December2019

Multi-CulturalTeamsandthePursuitofPeakPerformanceByAdrianMartinez-Kawas,PhD,InternationalProjectManager,CorporateProjectServices,WengerManufacturing,Inc.

Workingwithteamsisadouble-edgedsword.Humans,bynature,areverycomplicated,butit’sthoseintricaciesanddifferencesthatmaketeamsstronger.

It’schallengingenoughforteamsworkinginthesamegeographytogetintoaproductiverhythmwitheachother,butthechallengesareamplifiedwhentheteamismadeupofdiverseculturesspreadacrosstheglobe.

Whenyourteamisworkingtogetherindependentlyinonelocation,yourbiggestteamworkhurdlemaybepersonalityclashesandgenerationaldivides.Withglobalteams,notonlydoyouhavethosesamepersonalityandgenerationaldifferencestocontendwith,you’vegotculturaldifferencesaswell.

CorporateProjectServicesconductsextrusionprojectswithclientsinallpartsoftheworld,soeverydaywe’recollaboratingonmulti-culturalteams.Someteammembersarededicatedtocertaininternationalmarkets,pluswework

withinternalpartnersoverseasthroughourparentcompanyWengerManufacturing.Weknowwhatworksandwhatpreventsteamsfromfunctioningattheirbest.

MypersonaljourneyhasincludedbothLatinAmericanandU.S.influences,havinggrownupinMexicoandnowresidingandworkingintheUnitedStates.IgraduatedfromUniversidadAutónomadeNuevoLeóninMexicoandthencametotheU.S.tocompletegraduatedegreesatKansasStateUniversity.SincethenI’vespentportionsofmycareerinbothMexicoandtheUnitedStates,andIhavelearnedvaluablelessonsalongthewayabouthowdifferentculturescancombinethebestpartsofwhatmakesthemuniquetoworktogetherproductivelyinateamenvironment.

ChallengestoOvercome

Ifyoucanconquerthechallengesofblendingdiversecultures,you’vegotthekeytoreachingpeakperformanceandprovidingsuperior

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productsandsolutionstoyourownclientsandpartners.

Whenconsideringthebiggestchallengesfacingglobalteams,aselectfewrisetothetopofthelist.Languageisthemostobvious,asitoftenistheveryfirstbarriermulti-culturalteamsencounter.Thereareworkaroundsforthisthough—havingbi-lingualteammembersonstaffisabighelp,asisinvestingintranslationservices.

Butevenmorechallengingthanlanguagebarriersiscommunication.Languagecertainlycontributestothis,butthedifferencesinthewaywecommunicatecancreateimpedimentsthatarehardtoovercome.

Communicationstylesamongculturescandiffergreatly—intheUnitedStatespeopletendtodelivermessagesthatareshortandtothepoint.InmynativeMexico,peoplearemorelikelytospeakwithdetailedandthoroughexplanations.Oneismoreofaconsultativeapproachwhiletheotheristoaddressissuesquicklyandmoveon.Iseethegoodinbothapproaches:Beingdirectandtothepointismoreefficientinafast-pacedbusinessenvironment;buttakingtimetocommunicatethoroughlywithoneothercanbeapowerfulfactorinbuildingrelationshipsandpreventingmisunderstandings.

Anothermajorchallengeglobalteamsstrugglewithistimemanagement—insomeculturesmeetingtimeshaveahardstartandstop,whileinotherstimemaybemoreofalooselyfollowedguideline.Whenworkingwithclientsinotherpartsoftheworld,you’vegottoreadeachuniquesituationonitsownandadaptaccordingly.Knowwhentobefirmandwhentorelax.

FlexibilityandPatience

OnecriticallessonI’velearnedthroughtheyearsisyouhavetobeflexibleandableto

detachfromyourownculturewhenworkingwithothers.Unlessyoucanputyourownpreferencesasideandtrylookingatsituationsfromothers’perspectives,youwillneverbeabletodevelopthatpositiveworkingrelationshipandrapportthat’ssocriticaltoeffectiveteamwork.

Workingwithadiverseteamalsotakespatienceandemotionalintelligence.Yourteammembersmustbeabletoreadthesituationandrecognizewhenit’stimetoadapt—whenyoumightneedtodivertconversationsandactionstosteertheprojectbackontrack.Setbacksandmisstepsarelikelytooccur;so,whentheydo,learnfromthemandmoveon.

PuttingitintoPractice

Myownpersonalexperiencehasgivenmeuniqueperspectivethathelpsimmenselyinmanagingglobalprojectsandteams,butpeopledonotinstinctivelyapproachsituationswithotherculturesinmind.Thisissimplyhumannature,soshiftingtothatmindsetmustbeintentionaluntiliteventuallydoesbecomesecondnature.

So,howcanweencouragebetterglobalteamworkwithinternalandexternalcollaborators?

1. Immerseyourselfintheculture.Sittingatyourdeskandreadingaculturebookisnotgoingtocutit.Bewillingtoputyourselfoutthereandimmerseyourselfinthediverseculturesyou’reworkingwith—whetherthat’sanoverseasclientoravirtualteamwithinyourownorganization.Spendtimeonsitewiththemifpossibleandaskquestions.It’stheonlywayyoucanlearnhowtocommunicateeffectivelyasapartnerandbetterunderstandhowotherculturesinteractandhowtheyconductbusiness.

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2. Shareexperiencesandlearnfromeachother.Payattentiontoothersonyourteam.Beamentortothosewithlessinternationalexperience,andifyou’reseekingyourowndevelopmentopportunitiesgofindamentorforyourself.ItrytoworkwithasmanypeopleasIcansoIcanbuildmyownexperiencebylearningbestpracticesfromothers.Thismakesteamsstronger.

3. Communicateconstantly.Communicationiscriticaltoanyteamenvironment,butit’sevenmoreurgentwithglobalteams.Avoidmisunderstandingsbyerringonthesideofovercommunicating.Face-to-faceisgenerallythemostreliableformofcommunication,butthat’snotalwayspossiblewhenworkingwithinternationalclients.HereatCPSweconductvirtualmeetingsviastreamingvideoservicewhenpossible,tailoringtowhatworksbestforeachmarket.Openasmanylinesofcommunicationasyoucan—phone,video,email,etc.—andkeepthedialogueflowingtohelpminimizemiscommunication.

4. Encouragerelationshipbuilding.Whenphysicallyseparated,globalteammembersdon’thavethebenefitofthesocialinteractionthathelpsbuildsolid,trustingrelationships.Findwaystohelppeoplegettoknoweachother,evenifit’sassimpleaspostingteambiosonyourintranetortakingtimeatthestartofnewclientrelationshiptoletpeopleintroducethemselvesandsharealittlepersonalbackground.

Seeingthingsfromanotherculture’svantagepointcanhelpexpandyourbusinessandgiveyouanopportunitytocreatebetterproductsandsolutions.Italsocanhelpyoumakemeaningfulconnectionswithclientsthatpavethewayforalong-termpartnershipbuiltontrust.

I’msogladtoworkforaglobalcompanywheretheseopportunitiesareatmyfingertips—beingfortunatetoworkwithandlearnfromotherculturesmakesmeastrongermanagerandteamplayer.

AtCPS,wetakeprideintheclientserviceweprovidethatforgeslong-termpartnerships,butwecanonlydothatifweunderstandtheirpointofview.Tobeatruepartnertoourclientswegooutofourwaytoalignourapproachtotheirculture.Wesellindustry-leadingsolutions,equipmentandservices,buttheclient’sexperienceiswhatwillbringthembackforfutureprojectsandmakethemlikelytorecommendustoothers.

Attheendofthedayweareallhumanandweareallworkingtowardthesamegoal.Andthere’smorethanonewaytogetthere.Youcanachievegreatersuccesswithcollaboration—globalteamsarestrongerwhenyoudrawupontherichexperiencesandtalentsofdiversecultures.

Howhaveyouovercomechallengesworkingwithmulti-culturalteams?SharethemwithusonLinkedIn!YoucanalsoreachouttoourteamifyouhavequestionsforCPS.

CorporateProjectServices,adivisionofWengerManufacturing,isadynamicgroupofplanningspecialistsbackedbyWenger’smorethan80yearsofprocesssystemsupplytotheindustry.Ourknowledgebaseandbreadthofexperienceinextrusionprocessingandfacilitiesconstructionisunsurpassed–andourcommitmenttoexcellenceisrecognizedaroundtheworld.