Evaluating Cultural Competence in the Workplace

Are cultural needs being met in the context of your workplace? Although establishing the presence (or absence) of intercultural competence can be illusive, certain indicators can help in determining whether cultural competence is present or absent.  An interculturally competent interaction might appear in one-on-one or group contexts as relaxed dialogue; going beyond language to demonstrate a level of comfort; no reluctance to interact; moving easily within a diverse group; really listening; and laughing—an I’m-with-you kind of laughter.

What is it that translates cognition and attitude into culturally competent behavior? Perhaps it is the focused “seeing” that comes from internalizing three elements—cultural self-assessment, understanding context, and the ability to connect across the cultural divide—that fuse together and propel cognition and attitude into awareness and mindful behavior.

While the goal of cross-cultural communication is to impart information, it is necessary to first create a level of comfort and safety in those interactions. When intercultural competence is not present, there is an absence of real dialogue. People feel misunderstood. You can tell the difference between the brief, verbal connection that anyone can make make—one that dissipates quickly—and actual engagement in a lasting conversation.

Isn’t it incumbent upon professionals in the culturally diverse workplace to call on their skills and knowledge to assess, sense, interpret and respond to cultural needs? When culturally competent, these professionals mindfully build individual and/or group unity and trust. The result is the creation of safe space for successful cross-cultural (or difference) interaction in context—space that offers individuals and groups a non-threatening opportunity to express themselves, be themselves and disclose their issues. At this point, intercultural competence presents itself as authentic awareness.

This post led me to recall a how-do-I-know-what-I-don’t-know situation that occurred in one of my classroom sessions a few years back that emphasizes the importance of workplace awareness. Here’s the story . . .                                               
                                             ~ A Hand Over the Heart ~

An email from a fellow instructor stated: “I have a young man from Pakistan about to graduate.  He will be interviewing in U.S. American organizations and is concerned because he can't shake hands with women.  I don't know what to tell him—maybe you do.”

Clearly, the young man was of Muslim faith, and devout Muslim men are not allowed to touch any woman who is not their mother, wife, children, or sisters, so I reached out to a Muslim man from my doctoral program. He responded that the young man needed to seek the counsel of his spiritual advisor.  That didn't satisfy me, so I asked him what he would do in the situation. Eventually, over the course of a lengthy email exchange, he provided a solution.

At the time, I was teaching “Global Leadership: The Mindset That Matters,” and I couldn’t resist creating an exercise around this issue for my students. I divided the class in half. Group One was assigned the role of the young man from Pakistan. Group Two was given the role of a female corporate recruiter who would greet five potential hires: one female from the U.S, and one from Belgium, and three males, from the U.S., Pakistan, and France.  I gave Group Two the visual prompt of the recruiter reaching her hand out to shake hands with each of the applicants, and I asked them how the greeting might unfold.

Neither group could understand why I was asking the question.  Then, I read the email exchange, beginning with the request for advice from my fellow instructor.  “Why should we in the U.S. need to understand this?” one student asked, with annoyance. “Hey, this guy is in the U.S., and he needs to operate by our rules,” another opined. “Religion shouldn’t be an issue in the workplace,” chimed in another student. They were uncomfortable when a culture was at odds with the one they deemed dominant in a specific context, or when it required them to know more than they thought they ought to know. It was a lively discussion pointing to the importance of awareness, particularly around religion and gender in a workplace setting. And, in case you aren’t already aware, when a devout Muslim man greets a non-Muslim woman, rather than shake hands, he places his hand over his heart and bows slightly.

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Posted on LinkedIn 8/26/15