Diversity & Bar magazine culture competence article/ Sahar consulting as an expert

8/7/2019 Diversity & Bar magazine culture competence article/ Sahar consulting as an expert

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CONGRESSWOMAN WATERSEXPLAINS DODD.FRANK'SDIVERSITY FOCUS

CULTURAL COMPETENCYACROSS BORDERS

DIVERSE PARTNERPROMOTIONS

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The dress policy handbook dictated the do's and don'ts ofthe most intimate dress and hygiene habits of its bankers,from the color of employees' underwear-red is verboten-to prohibiting bankers from eating garlic. As Americanreaders wondered whether the handbook was for real, thebank's spokesperson defended the style guide, saying it isdesigned to meet the demands of customers who are look-ing for "perfection."

The bank has codes ofconduct and style guides for thecountries where they do business because it recognizes thata one-size-fits-all approach to playing in an internationalsoace doesn't wslk-svsn when it comes to dress codes. Its.or.r.r,ry-rp..ific dress guidelines are just another exampleof the impact local societal norms, regional practices, andclient preferences have on doing business internationally.

While the international derision the bank received inresponse to the handbook has prompted the bank to reviseits policies, one thing remains clear: culture matters.

SMOOTH NAVIGATiONACROSS CULTURAL BORDERSThe concept of multinational corporations is not new. But

historic barriers to doing business abroad are crumbling andopportunities are shifting from familiar'Western Europeannations to those in emerging markets. Countries such asMexico, Turkey, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and BRIC(Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are becoming attractiveplaces in which to establish a local presence.

The burgeoning universe of virtual work teams withlimited in-office interaction beg the question, is culturalcompetency still important for today's businesses?

The experts say, absolutelyl

DIVERSITY & THE BAR@ |V]ARCH/APR L 2011

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Although working virtually has reduced the number offace-to-face meetings, it remains uue that at the other end ofour telephone calls, email exchanges, and teleconferences areclients, co-workers and bosses; and people still need to interact.

"Cultural competency used to be thought of as fessen-tiai] to win, but today it needs to be seen as [an essentialjust] to play," says Tanya Odom, a coach and consultantwho has spent more than 15 years working with compa-nies to prepare employees for international assignments."People who are looking to advance their careers, peoplewho are looking to be relevant, and people who are look-ing to be on a leadership track have to have some level ofcultural competency."

Sahar Andrade is a social media strategist and diversityconsultant with Sahar Consulting LLC. She agrees that asthe marketplace has become more global, the relevance ofcultural competency has increased. "To become globallycompetitive, companies need to develop new social skills,attitudes, and behaviors, along with the flexibility necessaryto communicate and work with clients and suppliers inother languages and from other cultures," she says.

Keily Hoey, the former manager of an Am Law 50 law

firm who is now a strategic networker and connector, addsthat cultural competency cannot be assumed. "Even whenthe company or firm has 'global' in its tagline or brand.. 'doesn't mean that employees, regardless of geographic loca-tion, think, act, or see things the same."

Vera Sullivan, a career counselor with 35 years of experi-ence advancing the careers of attorneys and 12 years of experi-ence as a recruiter placing diverse attorneys in corporate legaldepartments, believes "the face ofAmerica is changing andpeople have to become more culturally sensitive, especially

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recruiters, human resource personnel, and managers. Ignoringcultural differences today is like ignoring an elephant in the

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room. It needs to be discussed. Once it is out in the open, cul-turally comperenr people are comfortable talking about andunderstanding the impact in the workplace of the differentworlds and societies inhabited by diverse people."

As an example, she remembers helping a young Koreanprofessional overcome her reluctance to engage in a proactive,aggressive job hunt. "She wasnt ready to cold call potentialemployers because that wasnt something that was done inher culture, so we put together a straregy that allowed herto attend less formal events where she could mingle moresocially and be her authentic selfin a less aggressirre setting."

THEBUSINESS CASEFORCULTURAL COMPETENCY\fhile the research is ongoing, preliminary results showthat effective managemenr of culturally diverse reams mayead to greater profitability. The McKinsey Quarterly's May

2008 survey, "\Why Multinationals Struggle to ManageTalent", found that companies scoring in the top third ofhe survey on global talent-management practices achieved

higher profit per employee than companies scoring in thebortom third. The companies with strong cross-culturalmanagemenr had the benefit of higher productivity, morecross-selling, client exposures, work referrals from otherofEces, and leveraging global resources-all of whichcontributed to increased orofits.

misunderstandings and errors, leading to better quality legalwork and higher satisfaction for both clients and lawyers.'t

Sullivan adds that managers with strong cultural awarenesstypically make better hiring decisions. 'As a recruiter, I havepersonally experienced that experienced diversity professionalsare very tolerant and understanding of others with whom theyinterface and whom they manage up, laterally, and down.',

Andrade also notes that the costs of managing culturalcompetency poorly can be detrimental. "Cultural factorsaffect onet job and interacrion with their co-workers andcan either create a great culture of cooperation and team-work if culture comperency is applied, or it can create chaos,low morale, high turnover, and absenteeism. In worst casescenarios, a lack ofcultural understanding can lead to dis-crimination lawsuits that can cost the orsanization millionsof dollars and the risk of tarnishing their"repuration."

LESSONS LEARNEDAdjusting one's cultural lenses is easier said than done."Many people are ill-equipped for managing themselvesand managing others effectively in a global contexr," saysAndy Molinsky, Ph.D., an associare professor of organiza-tional behavior at Brandeis University.

In many instances, the best cultural competency practi-tioners are people who have experience with'being diff.r..r,.' Everyone brings their experience, upbringing, eJucation,'how-to' baggage to the work every day," Hoey says. "Beingin the 'minority' means you are the mouse in the room

ofelephants, soyou are alwaysaware or makeit your businessto become awareofhow othersoperate, whatmotivates themand how, together,you can accom-plish the firm orcompany's goals."

Andrade advises her clients to identify the similar busi-ness interests in various markets and use those intereststo drive the cross-cultural decision making into the newmarkets. "However, when entering foreigrimarkets,organizations frequently fall into the trap ofthe self-reference measure," which she explains is the unconsciousapplication of one's own cultural experiences and values toa market in another culture. "Even more dangerous thanself-reference measure is ethnocentrism, the b"elief thatonet own culture is superior to any other; and that is whycultural blunders occur."

OTO BE EFFECTIVE, CT]LTT]RALCOMPETE]YCY TRAII.fIIYG ML]ST IYOT O]VLYSETVSITIZE PEOPLE TO THE CHALLEIVGESOF FUIVCTIOI{IIVGCROSS-CULTURALLY, BUT ALSO GIVETHEM OPPORTUIYITIES TO PRACTICE ]VEW SK/LLS 1A/

n-!-':T:-T:::o-yy!yT:"- -{D:yo-!'!:5!!!:2- - - - -IdaAbbott, founder of a consulting firm that has been

elping professional service firms, professional associations,nd corporations develop, manage, and retain legal tal-nt since 1995, understands the return on investment forrganizations that are committed to advancing the culturalompetency of their workers. "Firms that recognize the valuef cultural comperency and develop their lawliers' cultural

ntelligence can have a distinct comperitive advantage inhe marketplace," she says. "By preparing lawyers to meerhe especially demanding narure ofworking and managingn a global environmenr, firms can minimize culture-based

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llnd,erstuttd,ingCultural Competen'eyTo understand cultural competency, we need to start withthe basics of understanding culture. Culture represents thevalues, norms, and traditions that affect how individuals of aparticular group perceive, think, interact, behave, and makejudgments about their world. lt also is the foundation forunderstanding differences among human societies.

A November 2007 article in the Management OrganizationalReyiew, titled "Cultural Intelligence: lts Measurement andEffects on Cultural Judgment and Decision lvlaking, CulturalAdaptation, and Task Performance," the authors offered this

definition of cultural competency:"Cultural competency (or cultural intelligence) is the ability

to adapt, work, and manage successfully in new cultural set-

tings, Culturally competent people recognize that culture mayimpact the way people perceive the same facts. When severalcompeting interpretations of a situation may be valid' theycan place apparent contradictions in cultural contexts anddeal with the ambiguity."

There are myriad misinterpretations of behavior and misunder'

standings that stem from cultural unfamiliarity and the frustrat-ing inability to communicate due to language barriers. "Forexample, some cultures have a humble demeanor, where they

will not contradict a point or try to explain a wrong statementbecause they come from a culture that is non-confrontational,"says Sahar Andrade of Sahar Consulting LLC. "Eye contact is

also a crucial characteristic of some cultures where it is used ina very seldom way or is considered rude. Some other cultures

feel that talking about their achievements or education is brag-ging and is contrary to their nature and culture. Recruiters can

make the mistake of misinterpreting the body language and losea perfectly good candidate for fear that they won't fit into the

company's cultureor

thatthey don't have the proper skills and

qualifications for the job."

As the universe of companies that do business abroadexpands, legal executives are advised to strengthen theircapacity for cultural competency. #I

I

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVINGCULTURAL COMPETENCY

Similar to any other corporate initiative, there must be astrategy that aligns with the corporate mission. Processesand policies take time to develop and cannot be rushed.Implementation must be carefully considered and rolled out.

Professor Molinsky advises companies to overcomewhat he describes as the "knowing-doing gap" in cross-cultural competency training. "Far too often, people leavetraining or coaching sessions with a sense in their mindabout how they would ideally want to behave in a chal-lenging cross-cultural interaction. However, when theyactually encounter such a situation, they lack the ability totranslate this ideal into reality.

"To be effective, cultural competency training must

not only sensitize people to the challenges of functioningcross-culturally, but also give them opportunities to practicenew skills in realistic environments." The professor addsthat crossing cultures is not only a cultural challenge, it is apsychological challenge. "Training people to anticipate andmanage the psychological challenges of crossing culturesis a key challenge that is often underestimated in culturalcompetency training work."

One key to making training effective is customizing thetraining to fit the organization's and the individual's needs.

DIVERSITY & THE BAR@ IV1ARCH/APRIL 2011

"The elements that should be inciuded in the culturalcompetency trainings will vary based on the individual,"

Odomsays. "I would ask, 'Has this person had the oPPor-

tunity to work with people from other cultures? Have theytraveled outside of their country of origin? Do they speakanother language?' On a basic level, it would be helpful tounderstand some of the nuances in cultural differences andhow culture can be. It's understanding that people commu-nicate differently. The trainer should keep this in mind."

Odom also cautions against the use of sweeping gener-alizations in cultural competency training. "The trainingshould stay away from saying'this group does this' and'thisgroup does that.' Some industries have tried this type oftraining and realized that such generalizations do not work."

Based on her experiences managing the professional

development needs of global teams that worked virtually,Hoey adds that realistic business examPles are anotheressential for effective cultural competency programming.'Any cultural competency training needs to have real-life,actual case studies from the company/firm where the train-ing is taking place."

She further advises that a team that works on a casestudy project should be included among the "trainers."The cultural competency instructors need to also under-stand the industry and delve deeply into the particular

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firm or company's work ethos. "For example, is there shar-ing of information across departments, regions, offices?How are people rewarded? Are financial compensarionstructures, titles, criteria for promotion, the same glob-ally?" She points out that, "\7hile not 'culrure' per se, rhemechanisms of the firm may cloud the effectiveness of

cultural comperency training."

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sionalsover the past 10 years, teaching them to successfullyadapt their behavior in foreign cultural situations," hesays. "Seeing and observing first-hand the results ofthistraining has been tremendously rewarding for me. Foreign-born professionals who [initiallyl struggled to promorethemselves in informal networking situations and inter-views now shine in such key professional situations, Others

CI-JLTURAL COMPETENCY T]SEN TO BETHOLTCHT OF AS ESSE/\TTIAL TO WITV "Bt]T TODAY IT ]YEENS TO BE SEEII A.qAIY E'SSE'I\ITIAL JUST TO PLAY. psopLEWHO ARE LOOKIIYG TO ADUAI\CE THEIR CAREERS,PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKII{G TO BE RELEUATVT, A]VDPEOPLE WHO ARE LOOIQ]VG TO BE O]Y A LEADERSHIP

TRACK HAVE TO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF CALTARALCOMPETEI{CY." _ TAI{YA ODOM

Fortunately, Molinsky has observed that culturalcompetency is a capability that can grow and improve overtime,

-.thave worked wrth hundreds of foreign-born profes-

tency. "Cross-cultural comperency is about patience andwillingness to learn. At a basic level, it is about realizinethlt ml waf is nolthe only way." llllril

who struggled to make smalltalk now do it smoothly andsuccessfully ... . My missionhas been to provide peoplewith the tools and rhe cour-age to successfully translatecross-culrural knowledgeinto effective cross-culturalbehavior."

Ultimately, culturalintelligence is a journeythat starts with keeping anopen mind. Odom believesthat humility and lifelonglearning are at the core ofimproving cultural compe-


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Diversity & Bar magazine culture competence article/ Sahar consulting as an expert

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