“Let it be” – Power & skill required in Japan
Almost 18-year stay in Czechia tells me that here is a great culture of positive appreciation & praise.
I know some of you want to deny my theory at any cost, so let me explain.
When I was little, the following behaviours were very common in Japan.
– Parents don’t hesitate to scold their children in public.
– Not only your own parents, others like teacher, trainers, instructors, etc. do the same as parents.
– It was common at workplace, ie. elder staffs incl. a boss scold younger staffs.
Nowadays, the situation is changing. Many Japanese call for culture of praise, instead.
Here in Czechia people praise children or someone else … to avoid any troubles, it seems to me sometimes.
– A child draw a picture. You don’t know what it is, but you praise him/her. “Wonderful!”
– Someone cook for you. It doesn’t taste good, but you prise. “Delicious!”
– You get a present which you’d never need or buy, but you prise. “What a nice gift!”
Czechs avoid to criticize the respective person directly or in front of someone else. Usually, people criticize others or complain anywhere else like at pub with a mug of beer.
As far as I practiced, it’s good and effective mix both attitudes.
1 Positive appreciation & praise in first place, then
2 Constructive criticism or feedback
A child should know that a picture he/she drew didn’t look like a elephant, but more a bear and especially you can give advice how to “adjust / change / make it better”.
It’s a same case with adults. A meeting preparation should contain statistics with graphs. Explanations in sentences like “something was good / bad / not enough”… is not quite persuasive.
It can be a big surprise for European, but Japanese and also many well-know Japanese companies encourage people to master a skill called “Through Power – スルー力”.
This is an ability or a skill to ignore meaningless criticism, rude remarks, etc. etc. etc…
Let it be… Just go through …
I dare say many Czechs already have or naturally build this ability – ignoring something / someone uncomfortable for you.
But nowadays, another ability / skill is required here in Czechia – “loyalty”.
I’m sure there is a world which appreciates your existing abilities and skills.
At the same time good to remember “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”
In my words, when living and working in a foreign country, follow the customs there.
So 2 strategies (= synergy & compromise) for your cross cultural life!
A good article in Japanese by MITSUBISHI.
https://www.mdsol.co.jp/column/column_122_1280.html
WebWavelife with Namiko Sakamoto
Život na webu s vlnkou Namiko Sakamoto