Drawing precipitated conclusions in the area of communication during multicultural interactions can cause, among others, misunderstandings and low productivity.

Let’s see why it is important that you improve your communication in environments of cultural diversity and how you can avoid hasty conclusions.

Watch Video

One of the important areas that a global leader must develop is understanding, managing, and assimilating the style of communication used by others; as well as the non-verbal expressions.

I imagine you have noticed how in team conversations, some interrupt others and even raise their voices while someone else is speaking. For some, this behavior reveals anxiety, lack of respect, or lack of interest towards the person who is talking.

For others, this is common and is a sign of active participation in a conversation, it shows interest, and it is a way to create a good group atmosphere where people are having a good time.

“ In multicultural environments the values and beliefs behind each action are not evident. — DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

As human beings, we tend to judge without knowing the facts involved in specific situations and often would like the rules that we know and feel comfortable with to be applied by those with whom we interact.

However, in teams and in multicultural environments, the values, beliefs, and behaviors behind each action are less obvious than you can imagine and do not always allow generalization and application of personal norms.

A good foundation for effective communication in this globalized era is not imposing our communication style and not having a negative attitude towards different styles of communication. This tendency simply shows a lack of cultural understanding.

In this globalized era in which we live, it is important to know that there are those who value direct and open communication, while others prefer an indirect and more conservative approach. Each individual, group, and organization has different styles of communication based on its own culture.

What can I do as a global leader to avoid jumping to conclusions? Some ideas to keep in mind that are always useful when trying to achieve success in this area are:

1. The first thing is to understand that developing this ability is a process and that in some instances it may not be pleasant since it will require your acceptance of new communication styles and adjustments.
2. You can find it useful to give the “benefit of the doubt” to those who need it even if the situation is not in their favor.
3. It is also important to not use gestures or facial expressions when listening carefully to others to avoid appearing like we are disapproving of what they are saying.
4. Before jumping to conclusions, listen and ask questions with the intention of understanding others or knowing what the facts are, in order to avoid saying or doing things that others may perceive as wrong.
5. If the matter is not significant or relevant, forget it. If it is, try to have all the information possible in order to avoid drawing conclusions.
6. If you have a conversation for the first time with a stranger, carefully observe the person and the information presented to you. Do not get carried away by general elements such as nationality, how they use their eyes, the way they are dressed, or how they speak to determine what kind of person they are.

There are several options that can help you improve your ability to avoid jumping to conclusions too soon, especially in the area of ​​communication.

• First, I suggest that you improve your ability to connect with others. LEADINFORCE can help you in that effort to connect effectively with others, by increasing your influence in each situation, as well as by relating and identifying with people in a way that increases your influence with them.
• Second, increase your cultural awareness. We can also help you identify how culture impacts interactions, business effectiveness, communications, and leadership. In addition, we can help you understand the “why” behind common behaviors that are influenced by culture, how to minimize misunderstandings, maximize productivity, and see results and success.

Even though this is a very broad topic, it is necessary to develop these basic skills in order to achieve success as a global leader and to avoid jumping to conclusions. Therefore, start putting these ideas into practice knowing that they can serve you in every area of your life.

LEADINFORCE can help you in this effort. Do not hesitate to let us know how we can help you, your team, and your organization.

You can start achieving better results today! Let’s talk about how LEADINFORCE can benefit you, your team, and your company

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – VI appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Globalization is a great opportunity to extend new frontiers, both personally and professionally. Yet, it’s a challenge for the global leader who is facing cultural differences and who seeks better results not only personally but organizationally as well.

Let’s observe the benefits that the leader and the organization have when they are not resisting change in a multicultural environment, and how this flexibility in a globalized world is a fundamental element both in a successful corporate culture and in the development of the global leader.

Watch Video

The speed at which commercial activities and technological advances are occurring today, demands flexibility and adaptation. Being flexible is one of the fundamental components of a successful corporate culture and an essential attribute of a global leader.

Global leaders, as well as successful organizations, are facing continuous change, growth, and development. Given the constant globalization and diversity in our organizations, flexibility allows you to:

1. Create a culture of success. An organization that implements flexibility in its programs will be creating a high level of loyalty, confidence, and productivity among the members of the organization. Today more and more organizations empower their employees. For example, they allowed them to work from home and have their own work schedule. Their focus is on the results and not on the process.
2. Promote diversity in teams. The success of a team lies in its diversity. Experienced, talented, and educated professionals today are in different locations around the world and have different cultures.
   Organizations that extended hours and virtual jobs with distant locations have the advantage of attracting diversity and talent.
3. Elevate leadership skills. High-performance global leaders have their own style of leadership, recognize their own strengths, and know how to use them. A corporate culture that includes flexibility allows these leaders to increase their effectiveness.
   
   A high-performance leader in times of pressure recognizes when and how to make a decision; therefore, they should feel comfortable and safe with their own judgment and in providing clear and precise instructions.
4. Expand the global mindset. Accepting the differences that the multicultural environment brings such as religion, beliefs, values, work and communication styles, and others specific to each culture is vital for the success of any leader or organization.

“ Being flexible is one of the fundamental components of a successful corporate culture and a global leader. — DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

The leader that achieves flexibility in a multicultural environment, among other benefits:

• Adjusts behaviors to other people or cultures with no difficulty.
• Accepts different points of view toward the same objective.
• Identify in each group the correct leaders for each project.
• Promotes the feeling of community in teams with different cultures and work styles.

If you or your team has not yet worked on developing a global mindset, visit us at LEADINFORCE, we can help you.

Without a doubt, flexibility is an important element within the corporate culture and is an indispensable quality of the global leader. Flexibility requires an open mind and a willingness to change.

The success of your global leadership and your organization can be achieved with the right culture, where flexibility is a significant part.

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – V appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Informal meetings between entrepreneurs or “networking events” are one of the activities in which the global leader faces cultural differences.

Let’s look at the benefits of building business relationships and how having an interest and curiosity toward other cultures can become a competitive advantage for entrepreneurs in today’s world.

Watch Video

In the city of Miami, where I lived, the chambers of commerce, as well as business’ organizations hold conferences and events for large and small groups on a weekly basis.

The vision of these events is to bring together entrepreneurs and business owners, from all types of industries, under one roof with the desire to expand their knowledge, improve their strategies, and build new and valuable business relationships.

It is clear that building business relationships are crucial to sustaining and growing any organization. Among the biggest benefits are:

1. Learn about the different corporate cultures practiced today and improve your business’ culture.
2. Make your business idea known and position your business.
3. Understand various industries and their business needs.
4. Find other entrepreneurs who can meet your business needs.

We have enough examples of successful global leaders, which prove that curiosity can lead a person to expand their knowledge. Even more so, they used curiosity as a fundamental element in business development and success.

One of them is Steve Jobs, creator of the iPhone, who was known for his vision and creativity which led him to be one of the most important visionaries and innovators of this century.

“ The global leader who develops the intentionality of being curious in each situation has a competitive advantage. — DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Indifference towards others will not allow you to extend your vision in a globalized world. But, instead, curiosity in the global leader allows:

1. Innovation. In the changing environment in which globalization moves us daily, the leader who keeps curiosity about the different ways of doing things is the one who finds new ways to innovate systems, services, or products.
2. Connection. In order to influence others, it is essential to know how to connect with them, especially in the multicultural environment in which we live. Leaders who have learned the art of connecting with others are curious about them.

   In addition, they have the ability to communicate their ideas persuasively, establish immediate acceptance, attract followers, create and maintain successful teams, and lead organizations to success.

   To elevate your skills in these areas, visit us at LEADINFORCE, we can help you achieve it.

3. Perspective. Curiosity is what allows you to be connected to the world that surrounds you and to be aware of the best technologies, developments, and advances. Thus, you have a better perspective to provide the right solutions. Every entrepreneur and organization has its own culture. Cultural differences are not a barrier to the global leader; on the contrary, they are the opportunity to grow and extend borders.

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – IV appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

By extending the frontiers, the global leader facing cultural differences discovers the need to embrace ambiguity and still have successful relationships, teams, and organizations.

Let’s see how avoiding and mishandling uncertainty can prevent you from extending your borders successfully and thriving in your next step. Let’s also observe how you can improve your ability to handle ambiguity in the globalized world in which we live.

Watch Video

In a globalized world, we increasingly face ambiguous situations were day by day:

• There are changes at high speeds,
• We have access to different cultures and
• We live in multicultural environments.

Maintaining effectiveness in ambiguous environments not only becomes an element of success but has advantages as well:

• Reduces the level of stress created by ambiguity. As you improve being tolerant in multicultural environments, you will notice that the level of stress decreases.
• Open your mind to finding new ideas and opportunities. The risk involved in facing something new or unfamiliar will turn into growth and new opportunities.
• Develop your ability to be flexible in the face of unexpected situations. In times of difficulties, the leader who manages to turn challenges into opportunities has a competitive advantage.

“ The best global leaders respond with confidence and adaptability to ambiguous situations and environments. — DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Let’s see how you can achieve it:

1. Have confidence in yourself and your ability to face ambiguous and unexpected situations. Do not be afraid of making a mistake or not having the answer. Nobody has all the answers, not even the experts. You have the option to say “I do not know yet” or “I’m not sure, I must examine this before answering”.
2. Increase your intentionality by focusing on the results and not the process. In an ambiguous or unknown environment, you will not have all the necessary information. Do not wait until you know everything, that day may never come. Gather the information available, make the best decision you can and take action.
3. Avoid getting frustrated with ambiguity and most importantly do not openly show it if you are leading a team. Learn to manage stress and have ways to cultivate a relaxed state of mind. In the worst-case scenario, breathe deeply and start all over again.
4. Face ambiguity by asking yourself: What should I do? Instead of asking, what could I do? This way you will reduce the tension and more importantly take a step to increase your creativity. This way you can see ambiguity as an opportunity and not as a challenge.
5. Do not expect different results when continuing to do the same. Look for alternatives, if necessary go for a walk and take a deep breath or distract your mind from another project. The best option is to talk with someone else about the subject to bring new ideas to your mind. Work with a coach or mentor to have creative meetings that inspire you with better ideas and strategies.
   As a coach, I can assure you that this practice will give you excellent results. If you still not working with a coach, visit us at LEADINFORCE, we can help you.
6. Reduces the need to have control over everything and everyone. In a complex world, the expectation of maintaining control is unreal. On the contrary, it’s going to cause you unnecessary stress.
7. The best way to handle ambiguities is to be tolerant of them. Work to develop your ability to be flexible and change the course of action as you receive more information. Be tolerant and flexible in front of change. For example: in some cultures having a clear and rapid response is cause for praise and pride; while in other cultures it can be seen as unintelligent, not pleasant, as a direct and tactless response.
8. Use your resources: your experience, ability to reflect, and maturity count. Even if you do not have a lot of experience in a specific project, I’m sure it’s not the first time you’re in front of an ambiguous situation. Use your creativity, it’s your best ally.

As global leaders, we are facing great challenges. The ambiguity and uncertainty that results from working with different groups, cultures, organizations, and multicultural environments can be overwhelming.

The process of tolerating and managing ambiguity can be difficult, but gaining the results is rewarding for today’s leaders or for the organization.

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – III appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

In the multicultural and globalized world in which we live, understanding others is the difference between having –or not having better clients, teams, and organizations. The tendency of the global leader towards diversity is one of the advantages that allow him to easily understand others.

Let’s see why understanding other people in a globalized world can mean the success or failure of your career or the project you want to achieve and 4 easy steps that can help you to successfully understand others.

Watch Video

Understanding goes much further than just listening to other people’s ideas. In multicultural environments, it is a set of elements, which implies having a basic cultural knowledge and developing the ability to understand others within their own context.

For example, for many years facial expressions had been seen as a response, mostly biologically conditioned. Today we know that they are also influenced by the environment in which we live and develop; more grounded in the culture that we create and that surrounds us.

Studies published in the journal of the Association for the Sciences of Psychology clearly demonstrate how culture influences communication. Akihiro Tanaka of the Waseda Advanced Studies Institute in Japan stated: “I think Japanese people tend to hide their negative emotions by smiling, but it’s more difficult to hide negative emotions in the voice.” Therefore, Japanese people may be used to listening to emotional cues. This could lead to confusion when a Dutch person, who is used to the voice and the face matching, talks with a Japanese person; they may see a smiling face and think everything is fine while failing to notice the upset tone in the voice.

“ Understanding other people in a globalized world can mean the success or failure of your career or the project. — DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Are there advantages in developing our ability to understand others in a globalized world?

The art of understanding other people in multicultural environments and in a globalized world can mean the success or failure of your career or the project you want to achieve.

I could mention countless benefits of what it means to understand others in the globalized world in which we live today; however, the most significant is the opportunity to connect with others at a level where you can influence them. This advantage on a personal and professional level becomes the basis of successful relationships, teams, and organizations.

In what way can you develop the ability to understand others in a globalized world?

The first thing to keep in mind is that if understanding others, in multicultural environments, is not your best skill, do not worry, this skill can be learned and developed.

Then it is vital to expand your cultural awareness. Know your own culture well and begin to understand the current culture of those who want to establish relationships.

Your next step is to develop the ability to communicate, connect, and relate well with others. LEADINFORCE can help you; click here for more details.
In general, when looking into understanding others:

1. Avoid distractions when other people talk to you or when you are doing teamwork. This general norm of respect towards others can have different implications according to the culture or group in which you find yourself.
2. Have empathy with others, accepting that there are differences and that emotions may exist behind what others express. Although empathy can be perceived in professional environments as a distraction, in the long term, it will allow you to connect at a deeper level with others.
3. Create a successful environment in each conversation. Being present (focused), listening with respect, and giving feedback, are basic elements of communication and effective tools when connecting with others. For example, in the American culture looking into the eyes is a sign of trust and credibility. While in Chinese culture, maintaining eye contact can be seen as challenging.
4. Keep the focus on others and not on yourself. Listen carefully and pay close attention to others with the intention of knowing more about them and understanding them; this “may be your first big step” on the road to success.

In the globalized world in which we live, being a leader is not enough anymore; you need to be a global leader. You can start achieving better results today!

Let’s talk about how LEADINFORCE  can help you develop the skills that will allow you to become a global leader and be successful in the face of cultural differences.

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – II appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

More than 3.5 billion people, who make up about half of the planet’s population, are connected through social networks. These are figures that we can’t ignore since much of what happens around us today is being influenced by these numbers.

If your personal and professional abilities, your experience, and your perspective are not based on a global and multicultural mentality, you are losing all the opportunities that globalization offers you. One of these opportunities is to expand your cultural understanding, but perhaps the most critical is to avoid misunderstandings in multicultural teams.

So let’s see how the lack of cultural understanding and global mentality leads to a cultural shock and misunderstandings in multicultural environments, and how we can avoid them.

Watch Video

When you meet someone for the first time, it is evident that even if he or she speaks the same language or even is native of a nearby region, you notice very quickly that there are differences in the views and perspectives of each person.

If you spend more time with these people, as coworkers or within your group of friends, and connect you begin to see that beyond what unites you with them (work project, goals, etc.) there are a number of values, beliefs, history, personality, profession, religion, customs, to name a few, that differentiate them from you.
As we are getting more and more interconnected with the rest of the planet and aiming to thrive socially, economically, intellectually, and professionally it is more than evident that we need to increase our cultural awareness.

“ The lack of cultural understanding and global mentality leads to a cultural shock and lower productivity. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

From the corporate point of view, bad communication, cultural shocks, and misunderstandings create a continuous state of low productivity.

Thus, cultural awareness is vital in order to acquire a global view and increase our cultural intelligence giving us a great resource for everyday interactions which is a competitive advantage for today’s entrepreneurs who are constantly interacting virtually and in diverse and multicultural environments.

In the absence of cultural awareness, when facing cultural differences, leaders tend to incur these five (5) main mistakes:

• Resistance to change,
• Disinterest in other cultures,
• Avoid and mismanage uncertainty,
• Misinterpret others,
• Conclude hastily.

In which of these areas do you feel you have a growth opportunity?

During the next week, I will be examining these five common mistakes in detail. In each blog, I will be providing more insight and practical exercises.

Doesn’t matter if you are leading a multinational organization, trying to recruit diverse talent, developing your business in multicultural settings, reaching foreign markets, or just networking and looking to carry on a good conversation in a diverse and multicultural environment; developing your cultural awareness is a key personal and business skill required for your success.

If you want to minimize misunderstandings and maximize productivity, results, and success; click here for more information.

The post LEADING IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD – I appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Performance and effectiveness in teams can be challenged by decision making and cooperation 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. These issues can be even more challenging if the members of the team are located in distant geographical areas.

Let’s observe why is important for multicultural teams to have clear organizational processes and which global leader’s competencies can make it happen.

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 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?

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.

“ Leading diverse teams is increasingly becoming an important skill in the international marketplace today. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

There is no doubt that diversity among team members can help improve the success level of a project, as well as productivity and effectiveness. But, it’s critical for all members to consider their varied resources and perspectives.

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 and expectations from their performance, team members can develop cohesiveness and become a well-functioning unit.

In the end, when leading effectively, global teams when lead effectively utilizing the correct team processes will bring unique perspectives and unparalleled innovation to organizational challenges in today’s globalized world.

The 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!

The post HOW TEAM PROCESSES AFFECT YOUR MULTICULTURAL TEAM appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

People from different cultures might react in diverse ways to conflict when it occurs within a team. Some team members will reduce their reactions to the use of silent treatment, yet others might choose to fight back. Such reactions to some extent will depend on an individual’s personality but also are conditioned by their cultural spectrum and backgrounds.

Let’s observe why conflict isn’t always a bad thing, the key abilities need it to manage conflict and the elements that can help lessen conflicts within a multicultural team.

Effective conflict resolution between coworkers requires an understanding of how each member perceives what caused the conflict. Moreover, when dealing with different cultures, national traditions, personalities, cultural awareness, and others, it is more challenging to maintain smooth relations among team members.

Teams are formed for various reasons, terms, and goals. Regardless of their purpose and continuance, most teams will experience an evolutionary process which begins from their creation and culminates in the attainment of shared goals. During each formation step, conflicts will normally arise, and this isn’t always a bad thing.

In a multicultural team, diversity brings about a special level of conflict and complexity for team members. Do you have an effective way of dealing with conflict among your team members?

Some of the key abilities that a team needs to implement and utilized to manage conflict include:

• Sharing mutual interest
• Practicing Active Listening
• Relationship building between members
• Adopting a problem-Solving attitude
• Conflict resolution strategies

When conflict is used effectively, it can help stimulate critical thinking among team members, which is a factor that increases productivity. It can help uncover potential objections, improve decision-making, and bring down tensions that usually bring low morale and discontent, which allows a team to be effective.

“ When conflict is used effectively, it can help stimulate critical thinking among team members. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

There is no doubt that diversity among team members can help improve the success level of a project, as well as productivity and effectiveness. But, it’s critical for all members to consider their varied resources and perspectives.

To make the process more manageable for those in leadership positions, there are several elements to understand and keep in mind when creating strategies that can help lessen conflicts within a multicultural team.

• First, it is important that you have effective communication strategies. Group members should learn to recognize the differences in how each member interacts. And they should refrain from judging each other’s competence on the basis of language skills.
• Team members should be allowed to express disagreements in a constructive manner. Likewise, organizations should have a clearly understood path of escalation for those issues that members aren’t able to resolve on their own.
• Multicultural teams tend to have contrasting ways of doing their work. For instance, some cultures like a slow-paced style which focuses on mutual agreement between team members, and there are those cultures that are more focused on quick and efficient problem-solving style.
• Systems, procedures, and clear standards of what the members are to achieve helps them realize the correct approach expected of them. Bring members of a team to the same page to help them minimize conflict.
• Team members may not have the same level of leadership. Thus, when disagreements occur, intervening in all of them could lead to over-dependence on the company’s leadership, which reduces growth opportunities at different levels of the organization.

Having a safe environment, easy to understand and interact, have many benefits, especially in conflict resolution. Team members will learn to respect their differences, collaborate better with each other, stick to group norms, and share a common goal, which will finally lead them to promote unity in a team.

Conflict resolution 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!

The post CONFLICT RESOLUTION HELPING MULTICULTURAL TEAMS PERFORMANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Due to the globalization of the workforce today, you’ll find that many multinational organizations have teams working from different time zones, countries, and even continents. As well as many entrepreneurs and startups that utilize outsourcing as a way to grow so they can continue to focus on the core business processes. Thus, now days running a team become a different endeavor than it was some years back.

Let’s evaluate why the fundamentals of the team are critical and how we can improve them to have a safe environment, and improve the team’s collaboration, performance, and effectiveness in a globalized world.

It can be challenging when leading multicultural teams. As in every team, a lack of a clear understanding of common goals and strategies can equally affect the team’s overall performance. But even more so on teams that are geographically distant can be harmful. As well as the development of a team culture based on the organization’s vision can greatly influence effectiveness as well as the performance of the team.

How can you leverage the team’s foundations to foster successful teamwork?

Through inclusion and diversity, as well as encouraging active participation among members, you can help foster high levels of trust in your team. In turn, members will work towards supporting their team leader and their vision.

Therefore, it is vital to improving the fundamentals of the team and in this process, it is important to recognize that:

1. Team members need to understand their set goals and have a clear vision.
2. It is crucial for a team to create a strategy and plan that reflects its purpose, vision, and mission.
3. Having a well-defined leadership role can help establish a structure for each team member. Team leaders and managers should establish common goals for their teams and clarify roles and responsibilities expected from each team member.
4. Based on its structure as well as other factors affecting collaboration, each team will need its governing set of rules and standards.
5. Team members need to develop their Cultural Awareness to understand their own culture, the culture of their colleagues, and the team and organization culture as well to foster cultural success.

“ Creating a culture and norms that are team-specific significantly improves collaboration, performance, and effectiveness. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

As a team works towards common project goals and objectives, they will perform different tasks as part of the planned action processes. Thus, when it comes to supporting team members to be successful, there are never too many details. Clarity of roles can help address the performance of the whole team. It defines the expectations of each task and for each member. This will also serve to let everyone know their contributions to the whole matter.

To improve the fundamentals of your team, consider having standard operating procedures for:

• Email replies,
• The frequency of team meetings and agendas,
• Frequent document and email that promotes clear communication,
• Coordinating the flow of different member activities and team reporting structure,
• Breaking down your shared goals into smaller actionable steps,
• Measuring progress towards a goal supported by graphics and flowcharts,
• Tracking available resources at the work environment to guarantee that what is needed is available,
• Create an atmosphere of camaraderie among team members to support others to perform their tasks,
• Outline each member’s function and responsibilities to help reduce the chance of misunderstandings.

Furthermore, the development of a team identity finding commonalities between the group members will encourage your team to bond in a social context. It’s possible that there are teammates with the same taste in music, movies, or TV shows. Others might bond over hobbies or through sharing information about their children and families. One thing is for sure, personal connections in a multicultural team make it easier for members to work together.

Having a safe environment, easy to understand and interact, have many benefits. Team members will learn to respect their differences, collaborate better with each other, stick to group norms, and share a common goal, which will finally lead them to promote unity in a team.

Team foundations are 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!

The post TEAM FOUNDATIONS: THE BASIC FOR MULTICULTURAL TEAM’S SUCCESS appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

In any organization, team members differ in beliefs and behaviors. However, the team’s agreement and consent it’s an essential element of any organizational strategy. Diversity and inclusion can improve teams’ ability to have better agreements and consent, as well as a better understanding of the customers they serve.

Let’s observe the importance of inclusion and diversity in multicultural teams and how we can build global leadership strategies that promote them in our teams.

In multicultural teams, member participation, creativity, discussions process, and decision-making do influence the success level of any project and organization.

Thus, promoting inclusion and diversity in a team will allow its members to:

1. Develop awareness of different communication and thinking styles to facilitate the discussion process.
2. Learn to take advantage of diverse backgrounds and skill participation to increase the effectiveness of a team.
3. Share their experiences to be able to create something far greater than what each would have achieved on its own.

Similarly, not promoting diversity and inclusion can challenge teams in many ways. At the end of the day, if team members fail to stand for the larger community, the results of the team’s efforts can become biased and limited.

Here are some examples of these challenges:

• People with strong hierarchical cultures tend to expect they’d be treated differently in accordance with their position in the organization chart. Thus, the failure of cultural awareness among some members in honoring such expectations could cause humiliation and even loss of credibility and esteem in a team member.
• Team members might disagree on how much data and analysis they’ll need when making decisions. For some cultures, a bold thinking style may be considered as being proactive, while in other cultures it may be seen as being an ill-thought-out action plan.

“ Diversity and inclusion in any organization can help members improve their teams and better understand the customers. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Multicultural teams are the lifeblood of a successful organization. Therefore, cultural awareness in a team needs to be a priority at an individual level as well as at a team level to foster cultural success.

When a company has a workforce made up of people with different experiences, skills, and backgrounds it means that the generated ideas won’t be homogeneous, they’ll be more creative and innovative.

On the other hand, when organizations support multicultural teams, or teams located in distant geographical areas, or teams with specific demographic members, this can directly influence employee engagement and retention.

One of the best examples in this area is Google Inc. a famous global company known for an excellent organizational culture that drives a strong competitive advantage. This company has received the “Best Company Culture” Award for many reasons, but the most powerful one: Diversity and inclusion.

So then if we agree that team members perform at the highest potential when their beliefs, comfort, and orientation, are considered. We should, therefore, strive to make sure they have the freedom to work in ways that bring out their strengths.

Inclusion is more about incorporation than merely accommodating someone. Therefore, those in leadership positions in an organization should build global leadership strategies that promote inclusion and diversity, such as:

• Practice active listening with the desire to understand and connect with others, especially those from different cultural contexts.
• Try blending different approaches, work-styles, and needs into a cohesive process that truly empowers your team.
• Consider leveling the playing field within the members of each team to provide equal opportunities
• Address unconscious bias within members of each team as well at the organizational level.

All in all the benefits of inclusion and diversity are evident, and they go hand-in-hand. When your workforce is happier, their creativity, productivity, and effectiveness levels are higher. This translates to the business being more innovative and successful; furthermore, the best talent from around the globe will be pulled in to work there.

Cultural diversity 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, we can help you!

The post INCLUSION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY TAKING TEAMS TO THE NEXT LEVEL appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.