How can managers encourage collaboration among employees from different cultures?

Para estimmular a colabora??o entre as pessoas, é importante despertar para o autoconhecimento, compreender as diferen?as e desenvolver a humildade (de verdade!) Reconhecer que o conhecimento pode partir de vários lugares, pessoas, jeitos. A consciência sobre nossos limita??es individuais abre caminho para a colabora??o e a comunica??o autêntica. Reconhecer nossas próprias limita??es, aceitar feedback construtivo, aprender com os outros, e estar aberto a novas ideias e perspectivas. é uma virtude que envolve a ausência de arrogancia, a disposi??o para admitir erros e a capacidade de se colocar no lugar dos outros.

As a Culture Leader bringing people together to learn about each other can be very powerful in understanding the context of their life perspectives. Ask all participants to prepare answers to the same open-ended questions and let them share their life story with each other augmenting with pictures from various stages of their lives to augment their story. Celebrate with a pot-luck, or catering of appetizers celebrating every person's heritage after the event to allow free flowing and natural follow-up conversation and a way to build community.

Foster a culture of curiosity ; I was forced by a coach to go through entire team meetings I was leading by only asking questions and not making any statements (other than to acknowledge people's contributions). Rather than being told to respect others' views, I had no choice because I discovered how valuable they were by giving them the space to express themselves fully. Now I am in the coach's chair I look back on that as a watershed moment for me in leadership.

Our capacity to tolerate difference is developed early in life, in infancy, and continues throughout adulthood. Becoming aware of difference, whether age, gender, race, sexuality, class or ability, even interests and appearance - brings a fear of exclusion with it, the unconscious fear of death. There is also envy and a wish to have it all for oneself, so never to feel need or to feel small. To encourage collaboration the primary task for leaders is to create safety. When people feel contained they are able to tolerate ambivalent feelings about the other and work collaboratively, unencumbered by anxiety.

Implement cultural competency training for managers and employees to foster a deeper understanding of diverse cultures. Provide resources and workshops that focus on developing cultural intelligence, enhancing communication skills, and addressing potential biases. This proactive approach equips team members with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate cultural differences, laying the foundation for effective collaboration.

Remember that the MAP is NOT the TERRITORY. Make sure to align on the meaning concepts and word used. In other words agree on the map used before entering the territory.

Provide cross-cultural communication training to enhance the skills of managers and employees. This training should cover not only language nuances but also cultural communication norms, ensuring that individuals are equipped to navigate cross-cultural interactions effectively. By fostering awareness and understanding, you create a communicative environment where everyone feels heard and comprehends information accurately.

Communicating effectively starts with paying attention and listening. Listening well is an active process. You don't only listen with your ears. You listen with your mind. Listen to what and how they speak, and put yourself in the other person's shoes. We all know people we enjoy talking to. They are warm and relaxed and friendly and interested. Be that person. When people talk freely, they help us know what they need, care about and how to help. They feel and think better and warm to us. Then, interacting with them is easy. The need to be listened to is universal. It is independent of culture.

In his book, Conversational Capacity, author Craig Weber suggests that there are two attitudes that colleagues need to bring into any work conversation--candor and curiosity. Weber recommends considering two questions to ask yourself in any group interaction: 1. To promote candor on your part, ask yourself, "What do I know that no one else in the room knows?" 2. To promote curiosity, ask yourself, "What do others know that I probably don't know?" Considering those two questions while interacting with others should keep you in a conversational "sweet spot" balanced between the two.

We Brits are great at saying what we don’t mean. “Interesting” means the opposite. “Absolutely.” Invariable means no. “Perhaps” means no. Along with: “later," “maybe,” and “Let me think about it.” The first thing I do with any client is create a word list. Culture is driven by language. Every client defines Purpose, Strategy, Vision, Mission, Ambition, Dot-On-The Horizon, and Coaching differently. And I’ve yet to find anyone clearly defining something as fundamental as leadership. I begin by giving a list of words I use and what they mean. Clients change the definitions to fit their language, but we speak the same language and have clarity. How many business and relationship problems are due to misunderstandings around communications?

Desde mi perspectiva una buena forma de fomentar la colaboración entre empleados es establecer metas comunes que sean compartidas por los distintos equipos y que promuevan el trabajo en equipo inter áreas. A su vez es clave establecer KPI de medición y mostrar resultados antes y después de cualquier tipo de implementación.

We encourage the F.A.S.T. goal-setting method. This means setting goals that are Frequently discussed, Ambitious in scope, Specific in milestones, and Transparent for everyone to see. Frequent discussions help keep the team focused, motivated, and aligned. Ambitious goals challenge the team to learn new skills and achieve more than they thought possible. Specific milestones help track progress & make adjustments as needed. Transparency ensures that everyone knows what the team is working on and how they contribute to the organization’s strategy. This fosters a sense of ownership, commitment, and accountability among our team members. Ownership, commitment, & accountability are the key ingredients for successful cross-cultural collaboration.

Two critical foundations for creating cross-cultural collaboration exist: Shared Purpose and Team Alliance. Shared purpose - are you coming together to achieve the same thing? Team Alliance. an open agreement about how you want to achieve your shared purpose. The document is fluid and should be opened, played with and adjusted regularly. * What is important for us in working and interacting with each other? * How do we want to manage conflict and disagreements? * How do we want to balance work and play? * Is there absolute clarity on hierarchy and place: who does what and when? * What are the principles that underpin how we want to be together? A team contract provides the framework for relationships to flourish and work to be done.

Según mi experiencia, establecer objetivos comunes y expectativas comunes es una retórica muy antigua. En algunos casos funciona para generar el respeto por las diferencias, sin embargo, en otros casos, el nivel de persuasión es predecible y sirve para ocultar los diferentes sistemas de creencias que están confrontados al interior del equipo. Los equipos funcionan de manera diferente frente a un reto, que frente a un objetivo. El respeto por las diferencias, desde mi experiencia es mejor asimilado por prácticas de reto en el logro de un objetivo y no al revés.

Set clear goals and expectations: Clearly communicate the goals and expectations of collaborative projects to all team members. Encourage collaboration by emphasizing the shared objective and the value of leveraging diverse skills and perspectives to achieve success.

In the book “Cultures and Organizations”, Hofstede shows us how each country has its particularities in different dimensions of society. These differences make multicultural teams much more interesting, creative, with the ability to produce results outside the box. Therefore, learning about other cultures, studying patterns, customs, better ways of coexistence and harmonization, as well as being open to giving and receiving feedback with a focus on team integration are crucial points for team engagement. I believe that when you learn, you start to respect. When you respect, you start to listen. This is a virtuous cycle that only brings good results.

I start with myself. Some people might not be comfortable putting themselves in the spotlight but telling stories about different shapes language mindsets rituals and customs take in different places is important. It shows richness and encourages others to embrace their uniqueness as well. I love talking about my culture (even if not asked) and also asking questions.

I have seen situations where attempts at inclusivity have backfired and become serious foot-in-mouth escalations that end up with Human Resources. By the nature of diversity, not every team member will know the taboos and sensitivities of every culture until they are encountered. Everyone needs to approach cultural blending with good intent, a focus on the similarities, a recognition that we're blending individuals with an array of traits (not just their cultures) and a willingness to learn. When we unintentionally offend someone, our mums would tell us to be the first to apologise, ensure they understand you meant no harm and you want to do better in future.

Encourage (and importantly, model) being CURIOUS, starting from the assumption that everyone has amazing insights and interesting perspectives to share that you won't know about or benefit from unless you seek them out

Inviting feedback is essential to building a high performing multi-cultural team. You have to show your own vulnerability in knowing you’re not always going to get everything right. It also provides you the opportunity to give context to why you are leading in a specific way.

Una manera de reforzar competencias que queremos que se instalen y se repitan en la organización, como forma de comportarse o de hacer las cosas, es a través de un programa de reconocimiento. He visto buenos resultados cuando las empresas reconocen y recompensan determinadas formas de trabajo, competencias y comportamientos, esto genera satisfacción en las empleados y a su vez, quienes son reconocidos pasan a ser ejemplos a seguir para sus compa?eros propiciando de esta manera un círculo virtuoso.

Exactamente es así. Hay que fidelizar a tus colaborares o entre pares. Hay que generar incentivos para que las personas se sientan comprometidas con sus líderes y empresa. No hay mayor satisfacción que en tu lugar de trabajo valoren tu entrega, refuercen tus fortalezas y se de claridad en los lineamientos.

I worked with a team from India, Singapore, Korea, Japan, China and Australia yesterday and a simple ritual they had was that people from the regions brought sweet treats from their home countries. It was so much fun (and delicious) and opened up conversations in a way I could not have foreseen.

I have leading teams across the globe and my role was to foster transparency, communication, cultural awareness and connectivity. I use to ask team members to share values and beliefs from their culture. And then asking their peers to share which struggles they may will experience if they were living in a different place. And why? This exercise makes them being vulnerable, honest and respectful for the way everyone sees life.

Understand what you know and don't know, and lean in accordingly. More specifically, collaboration with, amongst, and across different cultures is not going to happen unless people from the differently cultures see it as authentic. There is already too much performative and/or inauthentic 'collaboration'. If you are open about what you know and don't know, people will want to help you close those knowledge gaps. Furthermore, they will lean in because they'll see you and your efforts as authentic. All to say, be sincere, open, and humble. Lean in as a learner first, and a collaborator second. Lastly, managers can't close this gap; leaders can.

Managers can encourage collaboration among culturally diverse employees by fostering an inclusive workplace that celebrates diversity through team-building activities and cross-cultural training. Implementing mentorship programs that pair employees from different backgrounds can also enhance mutual understanding. Encouraging open communication and providing platforms for sharing cultural experiences help break down barriers. Additionally, setting clear, common goals and promoting a culture of mutual respect and empathy can significantly boost cross-cultural collaboration, turning diversity into a source of innovation and creative problem-solving.

The funny thing about collaboration, you don't have to encourage it in a place of very high belonging, of the #feelowncare #successesdreamsfailures model. In the state of real relational belonging you're neurobiologically predisposed, even in conflict, to enter into a state of unite & fight vs neutral or fight/flight. It's how we're wired. The desired default state for our brains and hearts is to be in real belonging. The natural outcome's this: We ultimately swap self-preservation with team/tribe-preservation in pursuit of the objective. In our autonomy, we ultimately put each other first to achieve the objective vs at the team’s peril. The choice to belong creates deep accountable collaboration. Kind of like Navy SEALs.

As culturally intelligent managers, it’s imperative we continue growing our self-awareness to collaborate effectively and bridge cultural differences. Not only does this require perspective-taking, but it also demands that we self-examine assumptions we may make, and adjust our mental maps when our experience differs from expectations. Ways in which we can do this is to ask ourselves these 4 questions regularly: - How will I adjust my leadership style based on the people I′m leading today? - Whose perspectives am I missing for decisions I need to make? - What is going on externally that I need to address? - How does my position influence the feedback I'm receiving?