NEWS & INSIGHT
CULTURE INFORMS PREFERENCE FOR THE BEAR TYPE OF LEADER IN URUGUAY SCHOOL : IEEM, University of Montevideo COUNTRY: Uruguay
Bears are the most popular types of leaders in Uruguay, according to a study from IEEM, the business school of the University of Montevideo. The study sought to discover what people want most in a boss and matched their preferences with pre-established animal models. “The bear type of leader is characterised by being protective and caring for his people. He is strong and powerful and he is affectionate with his collaborators,” explained professor of business policy at IEEM Pablo Regent in an interview for El Observador . Other animal typologies that proved popular among participants were the eagle (forward-thinking) and the chameleon (adaptable to change). Least popular was the owl, a person who excels in intelligence and uses their experience to guide others in the dark. Dubbed It’s a Jungle Out There , the report takes its name from IESE Business School’s recent Real Leadership campaign. In total, 500 people were surveyed through IEEM’s social media networks, with an additional 100 canvassed when attending an open house event at the school. Among each group, the patterns of preferences observed were the same.
This aligns with the theory that leadership ideals and preferences are closely tied to the culture of a country. In Uruguay, according to Regent, this revolves around a tendency to pursue environments of certainty and stability, with an aversion to change. IEEM’s findings are supported by the results of another study that produced a very high score for uncertainty avoidance in Uruguay, drawing from the six dimensions of national culture defined by Geert Hofstede. “The good thing about Uruguay is that nothing changes much, but that is also the bad thing about it,” the IEEM professor debated. Part of the reason for this, he believes, is that the size of the market means if something goes wrong, the damage is great for the company and if things go well, it is difficult to move beyond certain heights. “In Uruguay, business owners prefer to avoid the risk of failure and this shows that the person who has the best chance of lasting in office is not the one who achieves great things, but the one who avoids defeat,” Regent concluded. TBD
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Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025 11
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