15 Big Blunder
Lacking Global Awareness and Maturity

The root of “going global” isn’t an option reserved for executives at worldwide companies; it is an essential activity that every decision maker must perform to keep pace in today’s world. Respectful and culturally appropriate behavior shows global awareness and business maturity. No two cultures are alike, and it is important to be flexible when in other environments. Global awareness empowers you to proactively adapt, innovate, and focus on strategic measures that drive achievement.

—David Goldsmith, president of the Goldsmith Organization

Our business community becomes increasingly smaller as we live and work in different countries that are part of a multinational business environment. People want to work with others who have global awareness and understand a wide variety of views and practices.

In order to help its students and faculty appreciate differences, the University of Sheffield in London defines the following elements in their description of global awareness:

image Appreciating and respecting personal and cultural differences.

image Being aware of the diverse needs, feelings, and views of other people.

image Communicating and working with people from different countries and backgrounds.

image Understanding how world issues may affect society and people’s lives.

image Being active in society at local, national, and international levels.1

Ask Yourself These Crucial Questions

image Do I know if you I am egocentric and ethnocentric and feel that what I do is what everyone does or should do?

image Do I know how to manage cross-cultural situations?

On the Side

“Last year, when I was in India, I realized why there is a communication gap when it comes to agreement. My North American clients were frustrated because their Indian counterparts agreed to do the discussed work, yet ultimately did not deliver. My Indian clients were frustrated because their North American counterparts did not understand that they had not agreed to do the work but had agreed to hear what needed to be done and look into it to see if they could deliver the work. Their expectations on how they each responded to making an agreement were completely different. Once they realized the nuances of each other’s responses, they were able to communicate more effectively and, hence, lower that frustration.”

—Kim Zoller, Image Dynamics

image Have I thought about growing my relationships by growing my knowledge of my worldwide colleagues’ cultural nuances?

Tips

image Gather culture-specific information about the countries you work with most often. No one can know everything about every country, so do your homework for situations you will encounter just one time or on a regular basis.

image Read about global happenings and news events.

image Look for similarities and differences to enhance conversations.

image Understand and learn the nuances of the language.

image Slow down when communicating to ensure understanding.

image Write down key points and clarify to make sure you are on the same page and mean the same thing.

image Watch your humor and slang. These may be received in a completely different way than they were intended.

image Learn the differences in addressing the person as it relates to him or her name.

image Body language is different around the world; do not make any assumptions that what you do is normal and customary in other places.

image Learn and adapt to business card protocol.

image Learn the dining norms of the host country or the person you are hosting. The likelihood of them being different from yours is great.

image Nurture the relationship in the comfort zone of the other person in his or her culture.

On the Side

“One of our clients, Joe, conducted a new-hire orientation. Joe recalled feeling completely embarrassed by one of his actions with his Japanese colleagues. Two senior executives from their headquarters in Japan were participating in the orientation meeting. Joe was facilitating a debrief conversation with the entire group and asked his Japanese colleague for input on the technology presentation. The room went silent and Joe’s colleague did not offer his input. Joe felt extremely uncomfortable and moved on quickly as the room continued to be deathly silent. Later he learned that in Japan, the debrief and input occurs after the meeting is closed.”

—Image Dynamics client

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