![]() ![]() Eye contact, for example, is very important in some cultures, but rude and disrespectful in others. Behaviors and beliefĬultural differences cause behavioral and personality differences like body language, gestures, mindsets, communication, manners, and norms, which may lead to miscommunication. While not quite as easily misconstrued in a team environment as the other factors, it can still lead to cultural faux-pas that may take time to smooth over and could be avoided in the first place. For example, the “thumbs up”, known in the Western world as a sign of approval, is seen as an insult in Bangladesh. Non-verbal communication like signs and symbols differ from culture to culture and can therefore not be relied upon in communication. If things get this far on a team or in a company, working together effectively can become extremely difficult between people who resent and disrespect each other. People look at other cultures with certain stereotypes as “bad” or “difficult to work with”, or “incomprehensible” and treat them with contempt and disrespect. This creates prejudice among people of different cultures and causes judgmental attitudes towards one another. Popular stereotypes, for example, are that all Germans are punctual and very direct, or that all Asians are good at math. The basis of stereotyping can be many things, though the most common are nationality, gender, race, religion or age. Stereotypes are mostly negative images or preconceived notions about a specific community, group or culture. If one person isn’t aware of the exact meaning of a word, it may be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the other person and lead to a conflict of ideas. Verbal communication is important in every context, but the meaning of words can literally get lost in translation. Not speaking the same language (well) can cause a myriad of misunderstandings and is considered the most crucial barrier in cross-cultural communication. We’ll be taking a look at these factors first, and then dive into how to overcome them in a global team. When people from different cultures work together, several factors can become barriers. It is handed down from generation to generation, slowly evolving, and creating many subcultures in the process.Ĭultural diversity can make communication difficult, especially in the workplace, where a misunderstanding can cause costly problems. Let’s get on the same page here first: what exactly is culture?Ĭulture is all socially transmitted and shared behaviors, manners, customs, rituals, beliefs, ideas, arts, knowledge, values, morals and ideals that are learned in a group of the same nationality, religion or ethnicity. Leading cultural diversity as a global leader.Rally the team around a shared vision or common cause.Lead open discussions about team norms and shared company culture.Embrace diversity and accommodate cultural differences.Download our eBook “Achieving Global Excellence” for Free.How to overcome cross-cultural barriers.They must be able to determine what aspects of an interaction are a result of personality and which are a result of differences in cultural perspective. In today’s globalized world, global leaders have to learn to understand a wider, richer array of work styles. Global leaders face not only the challenge of making a multi-cultural team work well together despite their differences, but often also of doing this while the team members are based in different international locations. Cultural differences can lead to barriers between team members, when their different styles of approach are misunderstood, misinterpreted or not accepted. Of course, this only works if the team works well together - and that tends to be the tricky part. They get the job done in different ways.īy combining those different approaches and mindsets, a culturally diverse team not only expands their skills and knowledge pool, but has the power to think in more abstract terms and find solutions on various levels. Different cultures think and react differently to the same situations. This is a result of the fact that people from different cultural groups approach challenges and problems in different ways. Did you know that culturally diverse teams produce more creative and innovative results than culturally homogenous groups?
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