{"id":348,"date":"2014-05-07T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/?p=348"},"modified":"2016-10-28T15:26:35","modified_gmt":"2016-10-28T14:26:35","slug":"management-styles-kenyans-relational-nigerians-deal-makers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/2014\/05\/07\/management-styles-kenyans-relational-nigerians-deal-makers\/","title":{"rendered":"Management Styles: Kenyans are relational, Nigerians are deal-makers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The differences between Kenyan and Nigerian management styles<\/strong> were explained to me during my stay in Lagos. After talking to managers from both countries, it became clear that what I had been told had some truth in it: Kenyans are relational, while Nigerians are deal-makers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Setting the stage is important to Kenyans.<\/strong> You can’t go straight into business matters. Instead, you need to establish the relationship first, and spend some time getting to know your counterpart and allowing them to get to know you. In Kenya, the relationship comes first, and then business of mutual benefit may follow <\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Nigerian<\/a>
Nigerian business people are called “cheetahs”. Picture: Yathin sk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In contrast, Nigerians rush to the point<\/strong> immediately. The Nigerian CEO of a real estate company told me\u00a0“They call us ‘cheetahs’ <\/span><\/a>,”<\/strong> (rapidly clarifying, “cheetah”, the animal that\u00a0reaches speeds of up to 100km\/h or 70mph<\/span>, not cheaters!”). They are very social but purpose dictates their relationships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think this difference in management style also shows in their driving style<\/strong>. In a previous post I traced some connections between the between the managing style and driving style, and I think it applies to the Kenyan case as well.<\/p>\n

\"traffic-jam-in-Nairobi-3\"
Traffic jam in the Nairobi airport area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other day, for instance, I was stuck in a horrendous traffic jam: it took us two and a half hours to drive 17.5 km<\/strong> \u2013 the picture gives you an idea of what it was like. To my amazement, people looked quite calm<\/strong>. There was hardly any sounding of horns, and it took a while before people tried to overtake. Had this happened in Lagos, drivers would have raced to sneak through impossibly small gaps between cars.<\/p>\n

There are regulations that prompt Kenyans to take a picture when they observe non-civic traffic behavior<\/strong> and report it, and there’s a TV program that shows these pictures. Maybe it’s this kind of social control that’s behind the civilized driving behavior I’ve seen here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The differences between Kenyan and Nigerian management styles were explained to me during my stay in Lagos. After talking to managers from both countries, it became clear that what I had been told had some truth in it: Kenyans are relational, while Nigerians are deal-makers. Setting the stage is important to Kenyans. You can’t go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1654,"featured_media":363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[100235,99106],"tags":[13860,951,80748,80747,1080,80746],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-differences-within-africa","category-future-and-perspectives-for-africa","tag-cultural-differences","tag-kenya","tag-life-style","tag-management-style","tag-nigeria","tag-regulations","megacategoria-mc-africa"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t