The Secret to Managing Your Japanese Boss

How to Avoid Being Micromanaged

Okay, there’s no secret. But over the years I picked up some techniques to avoid being micromanaged by Japanese bosses. These are the most important.

“Hear One Do Ten”

My very first Japanese boss said this the first day of work, meaning he expected me to be observant, read between the lines, process the information around me, then take initiative without specifically being told what to do. It’s exactly how my father raised me; I still remember dad telling me as a kid that if I ever ran out of work, I shouldn’t wait for instructions, that I should pick up a broom, or find something else constructive to do without being told. This foundation made it easy for me to adapt to the Japanese expectation that employees take initiative.

HŌRENSŌ

Another key concept is what Japanese managers call “HŌRENSO” (報連相), an acronym made up of three Japanese words: hōkoku (報告), renraku (連絡), and sōdan (相談). The acronym literally means “report-contact-consult,” but it’s pronounced the same as the Japanese word for spinach (“hōrensō”), so it’s easy to remember.

Here’s a simple way to understand how the concept works:

Your boss tells you to do “1”; you take initiative and do 1, 2, 3. Then you go back to your boss to show him what you did.

He pulls out his red pen and tells you everything you did wrong, usually without any praise.

You in turn fix your mistakes, then proceed to do 4, 5, 6.

Repeat drill with Japanese boss and red pen.

After fixing the red marks on 4, 5, 6 you proceed to 10.

Rinse and repeat, until there are no more red marks.

Some of my American compatriots consider HŌRENSŌ micromanagement, but if you do it correctly, it is the antidote to micromanagement. (Trust me, I’ve broken in a few Japanese bosses in my day.) HŌRENSŌ is absolutely the best way to manage your Japanese boss. Rather than waiting for him to come breathe down your neck, you beat him to the punch by proactively approaching him first.

In addition to ensuring good communication and gaining a better understanding of your boss’s expectations, HŌRENSŌ has also been the most effective technique for me in building trust with previous Japanese bosses and colleagues. Once that trust is established, my Japanese bosses have all backed off, given me breathing room, and we lived happily ever after. Well, in most cases.

The big critique of HŌRENSŌ is that it takes too much damn time. No argument here. However, I always considered it an upfront investment in time to win the boss’s trust, with an eye on saving time in the future. In my experience, it usually worked over the long haul, but your mileage may vary.

The question is, why do Japanese bosses micromanage in the first place? A big part of the reason is that responsibility tends to roll uphill in Japanese organizations. This means that if a subordinate fails, the boss owns it, no blaming subordinates allowed. (The boss may scold the subordinate, but in the end the buck stops at the top.) For better or for worse, it makes sense in this context that a Japanese manager would be wary of delegating a task to a subordinate with no supervision or follow-up, certainly if a strong relationship of trust hasn’t been established.

Nemawashi & Chōsei

“…the Westerner and the Japanese mean something different when they talk of ‘making a decision.’ In the West, all the emphasis is on the answer to the question. Indeed, our books on decision-making try to develop systematic approaches to giving an answer. To the Japanese, however, the important element in decision-making is defining the question. The important and crucial steps are to decide whether there is a need for a decision and what the decision is about. And it is in this step that the Japanese aim at attaining consensus. Indeed, it is this step that, to the Japanese, is the essence of the decision. The answer to the question (what the West considers the decision) follows from its definition.” ~ Peter Drucker

When Japanese set out to introduce change into their organizations — whether it be a single decision or a series of decisions directed at solving a problem — they meet informally with numerous people throughout the organization to ask for help in defining the problem. Indeed many of these meetings happen one-on-one, sometimes outside of work at social functions. This is the Japanese way of laying the groundwork for change, a process they call nemawashi.

For some background, the word nemawashi is a gardening term that roughly translates to “digging around the roots.” The nemawashi process happens when a Japanese gardener undertakes the delicate task of transplanting a tree or plant from one part of the garden to another. If the gardener simply rips out the plant and buries it in a new location, it dies of shock. To avoid this and give the plant a heads-up that change is coming, the gardener instead “digs around the roots.”

Similarly, when change becomes necessary in the workplace, nemawashi is analogous to pre-selling a decision or initiative through consultations within and across departments. And the act of moving the tree to its new location in the garden would be analogous to implementing a decision in the workplace. Nemawashi is a useful way to describe how Japanese take time upfront to lay the groundwork so quick and smooth implementation is possible.

At a seminar I administered years ago, one of the Japanese managers remarked that the word nemawashi had an underhanded nuance. It was the first time a client had expressed this sentiment to me. It piqued my interest, so I did a survey in ensuing sessions and found that not all Japanese share his opinion. However, most agreed that the expression “chōsei suru” (literally, “to adjust”) has a better ring to it.

Truth Versus Harmony

It helps to understand why Japanese and Western decision-making approaches are so different. One explanation is that the West has the legacy of the Greek philosophers who, rightly or wrongly, put “truth” at the top of the hierarchy of values. And to get to the truth they invented the dialectic, what most people call “debating.” This legacy endures today. When Western managers go to a meeting to openly debate the issues, they are, at least in principle, trying to get to the truth. Whether they realize it or not, the ghost of Socrates lurks quietly in the background.

In Japan the corresponding value is harmony, where the ghost of Confucius lives. It’s not that the Japanese don’t like the truth, but when truth and harmony collide, often the truth gets swept under the rug to maintain harmony. So how do Japanese avoid harmony-shattering confrontation at meetings? Why they conduct chōsei behind the scenes to avoid public debate!

It’s useful to think of HŌRENSŌ as a part of the chōsei process. Sure, it is terribly inefficient and takes a lot more time than it should to get things done. But if you’re working for a traditional Japanese company, it’s futile to fight it. Going with the flow, adapting to the reality by learning to conduct chōsei can go a long way in mitigating your frustration and headaches.

Cultural Ideal versus Reality

Lastly, a disclaimer: there will always be a gap between the cultural ideal and the reality. Just because Westerners claim to value the truth doesn’t mean we always tell the truth. We have no shortage of liars! Like any cultural value, it is simply an ideal we aspire to uphold.

Similarly, just because the Japanese value harmony doesn’t mean they are harmonious all the time. When true harmony cannot be achieved in Japan, surface harmony is the next best option.

© Tim Sullivan 2022