The themes of “diversity” set the goal of obtaining heterogeneous teams composed of multi-ethnic and culturally different profiles. But thanks to the progress and the evolution of the market, these two aspects are no longer the only ones involved. There are several elements included in the theme such as thought, gender, academic background, personality .. Essentially the definition has different nuances and every company is proud to promote different initiatives in order to achieve performance, better work and innovation in companies. A workplace that is detached from homogeneity, begins to improve the representation of society, and when even society is “different”, people will increase their collaboration. Working together with people from different backgrounds can be stimulating and educational, and it is important at the same time to know how to manage a multicultural company to make a team efficient in terms of performance. Here are 5 tips to achieve success:
- Share the communication channels
A diverse team can be made up of people from all over the world with different points of view. This is a precious commodity. However, it is important to make sure that you open all communication channels so as to avoid the possibility of causing interpretation errors. What could be educated for one culture may not be educated for another. Language is the reflection of culture. Let’s take an example, like the case of a Californian who asks an Argentine to carry out a task in a short time. Every language and culture has its own interpretation of what (and when) is the meaning of “tight times”. This is also reflected in body language. In many Anglo-Saxon cultures, eye contact is very important when communicating; this could instead be a disrespectful sign in some Asian cultures. Keeping communication open means discussing and dealing with any topic and this will help to strengthen professional relationships.
- Give up any prejudice
We live in a globalized society, conditioned by advances in technology and communications. For a long time, cultures, people and languages have cohesively generated prejudices and stereotypes about specific cultures. In order to manage teams with people from different backgrounds, it is essential to eliminate all ideas and concepts that could challenge the worker’s culture.
- Embark on a culture of trust
Bringing two people with different levels of experience and coming from two different cultures to work together can be a strategy for increasing personal growth and knowledge. It is also a brilliant way to get different ideas, because more creativity is generated. Inspiration and discussions that can arise from teamwork can be a great opportunity for cohesion among team members. The social aspect of teamwork can lead to success – Google has analyzed and discovered that employees excel in a team when they feel that their work will be useful in facilitating that of colleagues, clients and the community. This can generate the fundamental element of trust. Thanks to a high level of trust, greater collaboration is generated, communication improves and the space for communication problems decreases. This promotes a high level of tolerance between different and different cultures.
- Develop the ability to resolve team conflicts
Working in a team of people from all over the world will inevitably lead to disagreements and discussions. Different working hours and habits can also increase conflicts. A style of work that does not take this diversity into account can lead to success, triggering a sense of resentment in the worker. Through careful listening to the different points of view and exploring the various options instead of launching a command, it will give them the opportunity to learn how to solve the problems that may arise. Educating your team to recognize conflicts, taking the right time to understand the reasons for the birth of a problem, ignoring the hypotheses and giving greater clarity to the position, will help the worker to acquire the skills to become a good manager.
- Ask for constant feedback
One of the best strategies for managing a heterogeneous team is to seek periodic feedback. By asking your team how positively they are performing, you can recognize your areas for improvement. For example, there may be within your team a member who will tell you that you are a good manager (great!). This can distort reality because someone more timid may think there are areas for improvement without sharing it. By asking for periodic feedback, and maybe one to one, you make sure you constantly improve your leadership and management skills by creating an ever better work environment for your team.