In April, as our personal cultures in the UK started to expand again post lockdown, I joined CamAWISE and Danielle Feger, Research Development Consultant, for a workshop on Intercultural Competencies and Leadership.
What does culture mean?
Danielle initially asked us to define what the word ‘culture’ actually means. Everyone has a slightly different definition, but it often boils down to ‘the way we do things around here.’ It is important to remember that there is a distinction between a description of a culture and a stereotype. Stereotypes assume that every individual is the same within a culture, when in reality people who are part of a culture will share some, but not all, of the typical characteristics.
Cultures can be national, regional or corporate. Even within a business, there can been differences in culture between employees, who might be local and speak the same language, compared to leaders who may be more international.
“You do not see the world as it is, you see it as you are,” advised Danielle. “You might be tempted to think ‘they are doing it wrong’, unless you are aware of your own cultural standpoint.”
The cultural iceberg model – what lies beneath the surface
Edward T Hall described culture as an iceberg, where the visible elements that you might observe on holiday, such as age, behaviours, language, gender and clothes are easy to spot. When you live and work in another culture, you start to sink deeper into areas such as favourite foods, festivals and traditions. It takes much longer to find the invisible cultural aspects, such as assumptions, thought patterns and gender roles. These elements are internal, unconscious and difficult to change.
Low and high context countries – say what you mean and mean what you say (or not)
Another way to analyse culture is to consider low and high context countries. Low context countries feature direct, precise and logical communication styles. “You say what you mean and you mean what you say,” summarised Danielle. People focus their attention on what is said and words are chosen carefully. Germanic and Nordic Europe, UK, US, Australia and Canada are examples of low context countries. Often, they are relatively easy to enter as a visitor.
High context countries pay as much attention to what is not said, through clothes, body language and reading between the lines. People from high context countries speak indirectly using nuanced communication and avoid conflict. Arab countries, Southern Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, countries with a lot of shared history, tend to be high context and can be challenging to join.
When working in a multicultural environment, clashes can occur when you mix high and low context individuals. If you are high context, you might feel that you are being patronised by low context communication, because in your eyes it is constantly repeating things. If you are low context in a high context environment, you might feel that people are not being open with you or explaining things adequately. “If you are not sure which approach to take with a co worker, take the low context approach and explain that this what we are doing and why,” recommended Danielle.
In an appraisal situation in particular, there is a big risk of miscommunication. If you are high context and experience low context feedback, it can feel too direct and confrontational and you might feel discouraged. If you are low context and receive high context remarks, you do not hear clearly what you have done wrong and may not understand how and where to improve.
“Some cultures can come across as abrupt or harsh. Others may come across as not taking anything seriously,” commented Danielle.
For neurodiverse people, for example those with communication challenges often associated with autism, low context environments and approaches could be particularly helpful. It is also important to make the rules for interaction clear. It could well be possible for neurodiverse people to thrive in a high context culture, if it has a clear set of expectations for different situations.
Cultural intelligence – understanding and adapting
Cultural intelligence, as defined by Thomas and Inkson, is the ability to understand and adapt to other cultures. To develop cultural intelligence, you need knowledge about other cultures combined with mindfulness, so that you can pay close attention to cultural cues and reflect on them non judgementally. You also need to have the skills to deal with situations, enabling you to choose your behaviour and body language according to the circumstances.
Cultural intelligence can be split into three aspects: cognitive, physical and motivational or emotional. Those with cognitive cultural intelligence will have clear approaches and plans for interactions and can tell if something is going well or badly. To have physical cultural intelligence, you will be able to adapt your body language, expressions and speech style to suit those from another culture. People with emotional cultural intelligence will feel relaxed about dealing with people from different cultures and are confident they can adapt to situations that are unfamiliar.
Be aware that the people you meet may not be typical of their culture. For example, academics who are often high context in their research communities, and have lived and worked abroad for many years, may not be similar to the average person you meet on your holiday travels.
Cultural dimensions – six features of cultures
Geert Hofstede referred to six cultural dimensions, including power distance, indulgence vs restraint, long vs short term orientation, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs collectivism and masculinity vs femininity. To explain these, Danielle summarised power distance and uncertainty avoidance.
Power distance refers to the relationship between those with high and low power in society, for example between leaders and their employees. In a low power distance environment, there are few formalities, mutual respect and consultation across the power spectrum is expected. With a high power distance comes a hierarchical approach with less need for consultation. Subordinates expect to be told what to do and can be disorientated if this is not made clear.
Uncertainty avoidance reflects how acceptable uncertainty is in the culture. Strong uncertainty avoidance leads to a multiplicity of laws, rigid codes, behaviours and beliefs, together with intolerance of unorthodox behaviour. Leaders are expected to have all the answers and employees resist changing jobs, even if they are unhappy at work. In a weak uncertainty avoidance culture, changing jobs is commonplace and people are more comfortable with ambiguity from leaders. They may have a dislike of rules, written or unwritten.
How to be culturally aware?
For Danielle, the key to being culturally aware is to practice cultural mindfulness. Develop an awareness of your own culture, essentially the lens that you are looking through. Build awareness and knowledge of other cultures and look ahead towards areas of potential conflict. Practice acceptance of cultures different to your own. Be aware of whether an incident may be a product of someone’s culture, rather than their own individual characteristics.
“We tend to blame the situation for our own shortcomings, for example if we are late, but blame the other person if it happens to them!” reminded Danielle.
Danielle recommends:
- Increasing cultural and personal self-awareness by reflecting on your own experiences, past and present
- Increasing awareness of others within their own cultural and personal context (is a characteristic cultural, or is it particular to them as an individual?)
- Learning to manage your emotions and thoughts in the face of uncertainty, change and challenging circumstances
- Learning to shift frames, attune emotions and adapt behaviours to other cultural contexts
“As a leader, being culturally aware does not mean taking on all aspects of the culture of everyone in your team. Just be aware of how your culture comes across,” said Danielle.
“We need to be in charge of ourselves in order to adapt to another culture. As a starting point, look for the areas that you have in common with people across all cultures, to build connections and work from there.”
KatieGee 