Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 48

8 TIPS TO IMPROVE CULTURAL AWARENESS

1

2

3

Learn about culture's impact
on how people behave.

Learn about the cultures on
your multicultural team.

Create an opportunity to write
down your preferences.

5

6

7

Think about how those
differences will impact your
ability to collaborate.

Develop a strategy where you
can maintain your authenticity
and still be culturally sensitive.

leader asked him if something was
distracting him during the team
discussions. His teammates sensed he
was uncomfortable, and his attempt to
act differently was negatively affecting
his performance. He had compromised
his authenticity and impaired the trust
of his colleagues, making them wonder
if he was being attentive.

THE FOUNDATION OF
AUTHENTICITY IS TO
RECOGNIZE HOW OTHER

Incorporate coaching
to guide and support
each team member.

When he explained this to his team
leader, the leader suggested that he
find a way to relax and contribute more
spontaneously to the discussions.
This incident illustrates how difficult
remaining authentic in multicultural
scenarios can be. In this case, the Dutch
teammate needed to flex his style
slightly while being genuine about
his communication preference. To be
successful in his collaboration, he could
have toned down a little and checked
with his colleagues to see if he was being
too direct or brief. He also could have

Learn how your style preferences
are similar to and different
from your teammates'.

8

Periodically check-in with
colleagues and discuss
how everyone is doing.

been transparent from the beginning of
the formation of the team and discussed
his natural communication preference
and his intention to adapt to his
teammates' dispositions.

members, you do not need to change
who you are. The ability to understand
yourself and your behavior means you
don't relinquish your values; you just
incorporate ways to adjust to others.

How you react to what pleases and
displeases you is what your colleagues
will be seeing most often. If you can find
a way to tell people who you are in a nonjudgmental manner, your authenticity
will be appreciated, and your collegiality
will be genuine. People are able to
see through facades and, if they feel
that you're not genuine, they'll have
more trouble trusting and collaborating
with you.

If something or someone is challenging,
an authentic person will not pretend
that they're not troubled by it, but
will collaboratively communicate an
alternative approach. If you can identify
these differences and articulate them
without making others defensive, you
will be successful.

PEOPLE ARE NOT
LIKE YOU.

4

HOW CAN AUTHENTICITY
BE UNLEASHED?
The foundation of authenticity is to
recognize how other people are not like
you. Varying cultures have different styles
and behavioral preferences, and it is helpful
to identify how you can accommodate
their differences while not giving up your
own way of approaching situations.
You must have the ability to flex your
style to bridge differences while being
true to your own values and needs.
This means that, while you give your
Japanese colleague more time to
build consensus and allow your Italian
colleague the opportunity to spend time
building relationships with other team

Of course, training will facilitate
the ability to recognize behavioral
preferences and enable team members'
ability to communicate authentically
in a constructive manner. Training and
coaching in these situations can benefit
teammates by providing an opportunity
and space to contemplate these questions,
teaching exercises to practice flexing
communication styles and bridging
multicultural differences, and developing
effective techniques for constructive
interactions to enable the most effective
collaboration on multicultural teams.
In short, there is no secret to effectively
collaborating on teams with an array of
cultures. However, to remain authentic
requires understanding, communication
and effort.
Charlene Solomon is the president of RW3
CultureWizard. Email Charlene.
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019

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