ATTITUDE AND THE MULTICULTURAL TEAM

What is the most important factor in creating a successful, high-producing, multi-cultural team? Many would say it is the attitude of the team leader. Does the leader want a team made up of persons from diverse cultures, or is it being mandated by management? Is the leader free of prejudice, so that fair treatment is guaranteed? Does the leader bring to the surface the full potential of each member, so that long-term goals can be reached? Has the leader accepted the challenge inherent in forming a model multicultural team?

When Dora took over the department in her new firm, she was not surprised about the mix of men and women or the different age levels. It did surprise her, however, to realize that she had one Asian, one Hispanic, two African Americans, and one Arab to work with. Obviously, her new company had an international flavor well beyond that of her previous experiences. Did the mix make Dora's job more difficult? At the beginning, yes. She had to remind herself that the most basic and important principle of human relationships is to treat everyone as an individual. It would be her job to ensure that each member received the full respect of all others. Building healthy, open, and compatible interpersonal relationships would be her goal.

After a full month, Dora had learned more than the identities of the members of the team she had inherited. She discovered, for example, that it was the goal of the team that really brought them together. All she needed to do was work hard herself, teach others by drawing on her greater store of knowledge, communicate a lot, compliment a lot, and keep management apprised of the progress being made.

When Dora discovered that the team concept was a top-priority goal of her new company and that all team leaders met in seminars on a regular basis, she was delighted. This environment would give her the support and skills she would need to survive as a leader in the future. All this activity confirmed that she had made the right decision to join her new corporation.