Marija Kojic
Your native language and your social customs are among the main aspects that make you part of a particular culture. Due to regional and social differences in the way people conduct their lives and their business, there might be some obstacles to overcome when working in a multicultural team. A multicultural team is a team whose members originate from various countries and cultures. Naturally, these people speak different languages as well.
To be a successful team leader in an environment like this one, do your best to make all your colleagues feel comfortable and welcome.
This blog will help you manage a multicultural team, regardless of whether you work in the same office or remotely.
How to manage a multicultural team
1. Overcome language and cultural barriers
When working in a multicultural team, one of the most common challenges is handling language barriers between employees. If each team member speaks a different language, you’ll want to find a common language you can all use so every member can communicate with ease.
Once you’ve selected your preferred language of choice, break down any remaining language obstacles. Consider establishing a language-exchange program or language-learning program at your organisation to facilitate better communication and understanding. If that’s out of reach, encourage your employees to learn at least a few key phrases in other languages to make your workplace more inclusive.
Normalise that asking someone to repeat themselves is fine. Your team members shouldn’t feel embarrassed doing so, especially when working remotely. If employees have strong accents, others might have to ask to hear the same sentence twice, and both parties should feel comfortable with this.
A friendly reminder that every person in the world has an accent – yes, you, too.
Accents are simply geographically situated variations on the sound system of a given language – pair that with dialects, which are variations on word choice, sentence or phrase construction, colloquialisms and more. Sometimes, these variations are minor, but sometimes they can be quite significant, so it’s important to remember aphorisms (e.g. “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”), slang and metaphors are not universally recognised or understood, and often mean different things to different social groups.
You might run into additional challenges due to cultural differences. To combat these, organise informal gatherings for your team members. This is an ideal way to learn more about other cultures and connect across boundaries. For example, you can talk about what makes a certain culture unique – their food, holidays, customs and more – and what cornerstones are shared with other cultures.
Delegate work assignments according to the cultural customs of your team members. Keep in mind that every culture has its own work schedule, vacation rules and list of holidays. This is particularly important if you’re managing your multicultural team remotely.
2. Consider different cultural communication styles
Every culture nurtures its own communication style, like speaking patterns and nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication includes everything beyond words – gestures, facial expressions and body language. It’s crucial to understand diverse communication styles between cultures and speak to your colleagues according to these rules.
For instance, nonverbal hand signals have diverse meanings in different cultures. In his book, Beyond Culture, an anthropologist Edward T. Hall coined the phrases “high-context”, “low-context” and “multi-active” cultures:
High-context cultures use nonverbal cues often.
Communication is usually indirect. While having a dialogue, people speak one at a time. When conflicts occur, people tend to solve issues immediately so they can continue working. Some “high-context” countries that communicate nonverbally are Japan, Greece and numerous Arab nations.
Low-context cultures rely on words themselves.
Communication is direct, primarily verbal and open. When conflicts arise, people don’t necessarily have to work them out straight away to continue working. Some “low-context” countries are the U.S., Germany and Scandinavian countries.
Multi-active cultures fall between these two categories.
Communication tends to be a combination of nonverbal and verbal cues, and conflicts can be resolved on the spot or after the fact. Some “multi-active” countries are Spain, Italy and Latin America.
Each culture has a unique understanding of nonverbal communication. Keep in mind that you might have to take a different approach when talking to your German colleague as opposed to your team member from Peru.
3. Plan projects around different time zones
Supervising a virtual team can be difficult because you’re not at the same place or time zone as your colleagues.
Let’s say that you live and work in Sydney, and your team members are all located in London. By the time your workday finishes at 5pm, your colleagues would just be waking up.
You need to organise your work properly and make plans according to these different time zones. Also, keep this in mind when you’re setting deadlines for your team members.
To avoid any time-related confusion, try using time management apps. They will help you track project progress and examine productivity levels by week so you can see the current activity level of your employees regardless of time zone.
4. Allow prep time whenever your team needs it
Most of us can smoothly and eloquently express our thoughts when speaking our native language, but this isn’t always the case when speaking in foreign languages.
Some team members might feel uneasy in a meeting where the established language is not native to them. They may feel restrained in these situations, causing a communication barrier.
Remember to give your team – especially those speaking a different language than what they were raised on – enough time to prepare. If they need to gather their thoughts or take time to make a point, don’t interrupt or talk over them. Be patient and give them the time and space they need to communicate effectively. This not only improves communication, but it helps your team members become more confident speaking foreign languages as well.
5. Be open to all cultures and their differences
The best way to show your colleagues that you respect and appreciate them is by being open to the traditions and values of all cultures. This means avoiding promoting or embracing only one culture in the workplace. For instance, during the holiday season, it’s important to vary your decorations so all cultures are included. This way, your multicultural team will know you respect and embrace whatever they celebrate during the holidays.
Additionally, you can make an effort to learn more about a particular culture and its characteristics. For example, start by exploring the cuisine or by watching popular movies from other countries.
To improve workplace happiness and morale, organise cross-cultural training. The purpose of this training is to overcome cultural challenges at the office. That way, people will get to know each other and educate themselves about various cultural beliefs.
This training should highlight how to:
- Minimise any culture barriers
- Avoid stereotypes and prejudices
- Appreciate your own and the skills of other cultures
- Improve your social skills
- Become a better listener
- Aim your attention on common principles rather than differences
6. Avoid stereotypes
There’s a fine line between being aware of culture differences and stereotyping. When you paint groups of people with a broad brush, such as thinking that all people from a certain region behave a certain way, you’ve likely crossed it.
– David Livermore, founder of the Cultural Intelligence Centre
When working in a multicultural team, be extra careful with the language you use. There’s a balance between being mindful of cultural differences and relying on stereotypes to make assumptions about your employees’ behaviours – even over-reliance on these tips can get you into trouble. The fact that your colleague is from Japan or France does not dictate every decision your employees make, and leaning on this logic will likely offend them. Everyone, regardless of their cultural upbringing, is an autonomous individual, so treat your coworkers in such manner.
To avoid stereotypes, take time to become acquainted with every team member. Encourage your colleagues to do so as well.
You need to remind yourself frequently that:
- Each team member has a unique way of working and communicating with others.
- Everyone is an individual and has specific preferences.
- Culture shapes behaviour but does not dictate it.
7. Practice empathy
A good leader will always find time to check in with their team members. This is an effective way to build trust with employees and promote mutual respect.
While talking with your colleagues, practice empathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of someone else. Empathy takes practice, and it’s important to continually grow your listening skills when in a leadership role. Making an attempt to understand what your coworker is experiencing helps your relationship with them thrive.
Practicing empathy has additional benefits, too: It provides support for multicultural employees so they’ll continue providing quality work. It helps them solve issues standing in their way to reach desired goals. And it helps resolve conflicts quickly and effectively.
8. Deliver honest feedback
Providing your team with honest and constructive feedback is a significant part of your leadership and management duties. Your colleagues deserve to know the truth about the quality of their work, be it positive or negative.
As a leader of a multicultural team, you have to be cautious about evaluating someone’s work. Each culture, and even each country, has a unique way of giving feedback, especially when it’s constructive and can be easily viewed as negative.
Erin Meyer, an author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, established guidelines for giving constructive feedback by country.
It’s important to note that the descriptions below are merely generalisations and do not reflect how each employee behaves at an individual level. With this in mind, here’s what she found out about the following countries:
🇺🇸 United States
American employees are known for giving explicit positive feedback, using words like “fabulous” and “awesome.” When it comes to negative feedback, they prefer to deliver it in writing.
🇬🇧 England
British employees tend to be less direct than Americans, both when complimenting and criticising. They use adverbs like “maybe” and “possibly” to soothe criticism.
🇩🇪 Germany
German employees have a tendency to give negative feedback directly, and are less likely to provide positive feedback in general.
🇫🇷 France
French employees are more likely to give negative or constructive verbal feedback in the workplace. When it comes to positive feedback, their principle is: “No news is good news.”
🇧🇷 Brazil
Brazilian employees are known for their indirect and implicit language. This applies both for positive and negative feedback.
🇦🇷 Argentina
Argentinian employees are considered to be the most direct in giving feedback among all Latin American countries. According to Meyer, neighbouring countries have a tendency to perceive this as arrogant behaviour and it can cause conflict.
🇳🇬 Nigeria
Nigerian employees are known for having a very direct way of providing feedback, which is very unusual for other African countries.
🇬🇭 Ghana
Like other African countries (except Nigeria), Ghanaian employees tend to avoid direct confrontation. Their way of providing constructive feedback to someone is by telling a mutual friend.
🇨🇳 China
Chinese employees tend to modify their feedback according to where an employee sits within the hierarchy of the company. For example, a businessperson would give softer feedback to a colleague but will strongly criticise a subordinate.
🇯🇵 Japan
Japanese employees are famous for giving the most indirect feedback. They usually skip giving negative feedback at all so the recipient must find the implicit meaning.
🇲🇽 Mexico
Mexican employees are less direct than Americans. When they’re criticising, they like to make the criticism more comfortable, by adding: “That’s an interesting point, but another interesting point might be…”
🇦🇺 Australia
Australian employees are considered to be the most direct of all Anglo-Saxon countries, providing blunt feedback, both positive and negative. This can sometimes cause conflict with Americans, who sometimes find this style arrogant.
Final tips
Managing a team comprised of members from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. Do your best to make your colleagues feel comfortable in the workplace. We hope these tips will help you manage your multicultural team with ease.
Editor’s note: This blog was originally published on fond.co, which Reward Gateway acquired in spring 2023.
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