Assess the Benefits and Challenges of Leading a Diverse Team

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G lobal teams are at the center of an organi- zation’s need for innovation, expansion, and productivity. In spite of the impor-

tance of global teams, few organizations know how to embed the awareness and skills needed to succeed. For global teams to succeed, funda- mental tensions must be addressed. Can training increase the likelihood of success? Absolutely! Research at French business school INSEAD has identified some of the core issues (visit: http:// knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/authentic-

liaisons-creating-bridges-across-cultures-4848).

Here is a roadmap to success based on hundreds of teambuilding programs around the globe and follow-up research conducted by Global Dynam- ics, Inc., over 30 years.

1. Do a quick organizational scan to identify the

needs in your company.

project teams?

the globe?

policies, standards, and practices?

issues of trust, respect, and competency?

different countries and cultures? 2. Do a cross-cultural scan and provide the

necessary awareness building.

Global team members don’t necessarily rec- ognize the impact their different attitudes, perceptions, and assumptions may have on their teamwork. Invisible cultural forces profound- ly affect the team’s goals, as well as day-to-day functioning. Each team member’s style of think- ing and communicating is significantly affected by his or her cultural upbringing. Issues of lead- ership, power and control, decision-making, trust, and respect take on different meanings and significance in international teams. Here are some key cultural factors:

A. Communication style: At a global team meet- ing of a major Dutch organization, which was to focus on expansion into China, there was little initial discussion by the Chinese. After a small amount of cross-cultural coaching, the team

facilitators started calling on the Chinese, and the Dutch were amazed to learn how much in- sight the Chinese had.

B. Openness to risk taking: A team of sales ex- ecutives from four airlines were in a strategic alliance meeting in Paris to discuss the cultural alignment of their organizations. The U.S. team came prepared to recommend a new fee for luggage for those traveling in Coach on trans- Atlantic flights. The French airline executive immediately demanded the research that proves this would be profitable and not cost the airlines in lost revenue due to passengers selecting other airlines. The Americans were frustrated by the French refusal to “pilot” the idea and said if it did not “fly,” they would rescind the new fee. The French executive said if they lost even one Euro on the new fee, he would lose his job, so he could not approve the fee without concrete evi- dence. The plan was vetoed.

C. Know what is important to each country:

An American medical device company seek- ing to build a new facility in Hungary used a U.S.-centric assessment process to select the plant manager. The Hungarian team mem- bers immediately vetoed the choice since the person selected was over 50 years old, which in Hungarian culture was viewed as someone who might be tainted by a Communist man- agement style.

3. Leverage these training factors for success.

A. Keep the virtual aspect in mind: An excellent- ly designed and delivered global teambuilding program can have extraordinary results if done right. The key is not to do the “typical” team- building program, which fails to address the unique factors facing a global team. In ad- dition to the cultural factors mentioned above, there is a need to focus on the virtual nature of the teams’ interactions and commu- nication. These specific issues were covered in an earlier column (http://pubs.royle.com/ publication/?i=224976&p=66).

B. Realize that building trust is not easy: Glob- al teams need more time to get acquainted to develop trust. Before any teambuilding pro- gram, create a team Facebook page or LinkedIn

Neal Goodman, Ph.D.,

is president of Global

Dynamics, Inc., a

training and development

firm specializing in

globalization, cultural

intelligence, effective

virtual workplaces, and

diversity and inclusion.

He can be reached at

305.682.7883 and at

ngoodman@global-

dynamics.com. For more

information, visit http://

www.global-dynamics.

com.

best practices

How to ensure global team success. BY NEAL GOODMAN, PH.D.

Win Together, Lose Apart

group that contains the professional and so- cial profile of each team member. This should include photos, titles, and personal informa- tion such as favorite hobbies. Global team

members should always meet in person at the beginning of the team’s formation. This ini- tial time should be spent getting to know each other on a personal level. It should not be an itinerary of business plans. One of the biggest causes of global team failure is not bringing the team together right from the start.

C. Create a global team communication plan:

Create a team communication plan that includes a global calendar. Once we created a global cal- endar for a team, the number of people not

attending the team’s virtual meetings dropped significantly since everyone was now aware of each team member’s holidays.

D. Be pro-actively inclusive: Neuroscience has made us aware of the reasons for our unconscious biases. These biases are particu- larly significant in global teams. For example, individuals are less trusting of a message delivered by a person with an accent than if the same message is delivered by a person with- out an accent. Unless we make a conscious effort to mitigate our unconscious biases, we

will not be able to benefit from each team mem- ber’s potential.

Perhaps you are on a global team or have been asked to train such a team. Share your experi- ences, case studies, questions, best practices, and critical issues for inclusion in a future column via e-mail: [email protected].

In spite of the importance of global teams, few organizations know how to embed the awareness and skills needed to succeed.

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