Bridging the cultural communication gap

James Alderton

The Real Learning Experience

James Alderton

The Real Learning Experience

Bridging the Cultural

Communication Gap

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Australia in the Asian Century

• Top trading partners are China, Japan,

USA, South Korea & Singapore

• 45% of us were born overseas or have at

least one parent who was

• Mandarin Chinese is the most widely

spoken language after English

Culturally Diverse Teams:

• Think Differently

• Drive More Innovation

• Make Better Decisions

• Generate Higher Quality Solutions

Better Performance & Results

Cultural Diversity in Australia

Source: (1) Australian Census of Population and Housing, 2011, (2) Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2013

Source: Vijay Govindarajan & Anil K. Gupta: Building an Effective Global Business Team, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2001

The Challenge of Managing

Global Business Teams

12 Dimensions of Culture

Source: The 12 Dimensions of Culture, Knowledgeworkx, 2013

Destiny

Outlook

Relationship

Context

Growth

Connecting

Expression

Decision Making

Planning

Communication

Accountability

StatusHow we form

relationships How we communicate

with one another

A B

How do you communicate?

A B

Direct Communicator:

• Straight-forward and direct

• Express views and opinions in a

frank manner

• Openly confronts issues

• Says things clearly with little room for

misunderstanding

Indirect Communicator:

• Tactful and respectful

• Express views and opinions

diplomatically

• Avoids conflict if at all possible

• Expects the listener to “read between

the lines”

A B

Improving how we communicate

A B

If you’re a Direct Communicator:

• Be careful when raising difficult

topics

• Don’t jump straight to the point

• Be mindful of how you say things as

well as what you say

• Pay attention to what is not said and

watch for non-verbal clues

If you’re an Indirect Communicator:

• Try to “say what you mean” and get

straight to the point

• Expect conflict to be dealt with more

openly than you’re used to

• Communicate in words and avoid

non-verbal communication

Universal

• Views workplace people as friends

• Talks about family issues at work

• Invites people home and has personal

friendships with co-workers

• Establishes comfortable relationship

and sense of trust before getting down

to business

• Indirect & tactful

Situational

• Strong sense of private space

• Keeps their personal and work lives

separate

• Gets to know their co-workers quickly

and superficially

• Will not usually invite people home or

talk about personal issues at work

• Precise & transparent

How do you form relationships?

Inter-Cultural Intelligence is the attitude and skills

to anticipate, correctly interpret and adjust to

the culturally defined behaviour of others

Leadership Competencies for the

Culturally Diverse Workplace

Sufficient IQ

+ Sufficient EI

+ Sufficient experience

Is it enough?

Sufficient IQ

+ Sufficient EI

+ Sufficient experience

+ Sufficient Inter-Cultural Intelligence

= Successful Team Leader

Leadership Competencies for the

Culturally Diverse Workplace

Email: james.alderton@reallearning.com.au

Web: www.reallearning.com.au/jamesalderton

• Develop Your Inter-Cultural

Intelligence

• Turbo-Charge Your Multi-Cultural

Team

• Leverage Cultural Diversity in Your

Organisation