A few years ago, I dedicated about four months to preparing a team workshop for a client. It was mostly enjoyable, but there was one colleague, let’s refer to him as “Alex,” who made my hair stand on end.
Every email I received from Alex felt like a slap across the face. I couldn’t help but interpret his emails as brash, arrogant, and even misogynistic. Those mails which were at most seven words long, triggered a cascade of negative emotions in me. Here is a sample of three typical mails he would write.
– “What are your thoughts to the attached?”
– “FYI.”
– “Take a look at the below.”
No greeting, no salutation, no context to why he was sending the message.
It’s not just expats who need to embrace Cultural Intelligence
There seems to be a misconception that cultural intelligence is only relevant for expats or colleagues who don’t share the same mother tongue. In reality, cultural intelligence is the corner stone for fostering team spirit, collaboration, and achieving excellence within any multicultural team.
Cultural intelligence empowers us to understand our own communication style and its potential impact on others. It helps us analyse how culture influences our colleagues’ communication styles. Most importantly, it equips us with the ability to adapt our communication or “code-switch,” enhancing effectiveness in collaboration.
Practical example of embracing cultural intelligence
When I received messages from Alex, I didn’t stop to think about his cultural background. I was just reacting according to my intuition, my biases. Our biases are created by our normality. My normality in the email field, is to always greet with at least a “Hi” or “Good Morning,“ if it’s the first mail exchange of the day with that person. If it’s the first email of the week, I’ll likely even ask about the person’s weekend. I then usually also give some context to what is on my mind. Admittedly, maybe I give too much context… but that is my normality.
I felt offended by Alex’s mails because they didn’t fit into my normality. When you start thinking negatively about your colleagues and losing motivation to work with them, you need to stake a step back and ask yourself: “What do I know about this person’s cultural background? What is impacting their communication style, for example, are they individualists, are they transactional, are they linear thinkers rather than big picture thinkers?”
Cultural Intelligence teaches us to adapt or code-switch
If we embrace cultural intelligence we learn to adapt our communication to be more effective. If I was offended by his short, straight to the point messages, who knows what he thought about my long-winded, time-consuming messages. He probably thought I was wasting his time and therefore also losing respect for me, not to mention what it did to his motivation.
Once we understand why our colleagues are communicating in a certain way, it helps us eliminate the biases and therefore the negative judgment. This in turn helps us not feel offended by the situation.
So, in this scenario, one of us had to adapt. In a high-performing team, ideally both colleagues adapt. How far you decide to adapt is up to you. I certainly could not eliminate my morning greeting. However, after the “Hi Alex”, I decided I could also go straight to the point.
Cultural Intelligence creates an environment conducive to collaboration
Lack of consideration for cultural differences can lead to misinterpretations and hinder collaboration. We cultivate cultural intelligence to understand others and to foster an environment where diverse communication styles are appreciated and leveraged for team success.
The positive outcome of our journey with Alex speaks volumes about the transformative power of cultural intelligence. By acknowledging and adapting to each other’s communication preferences, we eliminate biases and create an environment conducive to collaboration.
In our globalised workplace, where teams are diverse in every sense, cultural intelligence isn’t just a skill; it’s a necessity for fostering understanding, promoting collaboration, and achieving excellence collectively. Embrace it, and watch your team thrive.
