What People Get Wrong About Culture

Welcome back to my LinkedIn newsletter where I share tips, ideas, and strategies to help you become more effective in business and life.

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In today's newsletter, I want to highlight some of the misperceptions people have about culture.

Point #1: Many people equate culture with country – as in the culture of the France or India or Nigeria.? And there is a certain truth to this.? There are certain customs, rituals, and norms that are characteristic of a particular national cultural setting.?? For example, you could argue that on average, the typical Swede is probably less emotionally expressive than the typical Italian.? I am not sure how exactly you would study this, but if you could, I’m pretty confident that the result would hold.? Yet does that mean that every person in Italy is more emotionally expressive than every person in Sweden?? Definitely not!? So many other factors come into play – namely, and probably most importantly in this case, personality.? Chances are, an extroverted Swede will be more emotionally expressive than an introverted Italian.?

Point #2: That’s why when I refer to cultural differences, I like to talk about tendencies.? It is not certain at all that any given person from one country will be characteristic of our impression of that country – even if that impression is based on academic research that has demonstrated cultural differences. The chances might be higher – but not often by much.?

Point #3: So much else matters other than national culture when we think about the way people think and act and express emotions in the world.?There is national culture, regional culture, the culture of your immediate family or local community.? For some, religious culture matters a great deal.? And then you have your own personality and set of life experiences as well as your stage in life.?

Point #4: Finally, culture is not deterministic.? We are not passive prisoners of cultural differences.? Quite the opposite, in fact. We can be active, purposeful, creative users of culture. That's why I like to think of culture as a resource or toolkit.? It’s something you have control over and can use in your own way when building global relationships – that is, assuming you are aware of how culture impacts you and your relationship building style as well as the style of others.