Cultural competence key to future work

With all the talk of layoffs and company closings, it’s easy to forget that most work-force-ready Americans are not unemployed, however tenuous their jobs may seem. After all, the corollary to a 7 percent or 8 percent unemployment rate would have to be an employment rate in the 90s. That’s a lot of people who would like to keep their jobs, and Mary Beth Lamb, a Minneapolis-based consultant, believes she knows how they can do it. In two words: cultural competence.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

Or global competence, if you prefer. Lamb, who has worked on five continents, says the key to future employment lies in developing a global mind-set. “We need to recognize that people from different cultures think differently,” she said. “There is a diversity of thought, language, style, behavior. Awareness is really the first step, and then acceptance and skill building are next” in the process of building such a mind-set.

Why should anyone go to this trouble when the United States has been the dominant force in business worldwide? The obvious answer is that dominance is not guaranteed; some would say that it is already waning. On the other hand, even a scenario where the United States maintains its leadership places us squarely in the world marketplace, where the need for cultural competence seems only to grow.

Here are just a few of the ways today’s workers already encounter people from different cultures:

» As customers. Everyone from the corner grocery owner to major manufacturer now serves customers from different countries.

» As vendors and suppliers. Perhaps your company buys materials overseas or uses a manufacturer in China or outsources telephone support in India.

» As co-workers. Whether it’s the worker in your office or colleagues based in different countries, chances are your team already includes a cross-cultural component.

The need for cultural competence is not limited to for-profits or manufacturers. Government agencies, academic institutions and nonprofits are all involved in the global community. As Lamb notes, “It’s not optional anymore” to develop cross-cultural skills. On the other hand, she said, “If you can lead international work teams, you will have work for life.”

Lamb describes five key differences that are likely to crop up when working across cultures:

» Managing and building relationships. In some cultures, the worker will focus first on the task, then build the relationship, Lamb says. In other cultures, the relationship has to work before the task can be addressed.

» “I” vs. “we.” If the worker comes from an individualistic culture (common in the United States), he or she will expect individual rewards and responsibility. “We” culturists will feel uncomfortable with that approach.

» View of hierarchy. A flat hierarchy is almost impossible to imagine in some cultures, while many U.S. workers can’t fathom the strict discipline common in overseas companies.

» Communication styles, including direct and indirect methods.

» Decision-making processes and comfort with ambiguity.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.