Allowing different cultures guide in decision-making

Decision-making differs across cultures, therefore it’s important to understand what drives the process. Taking different dimensions into consideration, a business may take a top-down or a consensus decision-making approach.  

Diverse national cultures fall across different sides of this spectrum. It is necessary to not dismiss one approach in favor of another as consensus, just as top-down can bring in effective change management.  

Daniel Illes is VP of People at Vinted, the largest secondhand platform in Europe. Before Vinted, Daniel was Co-Founder and Chief People Officer at Drover, a car subscription startup in London which exited to Cazoo last year. In a previous life, Daniel worked as a corporate lawyer and later as an early employee at the ridesharing company Lyft. 

Key Timestamps: 

0.08 – 1.45: Mapping different cultures’ decision-making approaches using dimensions defined by Erin Mayer’s Culture Map and Hofstede Insights 

1.46 – 2.33: Top-down decision-making vs consensus decision-making cultures 

2.33 – 3.10: West’s outlook on consensus decision– making culture 

3.10 – 4.03: Consensus decision works as effectively as top-down decision-making 

4.04 – 4.52: Importance of not stereotyping based on cultural norms