Thailand has earned its reputation as the “Land of Smiles,” due to the friendly and welcoming nature of its people. The colorful and lively festivals, such as the Songkran Water Festival, where everyone splashes each other with water, famous Thai cuisine known for flavor and spice, and the customary wai or gesture of respect made by placing your palms together, all demonstrate Thailand’s vibrant traditions.
Beyond these cultural traditions, human resource management (HRM) practices in Thailand demonstrate several unique trends. Notably, face-to-face communication holds paramount importance in Thai culture, despite increased use of technology that creates greater online presence in other markets. HRM practices prioritize in-person interactions, such as frequent meetings and feedback sessions, to cultivate effective communication among employees. Additionally, cultural respect for elders and experienced individuals manifests in HRM through opportunities for senior employees to mentor early-career workers.
Since 2008, Hogan Assessments has collaborated with authorized distributors in Thailand to provide assessments and localized reports in Thai, servicing the local market’s needs. Throughout this period, Hogan has accumulated a wealth of data on leadership within Thailand. Drawing from a sample of more than 800 Thai leaders, our research reveals distinctive insights into the personality trends for the business leaders who emerge in Thailand.
What Do Thai Leaders Want?
The Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) assesses the fundamental values, drivers, and interests that shape individuals’ aspirations and pursuits. Thai leaders tend to score high on the Hedonism and Commerce scales. Leaders who combine high Hedonism and high Commerce are characterized as seeking both personal enjoyment and financial success. They are likely to seek and create an engaging and interesting work environment, yet driven by the pursuit of tangible outcomes and financial prosperity. Their leadership style may incorporate elements of motivation through enjoyable experiences and a focus on achieving measurable business goals.
These values are consistent with sanuk, a Thai concept that emphasizes striving to achieve enjoyment, fun, and happiness in life. In a BBC article, one of Thailand’s best-known architects is quoted saying that people in Thailand will resign if they do not find their job fun. Praveenuj Visvaporabutr, managing partner of Absolute Talent Solutions, an authorized distributor of Hogan Assessments in Thailand, confirms this. “Thai talent has a tendency to quit their jobs if they don’t find their work interesting,” she explains. If a job is no longer enjoyable or lacks personal fulfillment, Thai leaders may leave to seek something more aligned with their values and personal happiness. Work is expected to contribute positively to overall life satisfaction. Keeping work fun and interesting is one method Thai leaders use to keep their teams and talent engaged, consistent with the value of high Hedonism.
The high scores on the value of Commerce for leaders in Thailand, Visvaporabutr explains, may relate to a couple of factors. The fact that Thai people do not have strong support from the government compared to many other countries plays a crucial part in high Commerce.She notes that to access high-quality healthcare or education in Thailand, people usually rely on their own or their family’s income. Leaders who are focused on financial success may be more likely to become leaders because maintaining finances is key to getting ahead in Thai society. Another possible reason for high Commerce is that Thai culture is traditionally hierarchal, with a strong emphasis on respect for seniority and authority. This drives people to want to attain a higher job status and better pay.
Thai leaders, on average, score lower on the Affiliation scale. This suggests a value placed on independence and individual accomplishment rather than social connections and a sense of belonging. Leaders with low scores on the Affiliation scale tend to prioritize individual efficiency and productivity over fostering teamwork and interpersonal relationships. These leaders prefer working autonomously, making decisions based on their own expertise and judgments. Moreover, the concept of saving face is deeply important in Thailand. Leaders may avoid team settings to prevent potential embarrassment or loss of face if disagreements or mistakes occur in front of others. Working alone allows them to avoid public challenges to their authority or opinions.
Visvaporabutr agrees that Thai leaders tend to focus on individual achievement. “While Thai people are quite social outside of work, during work Thai leaders tend to worry about their own performance and make decisions independently,” she explains. According to Visvaporabutr, group harmony is highly valued in Thai culture. Leaders might avoid teamwork to sidestep conflicts, disagreements, or confrontations, which could disrupt social harmony. By working alone, they can avoid uncomfortable situations that might challenge the group’s peaceful dynamic while maintaining workplace harmony.
How Will Leaders in Thailand Get What They Want?
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) assesses how individuals behave when they are functioning optimally, providing valuable insights into their work style, leadership approach, and path to success. On average, Thai leaders tend to score lower on the Adjustment and Interpersonal Sensitivity scales. This suggests that they act with a high sense of urgency to prioritize task accomplishment and tend to communicate to their teams in a direct manner. They also likely care deeply about performing well, are vigilant about making mistakes, and take quick action to fix past errors or anticipate future problems. Visvaporabutr agrees that in a complex society like Thailand with such a large population, leaders who worry about their performance, have a sense of urgency, and directly confront problems tend to get ahead successfully.
Interestingly, this characteristic of Thai executives contrasts with the mai pen rai attitude in Thailand, which can be translated as “never mind,” “don’t worry,” or “that’s alright.” This concept reflects an accepting and forgiving attitude towards life’s difficulties. Thais often use this phrase to convey that they are okay with things, they are not getting overly stressed or upset, or they embrace a more easygoing approach. This is one reason understanding personality data is important. In everyday life in Thailand, having a relaxed attitude can help you get through daily frustrations; however, when doing business in Thailand, mai pen rai might take a back seat to a sense of urgency to get things done.
Understanding the trends in Thai leadership offers more nuanced support for organizations interested in doing business in Thailand than looking at general cultural trends alone. Visvaporabutr agrees that Thai people outside of work tend to take a more relaxed attitude towards problems. She points out, however, that the business and economic situation in Thailand is extremely competitive. At work, people who anticipate problems, have a sense of urgency, and are direct communicators are more likely to gain leadership roles.
What Will Get in Thai Leaders’ Way?
The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) measures strengths that can become overused in times of stress, pressure, or boredom, leading to potential damage to one’s reputation and relationships. Thai leaders tend to score higher on the Reserved and Leisurely scales within the HDS’s Moving Away cluster. Leaders with these characteristics typically keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves, may be reluctant to address issues assertively, and are inclined to compromise or give in to avoid conflict and discord.
While in day-to-day interactions Thai executives tend to be direct, straightforward, and proactive communicators, they behave much differently when they are under pressure or when failing to self-monitor– that is, in a way consistent with the concept of kreng-jai. Kreng-jai refers to being respectful towards others, especially those in authority, avoiding causing others to lose face. With kreng-jai, people may feel uncomfortable directly confronting others, especially people in authority; they would rather stay silent and show outward compliance in social interactions to avoid causing embarrassment or conflict. Visvaporabutr describes this deeply rooted cultural phenomenon as “stubborn silence.” To avoid causing trouble, people in Thailand would rather stay quiet about their opinions but do what they want anyway when their ideas conflict with others’ agendas. She points out that there is a phrase in Thai to match this behavior: Speech is silver, silence is golden.
In Hogan terms, coping behaviors that seek to avoid conflict are seen in the Moving Away scales, which include Reserved and Leisurely. When Thai leaders are stressed or not self-monitoring, they may adopt a more avoidant and nonconfrontational approach to leading their teams, rather than acting with directness and urgency. Having higher scores on Leisurely, they may act outwardly cooperative and agreeable, but prioritize their personal agenda and be passive resistant rather than confront others directly. Mai pen rai and kreng-jai are more applicable concepts for Thai leaders in times of stress or difficulty.
What Can We Learn from Thai Leaders’ Personality Data?
As more than 150 markets around the world use the Hogan assessments, we can gain rich information for businesses interested understanding leadership emergence trends in personality. These data provide more useful information for practitioners working across markets and cultures than general cultural concepts do. For example, if we learn about the concept of mai pen rai and assume leaders in Thailand are relaxed, we will miss the insight that Thai leaders may tend to create a sense of urgency for their teams . Additionally, if we assume that Thailand is a collectivist culture that focuses more on group well-being and teamwork rather than individual accomplishment, we will miss the insight that Thai business leaders may tend to emphasize individuals getting things done on their own rather than in teams.
Visvaporabutr shared a story about the impact that understanding expectations of Thai leadership can have on executives doing business in Thailand. She worked with a European executive who relocated to Thailand to run the Asia offices of their organization. The executive initially had difficulty engaging the Thai teams, but after they realized the Thai teams were accustomed to leaders with high Hedonism, they intentionally developed a work-hard, play-hard brand of leadership. The executive took the team to karaoke and dinner after work and implemented a monthly team lunch. The new approach worked, and the team’s engagement immediately increased.
Looking at emergent leaders’ personality data in Thailand, we gain valuable insights into the interplay between culture, HRM dynamics, and leadership styles. This enriches our understanding of how personality and behavior shape leadership emergence in various cultural contexts and offers us the opportunity to gain actionable insights into developing more effective leaders. By understanding the unique differences in leader personality emergence in Thailand, we can more effectively communicate with, do business with, and lead multinational and cross-cultural teams.This article was written by Anne-Marie Paiement, PhD, regional manager, Asia Pacific, and Krista Pederson, MA, managing director, Asia Pacific, at Hogan Assessments.