OEC Consultant's Corner
Managing In A MultiCultural Workplace
by Susan Farwell
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In 1990, the number of multinational
firms was 6,000; today, it’s well over 60,000. Even if you
aren’t with a multinational, you will certainly have a multicultural
workforce. Recent immigrants constitute 43 percent of the workforce
in New York City alone. By 2020, 75 percent of the global workforce
is predicted to be from Asia.
In managing cross-culturally, we need to recognize that up to half
of workplace behavior, including communication patterns and management
styles, is culturally
derived. A lack of cultural literacy can give rise to misunderstanding.
Often when I’m brought in to “fix” foreign-born
managers, the issue is twofold: a lack of cultural agility on their
part and a lack of cultural awareness on the part of their organizations.
The first step toward success is to understand our own cultural lens
and then to learn other cultural worldviews.
Sometimes the issue is as simple as linguistic skills. English may
be the language of business, but only five percent of the world speaks
it as a first language. I
was called in to coach a Spanish-speaking manager who drew complaints
of rude behavior toward employees. The real problem: she hadn’t
mastered the subtleties of English. When she gave direction, she
might say, “Your behavior is bad” or “You don’t
think.” Another client, a French-speaking managing director
at an investment bank, needed to lead major organizational change.
Our coaching focused not only on content but on choosing words English
speakers could readily understand in his accent.
Communication style, whether direct as in Germany and the U.S. or
indirect as in Asia and the Middle East or U.K., is another potential
problem. Proverbs provide insight into a culture. We say, “The
squeaky wheel gets the grease,”
meaning speak up if you want something. The Chinese believe “The
empty cart makes more noise” – those who talk a lot lack
substance. In Japan “The
protruding nail gets hammered down,” so conform and you won’t
get hurt.
Members of a global team reporting to a British executive complained
that they couldn’t “read” him. Even after decades
in the U.S., his communication style is highly indirect. He would
say “perhaps” or “we might want to consider”
and his
direct reports couldn’t decode his meaning. I worked with him
on speaking in a more definitive, direct manner.
An Indian manager giving feedback to an American direct report who
dressed inappropriately said, “We need to make the right impression
with top management.” This message was confusing. In U.S. culture,
we expect people to say what they mean and mean what they say: “You
need to wear a suit to work.”
Helping senior managers in the Japanese Services Group at a global
accounting firm prepare presentations when they were up for partnership
was a challenge. I had to convince them to work counter-culture:
single out their individual achievements rather than focusing on
the group’s accomplishments.
Nonverbal communication is another area where you need to understand
context to understand meaning. Non-Americans are caught off guard
by our friendliness. Like peaches, we have a soft, fuzzy, easily
penetrable exterior but you can break a tooth on the pit. Europeans
are hard to crack, like coconuts, but the reward is sweet.
Consistent with our egalitarianism, we smile at everyone, but a smile
is not universal. In Asia, it can signal embarrassment or humiliation.
In France, it might signal flirtation. An American working with a
foreign national might interpret
natural reticence as coldness or aloofness. A European might consider
us to be silly, frivolous, insincere, or even prying. I worked with
a German executive who regarded our small talk, including questions
about his work and where he lives,
as a calculated sizing up of his net worth.
High-context, collectivist cultures (e.g., Asian) have a great deal
of ritual, much of it around protecting face. Age, gender, and rank
are important issues, and formality cues behavior. In a low-context,
individualist culture such as ours, informality and egalitarianism
are the norm. I worked with a young South Korean whose manager thrust
her into an informal meeting with a group of high-ranking executives
without preparing her. The woman was uncomfortable
and quiet because our informal introductions and seating arrangements
left her without cues as to where she fit in and how to interact.
The manager needed to understand that he had not only hired a talented
woman, he had also hired a culture.
For more information about Ayers' coaching and
other OEC services, contact Managing Director Joan Caruso at joan.caruso@ayers.com
or 212.889.7788.
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