Most of us work with both individualists and collectivists or with both direct and indirect communicators on the same team. That may arise from the fact that they come from different cultures. Who should adapt to whom when there is a multicultural team?
Surely sometimes we need to adapt to one another, but retaining the differences may actually strengthen your team. When Starbucks first opened in China, the stores looked like Chinese teahouses and primarily sold teas. The Chinese wanted the real Starbucks experience though, with comfy chairs and grande lattes, as the management-issues.com website reminds us.
Fusion strategy: Working with differences to achieve better output
Minimize interpersonal conflict and leverage the diversity of perspectives. Don‘t just use the overlapping interests and ignore the differences. Fusion strategy leads to a whole new way of working together.
1. Identify differences
Create a list with names and the most relevant differences they bring to the team. Focus on different value orientations.
2. Build CQ
Build the skills required to work effectively on a culturally diverse team. Cultural awareness is only the first step. Diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams only when CQ levels are high.
3. Align expectations
Ask your colleagues to write down their understanding of the objective. Pay attention to subtle differences, and make sure that you all are aligned in your viewpoints. Let them describe what successfully achieving the goal would look like. Seek an agreement.
4. Draw on your differences
A fusion strategy allows different cultural norms to coexist. For example, individualists may be consulted for helping the team to take personal initiative and responsibility. The collectivists are ideally suited to lead the team toward consensus on a shared goal.
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