This article on cultural intelligence in the workplace, looks at the importance of cross-cultural management in business settings and personal interactions. It critiques the overuse and misinterpretation of terms like "cultural awareness" and advocates for genuine understanding and acceptance of cultural differences. The author emphasizes the need for honest cultural intelligence to effectively navigate conflicts and build connections, as opposed to simply paying lip service.
Introduction
Whenever people from different backgrounds come together for business or professional meetings, conflicts or misunderstandings are almost bound to happen. Whether they are your team members or people from other companies, language barriers and differing priorities and styles can cause friction. Here, cross-cultural management is essential to move forward. Let’s dive into what this is all about.
Table of Contents:
It’s Murder on the Dancefloor: Two Sides of the Same Cultural Coin.
Ironically, both the advantage and the problem with cross-cultural business interactions is that people from different backgrounds bring their own norms and values to the table. On a positive note, this promotes creativity.
Still, from a more risk-averse perspective, there are more chances of conflict due to the cultural differences of all the people involved. It’s like standing in the middle of the dancefloor where everyone is dancing to a different song. I’m dancing bachata using the two steps I learned last night, while you are bouncing up and down with your glowsticks, and Bob from accounting is doing the Macarena. It’s beautiful, fun, intriguing, and potentially disastrous. When left unresolved, these misunderstandings and conflicts can damage relationships, reduce productivity, and harm reputations. Learning practical, cultural intelligence and the art of personal diplomacy are vital for effective conflict management.
Cultural Intelligence in the Workplace: My Opinion
The term “cultural awareness” is often thrown around like a cult mantra by people without much cultural awareness, in a similar way to how the word “tolerance” is often used by arguably the most intolerant people in society. They use it to stop all thinking, and to stop all dialogue when things get a little too raw and uncomfortable for them. It’s particularly prevalent in cultural sensitivity training seminars, and HR workshops, but the problem is that it has become generic, bland and meaningless over time, like most mantras and slogans.
However, this doesn’t mean you should close yourself to learning about other cultures, because different cultures carry different communication styles, values, and norms. There will be things that you agree with, things that you disagree with, things that you love and things that you hate. And it’s OK for you to feel this way.
In fact, you NEED these conflicting viewpoints and messages so that you can grow. If you don’t, you create what’s known as an echo chamber. In an echo chamber, you are surrounded by information and opinions that mimic and amplify your own beliefs, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. It means that you become more and more sure of your beliefs and more and more closed off to anything that challenges those beliefs. This, my dear reader, is muy muy malo for everyone. We're not saying cross-cultural business communication in English isn't difficult, we're just saying that it doesn't always have to be.
The Problem with Cultural Awareness Books and Training
Too often, we let other people tell us that we need to accept everything in the name of “harmony”, “cultural awareness”, “sensitivity”, "cultural intelligence in the workplace" or whichever empty term they choose to use to stop us from thinking.
In my humblest opinion, the only acceptance we need, is the acceptance that none of us is perfect, and that it’s OK not to like something.
Just because I don’t like something in someone’s culture doesn’t mean I have to dislike a person from that culture or even dislike the culture. It’s OK to be open with both the positives and the negatives. British culture is not perfect, and I accept this. Living abroad for so many years has given me a bird’s eye view of so many things. Our wonderful, ironic, ridiculous sense of humor is not understood across the world, and that’s OK. On the flip-side, I find it irritating when total strangers stand what I consider as "too close" to me, or when people drive without manners. However, when this happens, I try to look at the intention not the behavior. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I'm still working on it.
This strategy of honest cultural intelligence isn't perfect, I know, but on the whole, it helps me diplomatically manage conflict, make connections, and thrive both at work and in my personal life.
It’s pure gold as far as I'm concerned.
So my point is, don’t avoid cultural conflict, but be honest with yourself and others.
Honest cultural intelligence beats theatrical cultural intelligence any day.
Don't wall yourself off from the richness, concepts, and ideas of other cultures, because within them lie diverse communication styles, values, and norms.
My own experiences have taught me that ignoring or dismissing cultural differences only leads to misunderstandings and resentment.
I’ve always found it much more useful when I acknowledge these differences and then focus on the things I have in common with people.
When I don’t like something, I accept that I don’t like it, instead of coming up with some phony reason why it’s wonderful and everyone should accept it and celebrate it.
By actively grappling with concepts and ideas from different cultures as you encounter them, you can learn to understand them, or maybe just live with them, even the ones you dislike. At least, doing this makes you think and question things.
It's not about tiptoeing around differences or appeasing unreasonably behaviors or sensitivities; it's about being OK with disagreeing with someone, or someone disagreeing with us. When this happens, using workplace English for conflict resolution can be the difference between success and complete and utter disaster.
What do you think?
Discussion Questions
What do you think about the opinion in this article? Why?
What's your opinion?
Do you think the approach in this article can be effective in the workplace? Why, or why not?
Is it potentially dangerous if not applied correctly? Why, or why not?
Key Vocabulary and Phrases:
To pay lip service to something: The act of expressing support, agreement, or adherence to something verbally or superficially without genuinely believing in or fully committing to it. It implies insincerity or token acknowledgment without any real intention of following through with actions or significant effort.
Cross-cultural management: The effective management of people from different cultural backgrounds in a business or organizational setting.
Conflict management: The process of handling conflicts or disagreements between individuals or groups in a constructive manner to achieve resolution.
Cultural intelligence: The ability to understand, interpret, and respond appropriately to cultural differences in various contexts.
Risk-averse: Reluctant or unwilling to take risks or engage in activities with uncertain outcomes.
Friction: Conflict or tension resulting from differences in opinion, behavior, or interests.
Cult mantra: A repeated or recited phrase or slogan associated with a particular cult or belief system.
Bland: Lacking strong flavors, characteristics, or interest; dull or uninteresting.
Echo chamber: An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that reinforce their own, leading to reinforcement and amplification of existing views.
Self-reinforcing cycle: A process in which a particular behavior or belief is reinforced and perpetuated by its own effects or consequences.
Tiptoeing around: Avoiding direct confrontation or discussion of a sensitive issue.
To grapple with ideas or concepts: Struggling with or trying to understand a difficult or complex issue.
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