Decision making and cooperation can become a challenged within a team if the organizational processes are not clearly known and understood by each individual. Although team members are willing to cooperate and work together, they might unintentionally encounter some difficulties due to the lack of understanding of those processes.
For multicultural teams, an extra layer of complexity is added, especially if they are located in distant geographical locations. Then, how can we assure that organizational processes are not challenging multicultural team success?
The decision-making process and cooperation among team members will greatly be affected if there’s no clear understanding of the organization’s mission, vision, key metrics, and reward systems for the different stakeholders, in particular.
In order to avoid such pitfalls, the team will need to establish effective methods for shared learning and discover various ways of making decisions. These methods are particularly critical for virtual and remote teams.
To successfully lead a multicultural team, especially virtual or remote teams, you will require competencies that are beyond the usual leadership skills and technical knowledge. For instance, a global leader must be able, among others, to:
- Adjust his/her leadership style,
- Listen without stereotypes,
- Develop strategies towards bridging the differences,
- Define and prioritize goals aligning organizational processes,
- Identify the team’s challenges and environmental conditions,
- Create contingency plans.
To help with the team processes, it is important for leaders to set process expectations. And although a team will work together to attain a specific goal, each person should know their specific role in that team. This can help avoid role confusion among members. By having a clear understanding of their specific roles, team members can develop cohesiveness and become a well-functioning unit.
In the end, when leading effectively, global teams will bring unique perspectives and unparalleled innovation to organizational challenges in today’s globalized world.
Team process is one of the 7 elements that have proven to be a key factor when working with multicultural teams. Find more about the Global Team Effectiveness Model ®. If you and your team are ready to improve their performance and effectiveness we can help you!
Question: How can we assure that organizational processes are not challenging multicultural team success?