Cultural Differences: Specific Nuances about Coaching Americans vs. Brazilians

Posted on November 06, 2015 by Beatriz Cancado Costa, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Cultural Differences: Specific Nuances about Culture regarding Coaching the Brazilian Population

Beatriz C. Costa
Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract: In an extremely globalized world, how do professionals in Executive Coaching tailor their approach to the nuances of different cultures? As a Brazilian being educated in the United States, deeply understanding the values of my own culture is crucial in being effective as a professional Coach, and sharing my findings will allow other professionals in the Coaching field to access this particular culture, which beyond soccer and its emerging economy, has much more to offer.

Keywords: Culture, Brazil, Executive Coaching

Introduction
Through this paper, I will depict the particularities of the Brazilian culture, especially as to how it relates to Coaching in that context. What are the nuances of Coaching this particular population? This paper helps readers understand Brazilian values and how these values impact the Coaching relationship, helping professionals adapt their approach to the mentioned culture. With the growing economy and Coaching culture, this paper will help emerging coaches realize how they must present themselves to gain credibility and how to tailor their approach to the population at hand. First, you will understand more about the country’s historical and current context. Secondly, there will be a summary of the major findings within literature, including what are the most important Brazilian values, followed by the application and implications of the findings. Lastly, the paper will be concluded with finals thoughts regarding the topic.

Review of Selected Literature
Culture and Coaching
In order to understand the implications of Coaching in a different culture, one must first understand the concept of “culture.” Culture is a learned system of meanings that fosters a sense of shared identity and solidarity among its group members and is passed from one generation of the community to the next (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2005). According to the same authors, to be part of a culture is to be “a desirable and ideal member of that particular system” (p. 27). Culture is like an iceberg and the deeper layers, such as traditions, beliefs and values are hidden from our view. However, this layer is the most important because cultural beliefs and values drive people’s thinking, reactions, and behaviors. Thus, understanding what it means to be Brazilian is essential in order to be effective as a Coach in that culture.
Executive Coaching, as described by Peltier (2010), is the employment of psychological skills and methods in a one-on-one relationship to help the client become a more effective leader or professional. Kimsey-House et al (2011) adds that coaching is about discovery, awareness, and choice in the process of empowering people. This paper is in line with the International Coaching Federation’s (ICF) definition of Coaching: “Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” According to Lennard (2010), the key to effective Coaching lies in the ability to recognize and respect the different viewpoints, values, and perspectives of the people coached.
Cultural factors influence coaching beliefs and practices. By recognizing that humans are cultural beings, each with their own cultural identities, Coaches increase their ability to relate to others and identify their own ways of acting in coaching situations (Lennard, 2010). The practice of Coaching is strengthened when the Coach considers his own cultural orientation as well as that of their client. Anthropologist Edward D. Hall (1976) claims that every aspect of human life is touched and altered by culture. With this in mind, we shall further understand the culture of the nation under depiction: Brazil.
Understanding the Culture – History of Brazil
Coaching is all about behaviors and behaviors are connected to the society that one lives in, or its culture. When thinking about Brazil, non-Latin cultures see little beyond its clichéd “tropicality, coffee production, Carnival and soccer.” The fifth largest nation in the world, after Russia, Canada, China and the USA, few understand how urban it is, and the fact that dozens of cities have more than one million habitants and that the subway system in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are one of the longest and cleanest in the world (Levine & Crocitti, 1999). Besides its urban characteristics, there is more to its culture than meets the eye. Let’s begin with a quick review of its history in order to understand its present day culture.
Brazil was discovered in April 22, 1500. Years later, after Napoleon’s defeat in Europe, Don João VI stayed in the colony and raised it to the position of a kingdom united with Portugal (Celestino & Faro, 2008). After his return to Portugal, his son, still in the colony, declared Brazil’s independence and crowned himself King of Brazil. The particular way in which Brazil was colonized, differently from other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, led to the country not having professionals that were trained locally. All the educated people came from Coimbra University, in Portugal. This helped create a vision of centralized power. These formative years helped to create a centralized outlook that is found today within organizations and that affects the coaching practices in the country (Celestino & Faro, 2008).
Today in Brazil, there are deep-seated ideas about the importance of conserving relationships and offering or tolerating little or no feedback. In the few organizations where it tends to be offered, they are often formal, distorted and lacking in depth or evidence (Celestino & Faro, 2008). According to the authors, it is common to see senior managers acting as if the organization’s success or failure is their sole responsibility. As a consequence, they hide problems in their teams, believing they are a reflection of their poor leadership. Another aspect of Brazilian culture within organizations is that managers are often focused on short-term results (Celestino & Faro, 2008). Their goal is to receive recognition as soon as possible. Furthermore, it is culturally acceptable to work long hours and have reduced holidays as a sign of hard word. The physical presence of the employees is seen as signs of loyalty, leaving little space for flexible work-hours and a high level of bureaucracy. These ways of controlling employees generate a lot of work, but don’t contribute to the company’s end results.
Another aspect of Brazilian culture observed by Celestino & Faro (2008) is that Brazilians hold a holistic vision of success that encompasses “the personal, mental and spiritual spheres alongside the professional and financial” (p. 91). With this in mind, we return to Coaching, the main focus of this paper.

The Evolution of Coaching
A critical component of understanding the context of a given idea or concept is to examine or track its history. It is believed that the concept of “Coach” began around the year 1500, coincidently the same year in which Brazil was discovered, as the name of the transportation conductor in European carriages. Around 1850, the term was attributed to professors in universities, especially to those who were mentors, tutoring students in how to prepare for exams and tests (Ferreira, 2011). In the 1950s, the term was first utilized as a technique of personal and professional human development, including athletic development. However, according to Ferreira (2011), only in the 1960s was the term first utilized, in New York, in the context of Life Coaching. In the 80s it gained more and more strength, being utilized often for development of leaders, and setting the stage for Coaching as we know today.
In Brazil, Coaching emerged during the 70s in the context of athletic development. It has grown increasingly in the organizational setting, especially after the 1990s, and is utilized by renowned organizations, such as Petrobrás and Banco do Brasil.
A research requested by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and conducted by PwC (2011) shows that there are 41,000 active coaches around the globe, creating an industry close to $2 billion a year. The number of professional coaches in emerging countries is growing rapidly. In Brazil, for instance, the number went from 350 in 2009 to 1,100 in only two years. There is still much space for growth in the country, but professionals are optimistic about the career’s future in Brazil.
In comparison to the United States, there are 40 coaches for each million habitants, whereas in Brazil that number is 4.4. Furthermore, a Coach in the USA makes an average of $47k a year and in Brazil the remuneration drops to an average $34k. However, the intended growth per hourly rate was estimated in 29% for 2011 (PwC, 2011). The research also shows that one of the greatest challenges of the profession in Brazil is having qualified Coaches. With this challenge in mind, we must prepare professionals that are being educated overseas to better tailor their approach to the Brazilian population, in order to combine a world-class education with a deep comprehension of the country’s culture and context.

Values and Cultural Dimensions in Brazil
When a tourist goes to Brazil, what must they know in order to not get run over? What are the jewels of the culture? As a Brazilian myself, I can say that Brazil is warm, welcoming, compassionate, and these qualities are seen through human interaction. Brazilians share feelings and emotions easily, differently from Saxon nations around the globe. In Brazil, we value family, soccer, samba, beaches, beer and friendship – not necessarily in this order.
In order to understand culture, we must also understand values. According to Rokeach (1973), values are enduring beliefs that guide actions and judgments. If values influence behavior, then we must comprehend these values in order to create a Coaching rapport and help the client plan and take action for their future.
Brazilians are so particular about their culture that they do not regard themselves as “Latin Americans.” Their diversity varies from ethnic, linguistic (they speak Portuguese, not Spanish), religious to gender and race. Our large mix of races and people make us a very unique country in the world – and we are very proud of our multicultural heritage.
Other particularities important to keep in mind can be seen through Hofstede’s (2001) perspective of cultural dimensions. These cultural dimensions affect all types of communication methods, such as verbal, non-verbal and etiquette do’s and don’ts. According to him, there are 5 dimensions of culture: power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation. Understanding these dimensions give us great insight into a culture.
Power distance (PDI) refers to the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations accept that power is distributed equally. At a score of 69 (Hofstede Centre, 2012), Brazilians believe that hierarchy should be respected and inequalities among people are expected and accepted.
Individualism (IDV) shows the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. Brazil’s score of 38 demonstrates that it is a Collectivist country whose members are integrated into strong, cohesive groups, since birth. This trait is demonstrated by its valorization of the extensive family, including uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins. Brazilians protect members of their in-group in exchange for loyalty.
In terms of masculinity (MAS), or wanting to be best, and femininity, or liking what you do, Brazil scores 49, which is in the middle of the continuum. Softer aspects of culture, such as showing sympathy, are valued and encouraged.
Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) is the extent to which members of a culture feel comfortable with ambiguous or uncertain situations and have created institutions and beliefs to avoid these feelings. Like other Latin American countries, Brazil scores high on this dimension (76). There is a strong need for rules in order to structure life and create a sense of safety.
With a score of 65, Brazil’s long-term orientation (LTO) is relatively high, showing that its people have a future-oriented perspective. Brazil is the only non-Asian society with a long-term orientation. Brazilians accept more than one truth and generally accept change as a normal part of life.

Summary of Major Findings
As we can see from a summary of the literature, Brazil’s history has a strong influence on where it presently stands culturally. Its deep-seated beliefs include:
• Conserving relationships
• Tolerating little feedback
• Success or failure lies within an individual, not the group
• Accepting bureaucracy and rigid work hours
• Hierarchies should be respected
• Holistic vision of success
• Cohesive friendships and family in exchange for loyalty
• Achieving success includes liking what one does
The Coaching profession is rapidly growing in Brazil in parallel with the increase in demand for this kind of service. Understanding the particularities of the culture includes understanding the population’s values.

Family, friendship, career, entertainment and beauty, in no particular order, are the top 5 answers that reflect general Brazilian values. In terms of the workplace, they value loyalty, commitment, agreeableness, respect for hierarchy and friendship. These values, collected by a survey delivered to members of that population, are in line with the dimensions of culture pointed out by Hofstede (2011). Furthermore, the population is very proud of their multicultural heritage, which strongly influences, for instance, the country’s music and rituals (e.g. Capoeira).
The literature differs, however, when considering the short- and long-term perspective of the population. Celestino & Faro (2008) believe managers focus on short-term results and seek quick recognition. Their hard work is measured by work hours, being acceptable, for instance, to have reduced holidays as a sign of dedication. Hofstede Center’s (2011) results show, however, that Brazilians have a long-term perspective of life, thus valuing their relationships and work pleasure. They have more than one acceptable truth, showing a relativist perspective of life. This aspect connects to another interesting piece of data. Hofstede Center (2011) shows that, due to the high score on uncertainty avoidance, Brazilians require rules and bureaucracy in order to create a sense of safety. On the other hand, accepting multiple truths and being open to change, Brazilians are well known for their “jeitinho brasileiro” – or Brazilian way. The “Brazilian way” allows different strategies for going about a situation, often leaving space for creative (and sometimes illegal) methods of achieving a certain goal. If there are different paths that can lead to a desired outcome, Brazilians will try to use their “charm,” as some would call it, in order to attain that outcome.

Application and Implication for Coaching Practice
When Coaching the Brazilian population, part of the challenge is to understand the nation’s culture. At the same time that the population is very receptive, it will be in the Coach’s best interest to comprehend the client’s cultural values in order to create rapport and a plan for action. Coaches who are Brazilian, or understand the culture profoundly, will still need to tailor their approach – often developed abroad – to the country’s population.
Being aware of cultural nuances is the first step in being successful with this population. For instance, in a culture where relationships are valued, how do you contract to give and receive feedback, and coach your client, who may be a leader in their organization, to develop healthy feedback tools with their teams? In Coaching, we agree that communication is primordial in achieving success. However, having clear communication and maintaining relationships may not always be seen as having a direct link with each other. Giving feedback, as mentioned previously, is very difficult for most of the Brazilian population, as it requires honest labeling and running the risk of ruining a friendship. This must be kept in mind when contracting and setting expectations in the beginning of the engagement, clarifying what ways feedback is better received by the client and agreeing to be honest about the engagement. This is in line with the guiding principle of “earning the right to advance” at each stage of the process, making sure that communication is clear and that the client is ready. By being a culture in touch with their emotions, the Coach may move faster in the first phase of the Coaching process, earning the right to advance and being able to ask profound questions from the beginning. However, the client may have greater difficulty collecting data from his environment. They may not be aware of how they are perceived in their work place, for instance, due to the friendships and long-term relationships that have been developed in that context. The Coach may spend significant amount of time in situation analysis, helping co-create data collection strategies with the client in order to diagnose the situation.
In addition, since the Brazilian population feels comfortable and safe around rules, maintaining high standards of ethical conduct will develop trust between client and Coach. This trust will be essential when the Coach needs to “honest label” the client. If honest labeling occurs prematurely, it may be perceived as an aggression or insult. Developing rapport from the beginning, and basing it on ethical standards, will allow Coaches to use their techniques to the fullest and clients to find ways of self-renewing.
When planning action steps, the Coach must comprehend that Brazilians hold a holistic vision of success regarding the personal, mental and spiritual spheres. This part of the culture is in line with one of the four cornerstones of co-active coaching: focus on the whole person (Kimsey-House et al., 2011). To focus on the whole person, the coach needs to be comfortable with “deepening and forwarding” their encounters in order to achieve the fulfillment and balance that the Brazilian Coachee searches for. Enjoying the process before achieving the goal is part of the Brazilian mindset. It is through understanding this that the Coach will get the client to commit and grow. This refers to the principle of focusing on the client’s agenda, and really letting them conduct their own growth based on their values and priorities.
In terms of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, the implications of understanding where Brazil stands are seen on day-to-day interactions. For example, in terms of power distance, Brazilians show respect to the elderly, especially to members of their families. In addition, the boss takes complete responsibility for failures/successes and status symbols of power are important to indicate social position. Thus, if the Coach is younger than the Coachee, trust and respect will need to be established through other forms of power, such as knowledge. It may be important for the client, for instance, to know where the Coach was trained for the profession, and to see that he has firm ethical standards.
Furthermore, in terms of Collectivism, it is common to see an older and more powerful family member helping a younger nephew to be hired for a job. In business, relationships must also be trustworthy and long lasting. Meetings often begin with general conversations in order to know more about the other person before going into business together. Communication style is profuse and elaborate. It may be important to find commonalities between the Coach and the Coachee in order to gain trust and respect. During the first encounters of the Coaching engagement, the client may be curious about the Coach’s background and try to develop a friendship between them. It is important to show the difference between friendship and partnership, since the latter is the role of the Coach. How much should a Coach disclose of himself in this kind of culture?
The dimension of masculinity and femininity also has implications in the day-to-day life of Brazilians. Conflicts are avoided in the personal and work life and it is important to have consensus when making a decision. As a survey respondent said, “Most Brazilian employees are friends with their colleagues, going out after work for drinks and hanging out during the weekends. During work, they take long breaks over coffee to catch up on each other’s lives. Work is certainly an extension of their personal lives.” When making a decision, Brazilians search for a consensus. Another answer from the survey claims: “one of the major concerns in Brazil is not to be the best in the profession, but to be liked and well received by one’s colleagues.” Coaching involves change, and change often involves conflict. Preparing the client for changes in their professional and personal lives is essential in order to build commitment through involvement.
Being aware of where Brazil stands in regards to its population’s uncertainty avoidance helps us understand the country’s necessity of elaborate legal systems, creating laws after laws, and often taking up large sums of time to achieve a small result, due to bureaucracy. As seen earlier by the necessity of having long work breaks to maintain relationships, they also need relaxing moments in their everyday life, such as enjoying a long meal or dancing with friends. Brazilians are certainly very passionate and demonstrative of their emotions, easily seen by their extensive use of body language. The Coach’s challenge will be to create equilibrium between the pleasures the Coachee finds through “chatting” and really developing their Coaching goals. In addition, there is a lot of data that can be collected by the client’s body language that can be used for honest labeling.
Finally, Hofstede’s last dimension: long-term orientation. The Brazilian way of doing things, or the “jeitinho brasileiro,” is to look for alternatives in order to find a solution for situations often seen as impossible. They are very persistent and have a saying they are very proud of: “I’m Brazilian, and I never give up!” Thus, it may be a challenge to the Coach to question assumptions and to bring the client back to realistic goals. On the other hand, Brazilians are good clients in the sense that they are positive, always believing that there is a strategy to tackle their objectives. They like being rewarded frequently, but are also patient, often being in a company for many, many years, and understanding that achieving a certain position takes time and dedication – or internal politics, unfortunately.
For a Coach entering the Brazilian culture for the first times, asking the client to complete a Values Clarification Exercise may be helpful in determining where to start the Coaching engagement. Brazilian culture values emotions. How are the actions connected to the values? We behave the way we do because, to prepare for action, we must first attribute meaning (Barnlund, 1989). Using the 5W2H Method (Ishikaway, 1990), or what, where, when, who, why, how much and how technique, is also helpful in order to understand the different facets of the client’s issue. This method will help the Coachee consider options and evaluate them by reflecting on emotion and behaviors.
Also, as previously claimed by Celestino & Faro (2008), managers act as if the organization’s success or failure is their sole responsibility. Thus, they hide problems within their teams, as it would reflect their poor leadership. A Coach in Brazil must work in order to deconstruct this idea by increasing the client’s self-awareness. By understanding the consequences of their actions they will better recognize their contributions to the success or failure of the team’s goals and, perhaps equally important, they will recognize the value of others in the team. This may facilitate the transition into a relationship where giving and receiving feedback is well received.
Although all coaching competencies are important, some of them stand out according to the culture the Coach is in. For instance, relating is primordial for Brazilians, so the Coach must be able to relate to his client. Brazilians are very empathic and the same is expected from the Coach. Asking permission to address sensitive topics is well seen, since friendship is a strong value in the culture. Being patient, long-term focused individuals, clients are also aware of the Coach’s presence and listening skills, being essential in developing the relationship and trust. Brazilians are competent in being present themselves and do not expect less from the professional they are working with. Curiosity will occur in both directions and tolerance is expected for ambiguity. For a professional from another culture, leveraging diversity must be a very strong competence, as it is expected when working with this multicultural population. In terms of making meaning with others, open-ended questions will work well with Brazilians, since they are very profuse in their language. They are comfortable talking about feelings and sharing their experiences. Only through making meaning will the client be ready to take action. Testing assumptions is important when trying to gain self-awareness. If the client, a manager, needs to understand his impact on his organization, the Coach must be competent to test for accuracy and patterns during their conversation. In addition, helping the client succeed is a very important competency considering the Brazilian context. If clients are used to being rewarded and encouraged for their behaviors, the Coach must help them cross boundaries and expand their repertoire of possibilities through experimentation. The competency of contributing is one of the most important when working with the Brazilian population. They respect and understand rules and order, so outlining the agenda, objectives, purpose of the interventions is crucial for a successful engagement. Brazilian Coaches may have more trouble being rigid with these rules, as they also value the relationship, but they will be respected when they set borders and limitation that will help the client move forward. Finally, the business acumen, that may be more important in other cultures, also plays a role when the client understands that the Coach brings a systems perspective and focuses the engagement in bringing about results that are in line with the holistic approach. The Coach’s understanding of business issues will also earn respect from the client.

Conclusions
Brazilian culture clearly affects the way that business is conducted in the country and how professionals behave within this context. By understanding how Brazilians think and feel, Coaches are better equipped to help them through their development, growth and self-awareness. With its growth in economy, Brazil is also increasing its demand for coaches, showing that this is a market yet to be explored and conquered by Coaching professionals. Coach will more and more become a common tool, as data shows.
The practice of Coaching is strengthened when the Coach is aware of his own cultural orientation as well as that of their client. One of the greatest insights that the paper provides is the importance of relationships to the Brazilian people. Understanding this value will affect how a Coach will contract with the client, gain their trust, structure the session in order to not escape on tangents, and finally help the client collect, understand and provide feedback.
Secondly, knowing that Brazilians see success holistically and must “enjoy the ride,” the Coach is free to experiment and test assumptions, as Brazilians are generally “easy going.” The Coach may use humor appropriately through their Coaching presence and the more deep connection will allow greater trust, greater commitments, and ultimately greater growth. Since Coaching is also about finding equilibrium, having a client that understands the importance of having a balanced life will facilitate the commonly difficult path for change.
Finally, and perhaps most important in terms of “big picture,” the Brazilian work life is an extension of people’s personal lives. This mix brings pros and cons, such as a more pleasurable workday, but losing where conflict with colleagues can be an opportunity for growth. Understanding that the Coaching relationship is also an extension of their personal lives, establishing rapport, trust, and sharing personal information must be accepted from the professional as normal and a source of important data.
There are many perspectives through which we can analyze Coaching, but culture is certainly a very important lens in the globalized world of today. Being culturally sensitive will open important doors, especially considering that Coaching is more and more often conducted through long-distance Skype sessions. As the world becomes smaller, our profession must absorb and understand the nuances of the cultures we will be working with, with the many clients that perhaps work in our country of origin, but has a heritage in another culture.
This paper provides insight into understanding a little bit more about the Brazilian culture. There are other nuances that have not been addressed, such as language, which is not only a tool for communication, but also a system of representation for perception and thinking. Furthermore, the paper does not address religion, which may be an important component in the Brazilian culture. In addition, the research lacks insight into how open and accepting the Brazilian population is in receiving Coaching from a culturally different professional. Finally, is it possible to design a tool that will rate the importance of each Coaching competency, principle and phase component relative to the culture of interest?
There is clearly much space to develop and grow in terms of Coaching literature and the practice’s multi-, or inter-, cultural implications. Through research and practice, Coaching will exceed the expectations set by a demanding world. Ultimately, isn’t growth and learning what Coaching is about?