12 Basic Principles for Successful Operations in a Multicultural and Multinational Environment

Successful multicultural and multinational operations can be facilitated and managed best in two ways: through the building of trust and by the application of the twelve basic considerations and principles below.

Trust is established and maintained in a work environment through:

• Integrity and sincerity
• Care for the team (Collegiality)
• Appreciation for the unique value and skills of each individual team member
• Competence
• Reliability
• The alignment of operational goals and individual interests.

The following twelve considerations and principles can help leaders, managers, and individuals to leverage the unique power and value of multicultural and multilingual teams while mitigating frictions and inefficiencies that can occur. These are based on my experiences in multinational environments while speaking multiple languages.

1. One interaction or conversation does not define a relationship: don’t give up or hold grudges, keep trying, be iterative, make improvements, learn, keep communicating.
2. Avoid cultural, social, and ideological claustrophobia: provide space for differences to exist and be expressed, value uniqueness, avoid groupthink and stereotyping.
3. Different roads can lead to the same destination: there is rarely one path to reach a goal, consider alternatives, seek and seize innovation(s), incorporate input from members but make the best decision without regard for popularity. What is right matters more than who is right.
4. Be curious and find value in differing opinions or approaches: both parties should benefit and learn from cross-cultural interaction(s). Provide opportunities for team members to present info and teach each other about their background, country, family, culture, and language.
5. Differences are strengths to be leveraged, not obstacles to avoid: people not only bring different cultural habits and distinct dimensions of lifestyle to the team, but also informative worldviews, unique ways of thinking, and individual-based experiential knowledge and skills. Welcome differences as an antidote to groupthink and asset for critical thinking, innovation, better analysis, performance improvement, and goal attainment.
6. Respect: treat people who speak different languages as you would friends and colleagues, not as children or inferiors to be talked down to. Avoid arrogance.
7. Be genuine and direct, but also considerate: fake kindness is worse than sincere criticism.
8. Learn basic phrases in the language of each team member.
9. Have an informal space/oasis outside from the office or operations center: a team leader should identify this location and provide it to the team members for discussion, relaxation, and comradery free from the formality and seriousness of operational workspace.
10. Time and fatigue can be both a friend and enemy: Working together toward common operational goals over time can build trust, facilitate cooperation, break down barriers, and overcome frictions, but speaking in different languages and communicating between multiple cultures can also be exhausting. Be considerate that people speaking in their non-native language can become fatigued, confused, and frustrated. Provide time to decompress and for team members to speak to each other in their native language.
11. Consensus seeking and concern about feelings and groupthink can paralyze the process. Kid gloves should be forbidden. Treat people like adults and expect them to behave as such. Have high expectations from all team members and let them know it. Hold everyone accountable.
12. Leaders set and maintain the standard.

In conclusion, trust is the most important component of a successful multicultural or multinational team and should be prioritized, established, and maintained first and foremost. The other considerations and principles I described above have served me quite well in professional multicultural interactions and interpersonal relations. Although each organization will have unique goals, ways of operating, and distinct individual personalities, cultures, and languages; the twelve basic principles listed above will be applicable and relevant.