When conflict arises, Chinese thinking immediately considers all the relationships involved, not just the two parties directly disputing. Your disagreement with a colleague isn’t just between you two—it affects your teams, your bosses, and your broader networks.
This means you need to think about who else cares about this conflict and who might be affected by how it’s resolved. Resolution approaches that damage wider relationships are worse than those that preserve them, even if the wider-impact approach produces a less ideal immediate outcome.
When you’re working through a conflict with Chinese counterparts, recognize that they’re weighing consequences across their entire relationship network, not just the direct outcome with you. What seems like excessive caution may reflect concern about relationships you don’t see. Solutions that account for this broader relational field will be more acceptable than those narrowly focused on the immediate dispute.
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