The advantages of cross-cultural diversity

“Globalization does not mean imposing homogeneous solutions in a pluralistic world. It means having a global vision and strategy, but it also means cultivating roots and individual identities.” (G. Das, Former CEO Procter and Gamble, India)

Cultural differences are a given

Leadership, communication, decision making and negotiation styles differ across geographic boundaries. What works well in one culture might not work somewhere else. The more businesses become global and complex, less it will be possible to avoid cross-cultural differences. Sure you agree that we are evolving towards a world where economic, social and political forces are pushing all cultures and businesses to adapt and learn about the other side.

Then, some things do not change cross-border

What does however not change cross-border are some of the business basics: the overall company's global mission, performance objectives and KPIs. Sure there is no confusion about the pressures on global execs and their teams to deliver results.

What also does not change cross-border is how the human mind works and how we learn.

Our minds are wired to seeing “differences”

Our mind is by nature referential. Yes, we are wired to compare all and everything against our personal preconceived believes of how the world works and what is acceptable or not to ... me. Way back in history, we needed to judge our experiences very fast to know if we were safe or not. Today, our minds still operate in exact the same way: what seems familiar creates comfort, what is different leads to confusion or discomfort.

This fast mental scanning process can only work through a process of simplifications. It is basically a mega fast "tick-the-box" kind of process, where each "box" holds a small and limited set of key characteristics. We have mental boxes for experiences, people, objects, concepts and so on. Sure we all have a box for "Germans", "Chinese" etc and how we expect them to behave. That means that we operate a rather reduced version of the "real" world in our head. Not ideal in today's world.

What each of us also does is spend a substantial amount of time designing a very unique and complex personal "map of the world" and who we are. We are all wired to be unique and different. To appreciate this enormous diversity on this planet, we need to stand still, step-away from our automatic "tick-the-box" mind and consciously observe without judgement.

Don’t try to see the other as the same or just different: there are as many different perspectives as there are people on this planet

Global leader need excellent multi-cultural skills to leverage on their team's diversity. An effective cross-cultural learning methodology should start from indisputable deep global underlying principles from where to observe overall cultural characteristics, how these apply to a certain industry and ultimately to a bespoke company. To use country-specific models that are applied elsewhere, or a simple tick-the-box exercise of a list of local rules or culture cliches is a mistake. Nor can deep learning come from reading a book on China for instance. Imagine, how many books can you read when you work for the UN? On top, what are the chances that the author is biased?

Developing cross-cultural perceptual accuracy also requires a deep observation of one's own global frame of reference and deeper believes. That learning process requires real motivation to accept your own initial biases and the willingness to adapt.

For a leader to enable cross-culturally diverse teams to perform and to keep them on the same page, he or she then needs to communicate and constantly re-frame the corporate and cross-culture values and boundaries, translate how these align with the global business' objectives or not and how they apply to the daily local operating practices. Cross-cultural alignment requires communication about the rules of the collective game, especially the creative game. The ultimate objective will always be that the sum of a cross-cultural team should be greater than just the sum of its parts! If not, why have them?

Want to learn more about cross-cultural learning strategies and skill building, frameworks to analyze cross-cultural differences or how to influence fixed attitudes, behaviors and more?

Hilde Mertens, is the CEO and Founder of Mind Box    

Mind Box is based in Hong Kong and specializes in change management, leadership and corporate culture. We believe that people want to be part of success stories, that change is a given and that a wealth of information sits in the collective intelligence of teams. Real innovative solutions to tap into deep levels of potential performance require cross-scientific as well as empirical and evidence based input.

Hilde brings years of banking, consulting, mediation and negotiation expertise to the table (HKU Certificate in Mediation). She has fluency in 5 languages, including Mandarin Chinese. She attended Oxford Said Business School, trained at the European Union and holds a Master in Chinese studies and economics.

Read all my blogs on: www.dhirubhai.net/in/hilde-mertens-36033318