AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Communicating Across Cultures
IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOKS
Aimed at managers and executives who are concerned with their own and others’ development, each guidebook in this series gives specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership problem.
| LEAD CONTRIBUTORS | Don W. Prince |
| Michael H. Hoppe | |
| CONTRIBUTORS | Meena S. Wilson |
| Maxine A. Dalton | |
| GUIDEBOOK ADVISORY GROUP | Victoria A. Guthrie |
| Cynthia D. McCauley | |
| Russ S. Moxley | |
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS | Martin Wilcox |
| EDITOR | Peter Scisco |
| WRITER | Janet Fox |
| DESIGN AND LAYOUT | Joanne Ferguson |
| CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS | Laura J. Gibson |
| Chris Wilson, 29 & Company |
Copyright © 2000 Center for Creative Leadership.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
CCL No. 406
ISBN-13: 978-1-882197-59-0
ISBN-10: 1-882197-59-3
CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Communicating Across Cultures
Don W. Prince and Michael H. Hoppe
THE IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK SERIES
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) has generated in the course of more than thirty years of research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared – in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today’s leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL’s mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. We think you will find the Ideas Into Action Guidebooks an important addition to your leadership toolkit.
Table of Contents
When Being Yourself Isn’t Enough
Anticipate and Adapt to Cultural Differences
Listen and Watch for Cultural Differences
Speaking and Writing Across Cultures
Communicate Respect for Other Cultures
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
If you are a manager anywhere in the world, you are almost certainly dealing with people of nationalities and cultures different from your own. In multinational business environments, communicating effectively with people who have languages, customs, and expectations different from yours is a necessary skill. If you are a manager anywhere in the world, you are almost certainly facing this kind of multicultural situation. This guidebook explains how to become aware of cultural differences, how to recognize when cultural differences pose a leadership challenge, and how to adapt your communication style to enhance your effectiveness as a manager.
When Being Yourself Isn’t Enough
Many managers take it for granted that the way they greet colleagues, give direction to subordinates, present ideas to staff, and converse at business lunches is fine and appropriate. After all, skillful communication is a key tool that effective leaders work to master.
You might wonder then why you can’t just keep speaking and writing as you always have, even if some of the people across the table, down the hall, or at the other end of the phone happen to come from countries and belong to nationalities other than your own. The answer to your question is that your natural, customary ways of communicating can have an unexpected and unwanted impact on people whose cultural backgrounds are different from yours. And you are just as likely to misunderstand and misinterpret their words and behavior.
Unless you make a conscious effort to be sensitive to different cultural styles, to recognize signals of culture clash, and to modify your own communications accordingly, you risk at the very least confusion and embarrassment. More critically, cross-cultural communication blunders can lead to more serious consequences—lost confidence, lost customers, and lost business relationships and opportunities.
In our ever-more-connected world, cross-cultural awareness and ability is no longer just a polite gesture to your international customers and colleagues. It’s a new essential for leading in a global environment. This guidebook can help you improve your skills in cross-cultural communications. From this guidebook you’ll learn how to:
• Expect and identify cultural differences.
• Look out for cultural differences.
• Draw cues from nonverbal communication.
• Speak and write clearly for other cultures.
• Learn the importance of names and titles.
• Use humor judiciously.
• Show your respect for other cultures.
• Become a lifelong learner of other cultures.
Anticipate and Adapt to Cultural Differences