The Lewis Model

We are training providers of the Cross Cultural Competence course which was developed based on the work of linguist and leading cross-cultural specialist Richard D. Lewis. The Lewis Model is the cultural model developed by Lewis.

The Lewis Model was developed by linguist and leading cross-cultural specialist Richard D. Lewis. It was published in his book, “When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures” (First published in hardback by Nicholas Brealey Publishing in 1996).

It is based on data gathered from Lewis’s time spent visiting 135 countries (working in more than 20 of them), 50,000 executives taking residential courses, and more than 150,000 online questionnaires across 68 different nationalities.

Lewis came to the conclusion that humans can be divided into 3 clear categories, based not on nationality or religion but on behaviour.

While Lewis’s three categories are distinctive, each possesses behavioural elements from the other two. It is a question of which behaviours are dominant.

Lewis acknowledges the difficulty in defining cultural categories which could run in to dozens, if not hundreds of definitions when comparing differences across nationality, region, religion, generation etc. He wanted to provide a model to avoid confusion and provide succinctness.

The Lewis Model is designed to indicate with which particular cultural group an individual would have empathy with. Lewis named his three typologies Linear-active, Multi-active and Reactive.

Linear-Active

Task-oriented, highly-organised planners, who prefer getting things done, one task at a time in a planned sequence. Arguements are made with logic, while rules are to be followed.

Characteristics

Talks half the time
Does one thing at a time
Plans ahead step by step
Polite but direct
Partly conceals feelings
Confronts with logic
Dislikes losing face
Rarely interrupts
Job-orientated
Uses many facts
Truth before diplomacy
Sometimes impatient
Limited body language
Respects officialdom
Seperates the social and professional

Multi-Active

Emotional, loquacious and impulsive who see family, feelings and relationships ahead of following an agenda. They are comfortable do many things at the same time.

Characteristics

Talks most of the time
Does several things at once
Plans grand outline only
Emotional
Displays feelings
Confronts emotionally
Has good excuses
Often interrupts
People-orientated
Feelings before facts
Flexible truth
Impatient
Unlimited body language
Seeks out key person
Interweaves the social and professional

Reactive

Polite, attentive listeners, who rarely initiate action or discussion, instead react to it and form their own opinion. Harmony and avoiding embarrassment to themselves or others is core.

Characteristics

Listens most of the time
Reacts to partner’s action
Looks at general principles
Polite, indirect
Conceals feelings
Never confronts
Must not lose face
Doesn’t interrupt
Very people-orientated
Statements are promises
Diplomacy over truth
Patient
Subtle body language
Uses connections
Connects the social and professional

Year Established

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Team Size

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The diagram to the right shows Lewis’s visual representation of linear-active, multi-active and reactive variations among major national cultures, based on his decades-long observations and thousands of assessments of cultural profiles.

The diagram indicates the relative positioning of each national culture in general terms of its linear-active, multi-active or reactive nature.