The Asian proverb goes, “the loudest duck gets shot.” In America, it’s “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
Business adviser Jane Hyun used these metaphors to highlight the differences in Asian and American cultures and how they create challenges for Asians in the workplace.
Students filled Huntsman G55 to near capacity Monday night to hear Hyun speak about “breaking the bamboo ceiling.” She wrote a book of the same title in 2005.
“There are a lot of women’s initiatives and African-American programs, but people don’t know that Asians struggle in the workplace.”
According to her book, only 28 percent of Asians are very comfortable being themselves at work. For blacks, whites and Latinos, this percentage is over 40.
The duck and wheel metaphors, Hyun said, underlined key cultural differences she thinks are responsible for the absence of Asians in corporate leadership roles.
She explained that uniqueness is often frowned upon in Asian cultures, whereas in the United States, differentiating yourself is an important quality on the way to becoming a leader.
Hyun also prescribed tools to help Asians project the traits of a leader, including using physical signals like positive body language, high energy and a strong voice.
“In a way, she was the embodiment of what she said,” Wharton sophomore Gib Baltzer said. “She came from an immigrant background and determined a way that she could use the skills that were provided to her and [recognized] the other skills that are out there to create authentic leadership.”
In addition to answering the audience’s questions, Hyun often paused to ask the students in attendance her own questions, such as the problems they fear they will face when they begin their careers.
College freshman Chen Pan, a member of the Promoting Enriching Experiences and Relationships program, or PEER, said he was delightfully surprised that Hyun “really engaged the audience” with her questions.
PEER hosted the event in collaboration with the Wharton Asia Exchange, or WAX, as part of WAX Spotlight Asia Week, which will highlight various aspects of Asian business and culture with events this week.
The events continue tomorrow evening with 2011 Wharton MBA graduate Adam Guren, who will speak on capital markets in Asia.
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