MBAs are graduating into an increasingly globalised world. The twin engines of globalisation and technology evolution is powering the crossborder flow of talent. Organisations view a global and diverse team as an asset. A recent McKinsey research found a direct link between team diversity and a company’s financial performance. Yet, it is hard to recruit graduates who can work successfully in a cross-cultural and diverse work settings. In a survey of employers, the skill deemed most important is the “ability to work with a wide variety of people”. While most MBA aspirants have some work experience and go through group discussion rounds, is that enough to survive and succeed in a modern workplace that’s more global, distributed and diverse?
Cross-cultural collaboration in corporates is as much about mastering communication as it is about managing expectations. Mastering communication does not mean one has to talk like a TED speaker. Another common mistake is conflating good communication with good vocabulary. While good language skills are an asset, you don’t have to be a Shashi Tharoor! So, what must one do?
Communication involves two components: substance and style. Substance is “what” you say and style is “how” you say it. Substance is standard across cultures - you have to talk sense no matter where you are located. But, the style can vary widely. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the style can vary even within a country.
So, what are the variations? According to Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, cultures vary along eight dimensions. There are key differences in attitudes towards work, building trust, making decisions and providing feedback. Intelligent communication requires a thorough understanding of the context. For example, working with Americans often requires direct communication - a straight yes or no - rather than letting them read between lines. For example, in India and China people are reluctant to say “No” and instead say “I’ll try”. That’s the kind of indirect communication that will befuddle most Americans. Debating and questioning are welcome and the power distance — the distance between a supervisor and a reportee — is shorter. In much of Asia and the Middle East, there is greater deference to authority and direct communication can sometimes be mistaken for rudeness. The Japanese and Germans are hierarchical but yet emphasise consensus building. They take time commitments more seriously than those in India, Italy and Brazil.
Standard practices
While it is helpful to understand these differences, it is effective to have a set of standard practices across cultures. Traits like punctuality, delivering on commitments and professional conduct will go a long way in fostering healthy working relationships. For example, if you are inviting people for a meeting, invest time to determine who is really needed as opposed to inviting half the office. Send an agenda, list the key expectations and follow up with a note to highlight action items, ownership and deadlines. Send any materials for review sufficiently in advance. If you have to start a meeting at 9 a.m., get to work at least 15 minutes in advance to set up the computer, connect the projector and open the phone lines.
Email connect
Keep your emails short, simple and structured. People at work receive hundreds of emails everyday. So, make it easy for them to help you. Clearly state what’s needed, why and by when. Escalate only if you must. Try to defuse tension by taking time out or moving the discussion to the cafeteria or any other non-work location. If you are escalating, focus on the problem and not on the person. Disagree but commit. While it is okay to disagree within a group, commit once a decision has been made.
Finally, learn to manage expectations while negotiating social life in a foreign work setting. Most western workplaces are staffed by people who are very friendly at work. That doesn’t automatically mean they are your friends.
Successful cross-cultural collaboration requires more than just strong language skills. It requires impeccable professional etiquette, a good understanding of the cultural context and the emotional maturity to handle workplace dynamics. If you are already a word ninja, you know what you have is necessary but not sufficient. Adding the other layers will serve you well. If you are among those who feel less confident about your language skills, please remember that strong communication is not all about words. With the right attitude and right actions, you can still go places. While you are at it, keep working on your language skills.
The author is an alumnus, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, and currently the Director-Operations, Murrow Center, Boston.
