I recently ran a LinkedIn poll regarding a certain, hypothetical work scenario. Many thanks to those who engaged. The results were interesting.
I’d like to connect those results to the topic of workplace trust, and how we build it. Specifically, how we may build it differently from one another depending upon a host of variables, one of which may be our varying cultural approaches.
As a manager or member of a multicultural team, or key decision-maker in a company with a diverse international workforce, I hope this offers food for thought.
What we are finding out about trust in multicultural workplaces
Trust!
Do I trust you to deliver by deadline? Do I trust you to do what you say you will do? Do I trust you to give me the feedback I need when I need it?
Some of these questions may be easier to answer than others. Also, the way in which we achieve ‘trust’ in these scenarios may be fundamentally different. This is especially true when we have varying approaches to the way we work that may be intrinsically linked to our cultures. And of course, we all have cultural influences. All of us!
One thing is a little clearer, and that is this: within a business, and within a team, the need for trust is essential. But let’s be honest, it’s not always there. Or at least not to the extent that we would like it to be.
As a professional who focusses on communication and engagement within multicultural teams, one angle that I can attempt to address here and now, at least in part, is the fact that, when we have different cultural approaches to how we communicate and how we work, the way in which we build trust, and what we view as ‘untrustworthy behaviour’, can be substantially different.
So let us return to the question: Do I trust you to give me the feedback I need when I need it?
And let me ask another question: How are you going to deliver this feedback? Or perhaps: Who is going to deliver this feedback?
Which brings us back to the scenario outlined at the start of this post.
You are not my manager, nor am I yours. So to what extent do we give each other feedback, especially when we are doing something perceived as ‘wrong’, ‘incorrect’, or perhaps even ‘frustrating’ in the eyes of the other person?
The fact is, there are different approaches. We can see clearly that not everyone chose the same solution above. A, B, C or D? It is perhaps predictable that one of the most popular answers was ‘D’. Which then opens up an entirely new conversation about getting to know colleagues and relationship-building within teams. That’s for another time.
But instead let us focus for now on how solution B and solution C can lead to a whole host of potential challenges. Indeed, these are challenges that we dig into in our sessions on building trust in multicultural teams.
Specifically this…and please note that in the following reactions, I am simply paraphrasing what I have often heard in sessions.
Solution B: Speak directly with colleague.
Reaction: You’re not my manager. Why are you telling me what to do? It’s not your place to give me feedback of this kind! Do you think you are ‘better’ than me?
Solution C: Tell your manager.
Reaction: If you had a problem with my performance, why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you give me the feedback I required when I needed it? Now you’ve escalated it to management. You’re a ‘snitch’. How can I ever trust you again?
(I recently heard this final approach described as ‘medicine after death’, revealing the disdain with which it is received by some cultures / individuals)
Wow! So where did these emotional reactions come from? A bit over the top aren’t they? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Because these reactions, or versions of them, have come from real conversations. Real sessions in which participants shared what it is like to be working across cultures and facing challenges they perhaps did not anticipate. The fact is, expectations were wildly different.
‘Snitch’. ‘Interfering’. ‘Aggressive’. ‘Untrustworthy’. That’s pretty emotive language, right?
Well, it’s an emotive subject. And this is some of the language I’ve specifically heard.
Had you ever considered before that our fundamentally different approaches to handling a rather commonplace work challenge may actually be eroding, or contributing to failing to establish, trust between colleagues and within teams?
That’s really something to consider, isn’t it? Especially when we absolutely depend upon effective and collaborative teamwork to deliver goals.
So…trust! If we don’t trust each other, based on the fact we have fundamentally different approaches to delivering negative feedback, then how can we work together effectively?
Indeed, this is one of the aspects that we at AllTalk Training address in our targeted sessions for multicultural teams. Build relationships. Seek intention. Understand the different approaches we may have. Share expectations. Explore cultural ‘norms’. Be open and agree upon a shared approach. There are positive steps we can take to build the trust we need to deliver in our roles as members or managers of multicultural teams.