Cultural conflicts in your organization aren't personality clashes. They're misunderstood value systems.
When your Dutch colleague gives you brutally direct feedback, they're not being mean. When your Latin American team member wants to discuss your family before diving into quarterly projections, they're not wasting time.
They're operating from completely different cultural roots.
Here's what changed everything for our guest Maria Angela Calmet: Stop judging the visible behaviors and start understanding the invisible beliefs.
Think of culture like a tree. What we see from the communication style, the meeting behaviors, the decision-making approach, those are just the flowers and leaves.
But the real culture lives in the roots: the values, assumptions, and beliefs that shape everything above ground.
The mistake most leaders make: They try to explain other people's "flowers" using their own "roots."
Your German engineer isn't being rude when she interrupts your presentation with corrections. In her cultural framework, withholding feedback would be unkind. You'd miss the chance to improve.
Your Mexican business partner isn't being inefficient when he asks about your children before discussing the contract. In relationship-focused cultures, trust comes before tasks.
Here's your cultural competence framework:
Pause when you feel judgment about someone's behavior. Ask what values might be driving their actions. Explore how their cultural roots differ from yours. Adapt your approach to bridge the gap
The leaders winning in our global economy aren't the ones who assume everyone thinks like them.
They're the ones curious enough to understand that different doesn't mean wrong. It means opportunity.
What cultural assumption are you ready to challenge in your leadership?
Check out this week's podcast with Cultural Intelligence Expert and CEO of Allopoli, Maria Angela Calmet who has trained clients from and more.
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