Norwegian Teams

The key Norwegian characteristics of egalitarianism, consensus-seeking and lack of ego tend to make Norwegians extremely good team players – but the team must correspond to their idea of what constitutes a good, well-functioning team.

Therefore, the more southern European team (characterised by a group of individuals working in isolation and reporting to a strong, instructive-style leader) is unlikely to succeed. There is a need for the team leader to offer continuous consultation and develop an ongoing buy-in process.

Each team member expects and is expected to perform his or her individual tasks with the minimum of supervision from superiors. Such unwarranted supervision might be seen as a criticism or lack of trust in professional capabilities.

In summary, if handled well, a Norwegian will be an enormous asset to any team but if he or she is left to feel uninvolved or in any way patronised, they are unlikely to do more than the bare minimum.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Norway only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.