.
The Anglo cluster scored high on Performance Orientation. It was in the midscore range for Assertiveness, Future Orientation, Gender Egalitarianism, Humane Orientation, Institutional Collectivism, Power Distance, and Uncertainty Avoidance. The only cultural dimension it scored low was on In-Group Collectivism. (House et al., 2004).
The Anglo cluster endorsed Charismatic/Value-based leadership very strongly, the highest of all clusters. It also endorsed Team Oriented leadership and elements of Participative leadership enacted in Humane Oriented manner quite strongly. Self-Protective behaviors were viewed rather negatively. A “person oriented” leadership is endorsed in all Anglo countries where a leader is expected to deliver results by operating as a part of a team or a clan. However, there are significant differences among countries in how the leaders are expected to achieve this. In England, for example, a consultative and informed approach is preferred whereas in Ireland a leader is expected to uphold values with integrity, loyalty, and conceptual decision making without flaunting his or her authority. In both Australia and New Zealand, “tall poppies” usually get cut down. A leader in Australia needs to be seen as “one of the boys” and be highly egalitarian. A strong autocratic leader seems preferable in New Zealand to a sensitive facilitator. The United States seems to prefer the “heroic” leader, promoting team spirit and also caring about people. The White population of South Africa seems to prefer strong, direct, fair, and firm leaders. This cluster is a very interesting example of culture overcoming geographical distances as it is based on ethnic and linguistic similarities and old migration patterns, among other factors. It is often said that the cultural distance between England and France or Germany is much higher than that between England and Australia. This also reflects after-effects of colonization.
REFERENCES
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., Gupta, V., & GLOBE Associates. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.