Culturelink- Team of bees working diligently together to support the swarms

Building a Culture of Trust: Strategies for Fearless Team Dynamics

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting room where you really want to speak up and say what’s on your mind, but instead of blurting it out you decide it’s safer and wiser to keep it locked up inside? Or maybe you’ve noticed a colleague holding back a valuable idea. This is the face of fear in the corporate environment and it has more power than we’d like to admit. In this post I’d like to look at creating fearless team dynamics.

What separates high performing teams from the rest is the presence of trust.  When there is fear instead of trust, team members conceal weaknesses and mistakes. However, before looking at creating a culture of trust and a culture of fearless team dynamics, let’s look at fear.

What do individuals fear in corporate organisations?

There are several reasons why individuals might feel afraid in an organisation.

  • Fear of loss of reputation, position or job security
  • Fear of judgment (from peers and senior management)
  • Fear of failure (what happens if…)
  • Fear of being ridiculed by peers

With this feeling of fear, individuals hesitate to ask for help. Consequently, they jump to conclusions about others’ intentions, hold grudges, and dread meetings. subsequently, they have difficulty making decisions, miss deadlines, deliver mediocre work, and lack focus and clear objectives.

All in all, fear hinders teamwork and overall team performance.   As team leaders, we need to learn to transform fear into trust. To create fearless team dynamics we need to convey the understanding that individuals can speak up and share their ideas without fearing consequences.

How to build trust in cognitively diverse teams

Amy Edmondson’s concept of psychological safety shows how individuals thrive in environments where they can voice their unique perspectives without fear of retribution.

Teaming is the art of communicating and coordinating with people across boundaries of all kinds – expertise, status, and distance, to name the most important. But whether you’re teaming with new colleagues all the time or working in a stable team, effective teamwork happens best in a psychologically safe workplace.”

Amy Edmondosn, “The Fearless Organisation”

Her research illuminates the path from fear to trust through showing respect and openness or as some say, transparency. I’d like to focus on those two factors for this post because neither is simple in teams that have cognitive diversity.

Showing respect around the world

The way you show respect around the globe, can differ greatly. In every situation that we face, we need to remember that we judge implicitly according to our normality. So if your understanding of showing respect is shaking someone’s hand when you greet them and perhaps in a team meeting you tell them bluntly that you disagree with their idea, that is your normality.

We need to keep in mind that our normality is just that. It is normal to us, but that does not mean that our team members also believe that is the correct way of showing respect to someone. Their cultural backgrounds and experiences will determine what they view as showing respect.

If your colleagues do it differently, you might misunderstand them or you perhaps judge them harshly. Once we start judging people, we start jumping to conclusions and there goes psychological safety and trust out the window.

The software engineer and the head of marketing

Imagine that on our very diverse team we have a 23 year old Dutch software engineer and a 48 year old Mexican Head of Marketing. The way we demonstrate respect to them will differ according to their normality. How do they view respect? Only then can we reciprocate correctly.

Perhaps the Dutch software engineer has been brought up in an environment where respect is shown by telling an individual (irrespective of their role) straight up, directly, what they think. Even if it’s something that can sound negative such as a disagreement.

The way we show respect can vary, and we usually show respect according to how we see respect.

Try that same technique with the Mexican Head of Marketing. Imagine if he has been brought up in an environment where social status depends heavily on seniority and age. Imagine you’re in a team meeting, and you’re two levels beneath him in the organisation. If you transfer a negative comment about something he has said or done, bluntly, you could make him lose face, lose respect for you and likely not want to work with you again.

Transparency

What about the element of transparency? As leaders, we are expected to encourage transparent communication if we endevour to have psychological safety on our team. Yet, transparent communication is also an element that is very cultural.

Imagine you have a colleague who likes black and white communication. This colleague is content to say, “No, I don’t think that your idea will work” to your face. In a team situation where black and white communication is appreciated, that type of transparency would work. But what if you have a colleague who was brought up in a society where the mere sound of the word, “No”, or any form of disagreement can appear to be a high level of disrespect and a sign of breaking a harmonious relationship? How do you expect that colleague to say exactly what is on their mind in a team meeting?

It is up to you to help them. You need to modify your communication, in a way to have them tell you what is on their mind. It’s up to you to formulate the correct questions. Consider questions that do not seem intimidating or that are very open. This technique allows enough space for the person to tell you what is really challenging them. 

We mustn’t jump to the assumption that our colleagues’ passport determines their communication techniques. It is our passport, profession, religion, age and also the society we were brought up, amongst other factors, that influence our communication.

Creating fearless team dynamics

In conclusion, the journey from fear to trust within cognitively diverse teams is vital for fostering an environment where every member can thrive. Fear, stemming from various sources such as the fear of judgment, failure, or loss, can severely hinder teamwork and overall performance. However, by prioritizing the cultivation of trust, leaders can unlock the full potential of their teams.

Central to this transformation is the establishment of psychological safety. This concept emphasizes creating an environment where individuals feel safe to voice their perspectives without fear of repercussion. Yet, achieving this requires a deep understanding of cultural nuances in communication and respect.

Respect, a cornerstone of trust-building, manifests differently across cultures. What may be perceived as respectful communication in one cultural context could be viewed as disrespectful in another. Similarly, transparency, another key element, needs to be tailored to accommodate diverse communication styles. Leaders must navigate these differences sensitively, ensuring that all team members feel empowered to express themselves.

By embracing cultural differences and fostering an environment where every voice is valued, teams can transcend fear and unlock their collective potential to thrive.

Culturelink - lessons in team dynamics

Team Dynamics: Lessons from a Marathon Journey

Three months ago, I ran my first ever (and likely last ever) full marathon. I’m surprised that what I considered to be such an individual sport taught me so much about team dynamics. The ten months training journey, and the race itself, provided unexpected insights that can be easily be applied to a team setting in a professional organisation. It demonstrated the importance of transparency in goal setting with the whole team, collaboration in difficult times, celebrating achievements as a group and opening up to discuss your fears and apprehensions rather than keeping them locked up inside. Let’s look at each of these considering how they influence a positive team culture.

Setting Goals and Planning with the Team

My New Year’s resolution in January 2023 was to run a marathon. I have been running my entire life, more or less. However, during COVID I injured my knee and most of the medics I visited told me to forget about running and find a different sport to engage in.

You’re probably thinking here that’s what inspired me. Maybe it did eventually, but initially it devastated me. I spent weeks crying and feeling sorry for myself. My identity has always been keenly attached to being an athlete. Not being able to run, was a form of losing my identity. Which many of us know can be frightful.

So after two years of not running, I decided the time had come to prove to myself that I was capable of running the 42km marathon. I had been working in the gym to strengthen my leg muscles to support my knee, and I’d been seeing a physiotherapist just about every week.

It was time to set clear goals and objectives, as you would with any project team. I watched zillions of YouTube videos, read several books and listened to some very boring podcasts, on how to approach running a marathon. I realised that the first thing I needed to do was set realistic goals and a milestones. However, not on my own, ideally with the full team of people surrounding and supporting me.

Setting milestones for positive team dynamics

I chose a marathon that fell on my birthday, in November, which gave me about 10 months to prepare for. I decided to run the Nice to Cannes marathon along the sunny southern coast of France. It was a birthday present to myself.

I had two major milestones to reach before really engaging in heavy training. A 10km run in February and a half-marathon in April. Once the half-marathon was complete, I had an idea of what time I could run in 21 km. This was the basis for setting a marathon pace and therefore a training pace. I felt ready and purchased a 16-week training plan for the marathon preparation.

Throughout the entire journey, I had three main team members. The team dynamics revolved mostly around these three people. I had been working very closely with a physiotherapist since the knee injury. Once I decided that I was ready to start training for the marathon, we discussed the best way to reach our objectives. Obviously without injuring myself again. We discussed the best approach all round. Without him, I could not have made it past the first month of training. As soon as I ached somewhere, he “fixed” me and ensured I didn’t lose morale or sight of the objective.

Reliablity and accountability

I also has an important team member as a nutritionist. He gave me a training diet in June to help me during the extenuating training, ensuring I could work hard but also recover well. I had to take on accountability of following the regime, but whenever I felt like going off track, I thought that I’d disappoint him, and that’s what kept me on track.

The third team member was my husband. He helped me with the psychological training. Helping me through the moments when I thought it was all too hard running through the Italian summer with 30°C+ temperatures. The Sunday runs had to be long 30-37km. He would run at least 10 of those km with me nearly every Sunday to make the load seem a little lighter. I had other “extended” team members along the way, which we will soon see.

The three of them helped me along journey, spurring me on, checking that my weekly objectives were accurate, not too challenging and not too easy to achieve. In hindsight, when it came to objective setting, where I could have improved, was to actually set my final race day objective with the team. I had set an objective (i.e. to run it in 3 hours 45 minutes) but I didn’t really discuss it with anybody, it was kept inside. Likely because I was afraid that if I didn’t make it people might laugh at me or tell me that I always set my standards too high, the usual.

Transparency creates accountability

To create healthy team dynamics, I should have discussed this openly with the team. If you tell your colleagues what your objectives and aspirations are, they not only can help you achieve them by knowing what you are challenged by and understanding when you may need some support, but more importantly, they can help you set milestones that are realistic rather than too challenging or not challenging enough.  This encourages accountability on all sides.

Setting milestones transparently with the team shows your colleagues that you trust them and their knowledge. It allows you to involve them. This enhances collaboration and team spirit because they all feel more involved, take on accountability, will be more motivated to help and take on important roles.

Endurance and Perseverance

We know that mental challenges are supposed to make us stronger. I realised that although my body was exhausted, those runs actually revitalised me. My mind was never clearer than when I was out training and sweating hard. It was during those sessions that my creativity surged and my plans for client workshops and life in general lost their fuzziness and became clear.

Endurance has always been my strong point, but as with any team project, there are moments when your motivation is at rock bottom because you’ve encountered a brick wall. Imagine working on a project and you get setback after setback. Without the team, it is sometimes hard to get back on your feet. Positive team dynamics are what motivate you to supporting one another.

Just three weeks before the marathon start, I was out training and did the worst run of the year. I was on a business trip, and had to do a 27km run, in a location that I didn’t know well. It was stinking hot, 34 degrees Celsius at 8:30am, no water fountains anywhere. By km 13 I was almost in tears, breathing heavily, dehydrated and thinking I wasn’t going to finish the run. In fact, I didn’t. I made it to about only 20km and had to stop in insufferable pain.

When motivation lacks , positive team dynamics come to the rescue

Did I want to pull out of the marathon? Yes. I was three weeks away from reaching my goal and I was quite convinced I was going to fail. I had put myself through excruciating hours of training. My 33km Sunday runs which took me away from friends and family were tormenting. On every one of those runs, I asked myself at around km 10, why I was doing this to myself.  I would get home close to tears, looking awfully dishevelled, feeling very embarrassed.

It’s when you’re down and losing confidence, without any energy for being creative that your team supports you the most. The team can give you the mental fortitude you need to overcome the hurdles. I always mentioned my down moments to the people around me who know me well and know how dedicated I am. They were able to put me back on the right track each time, knowing what I needed to hear to refocus.

Support and Collaboration

Without them it would have been very hard to pick up and start again each time. A team where psychological safety prevails is one where individuals can express themselves freely without feeling they are going to be laughed at or blamed. Individuals would also understand when hyperbole is appreciated or despised. Telling someone they are awesome when they really think they have nothing more to offer does not always help. You need to know the communication techniques of your team and know when “super” and “wonderful” are appreciated and when they aggravate. Team members can then take risks and admit to their mistakes without feeling they have been defeated.

Team support and collaboration reached its height in those crucial moments. The last two weeks showed me how much support I had from the group of people I was working with. Friends also wanted to make sure I was looking after myself and that I’d be ready for the big day. This in turn created even more trust.

Sometimes it’s not easy providing support to our colleagues especially if they seem to not need it. That’s probably the most important time to offer it.  It can start off very easily with a very simple non-threatening question, “How are you today?” Don’t accept, “I’m fine,” as an answer. Ask further, without appearing patronising. Ask open questions. “How is XYZ coming along. What challenges are you currently facing?”

Understanding when to offer help to your team

I was able to express myself to what I considered at that stage to be my team. As the marathon approached, friends and family became excited for me. The team dynamics changed as they also became members of the team. They would ensure that I was eating well even when we ate out together, always checking that I ate my salads and protein. While on a client workshop, a work colleague was adamant that I receive all my macro nutrients. Each time she asked me what I had eaten for lunch and dinner she made me smile. We all know how much a smile can energize us. It spurred me on to be the best I could.

If you do not express your angst and worries to your team members, how are they supposed to support you? If you always tell them that everything is fine, they cannot help you work on what is actually not fine. Sometimes it just takes a second mind to help problem solve issues that alone seem unsurmountable.

Reaching the objective

We arrived in Nice the evening before the marathon, the day before my birthday and it was pouring rain. My heart felt heavy. I had trained in a bit of rain, but nothing like what I was experiencing that evening. I started to think of the negative impacts (was I just trying to find excuses for a bad result?). “I won’t reach my goal because my shoes will be soaking wet and very heavy.” Excuses, excuses.

Finally, I looked around for positive elements that would help me sleep well and find my confidence. Above my hotel bed was a black and white picture of Audrey Hepburn. She is my idol. I had her looking over my shoulder all night. I felt then that the next day was going to go well. At that stage, I finally decided that I had put in all the hard work and I was just going to go out and enjoy the day. Que sera sera.

The big day came. I woke up to find the sun shining brightly through my hotel window. There were messages in my WhatsApp from friends wishing me luck wanting to know how they could follow me along the way. I was energized. It was an extraordinary morning. For the first 32km I felt as though I was flying. I felt light, the sun was shining and I felt unstoppable.

Everyone has a role to play

Team dynamics changed once again. The team had now grown to include the volunteers who were supporting us  at the start of the race and the spectators all along the coast cheering us all on. It was energising to see other runners looking tired and yet still making it to the next milestone. Solo work can be satisfying because you know that the success is yours alone, but collaboration beats solo work any time in my eyes. Without all the support from those around me, I may never have even arrived at the start line, let alone reached my desired finish time.

As km32 my legs felt heavy. But I had made it this far, I was not going to let my heavy legs stop me. I trudged on and reached the final km almost laughing with joy as I passed the finish line at 3:35:9.

What is success without being able to celebrate it with the rest of the team? One of the first people I contacted at the end of the race, was my physiotherapist. He had sat with me and massaged me through tears, anger, frustrations and a whole lot of moments where I was feeling sorry for myself. He was ecstatic at the result and we celebrated together.

Celebrate milestones with your team

Celebrating milestones with your colleagues, fosters a sense of camaraderie and motivates team members to continue striving for success.

My husband was joyous that the mad Sunday morning trainings were over and we could enjoy a plentiful and satisfying breakfast together, not to mention a glass of red wine with dinner.

Celebrating team achievements in the workplace is paramount to supporting your colleagues. It gives them insight about what role they play in the overall organisation. Knowing that without each individual playing their part, the team cannot function as a whole, and without the team support individuals stifle to achieve their own individual milestones.

Teamwork and support are essential for achieving success, both in running a marathon and in a professional setting. Celebrating small achievements and accomplishments fosters a culture of belonging and support which in turn helps the team thrive.

What are your experiences related to team support and collaboration and how it impacts an individual’s sense of self-worth? Feel free to connect with me if you’d like to discuss further.

Culturelink - Thriving multicultural team

Talent Development: How to Navigate Challenging Situations

Are you a talent development professional wondering which skill to focus on for 2024 for your teams?

In today’s interconnected global landscape, cultural intelligence (CQ) has emerged as a critical skill set for professionals to effectively navigate diverse environments. It enables individuals to foster understanding, create collaboration, adjust misalignments and help create a thriving team.

We’re not born culturally-intelligent, but the good news is that we can develop it. In fact we can continue developing it with each challenging situation we face. Let’s look at the four steps that can help you and your team overcome challenging situations that hinder achieving goals through miscommunication and misalignment.

Meet Sarah, a software engineer working on a multicultural team. She finds herself in a challenging situation with her colleague, Kayla, from a different cultural background. Despite their shared goals, communication barriers and misunderstandings have hindered their collaboration. Sarah has been working on an important document that needs to be sent to a client ASAP. Sarah sends an email to Kayla asking for her feedback before sending it to the client.

Kayla does not give Sarah the feedback. Sarah is stuck. She knows that Kayla is an expert on the subject matter and would really like to have her input before sending the document to the client. What has gone wrong?

Let’s work through Sarah’s situation using CQ.

When you find yourself in a challenging situation, ask yourself the following:

  1. How motivated am I to adapt?
  2. What do I know about the other person’s cultural influences?
  3. How do I usually behave and what is my code switching strategy?
  4. What is one action I can change?

Step 1: Drive – Motivation

How motivated is Sarah to adapt? She needs to change something to influence Kayla and convince her of the importance and urgency of this document. In this situation Sarah is very motivated because not only does she have a financial bonus at the end of the project, but she generally feels she will learn and develop her skills by applying new communication techniques. She knows she will improve collaboration and team spirit so that next time it won’t be so difficult to get the feedback.

Your motivation might change according to each situation you find yourself in. Some projects will motivate you to adapt and code switch and others won’t.

Step 2: Knowledge – Understanding the Other Person:

What does Sarah know about Kayla’s cultural background that can influence the way she communicates and behaves?

Sarah comes up with 3 points that influence Kayla’s behaviour.

  • 1. Firstly, Sarah knows that Kayla works in a very relationship-oriented culture. In such an environment, it is usually vital to build a trusting relationship before giving feedback.  For Kayla, giving a 5-line bullet point email just with feedback could come across as harsh. Kayla does not wish for Sarah to misunderstand these comments as criticism. This might ruin the relationship between the two for any future collaboration. Therefore, she prefers not to comment at all.

2. Secondly, Sarah also knows that Kayla likes to understand why she is being asked to work on something, rather than just do it because someone has asked her.

3. Finally, Sarah knows that Kayla is group-oriented. Kayla’s message was full of the word “I”. I need your feedback, I am writing this because … etc.”

Step 3: Strategy – Adapting and Bridging Differences:

Armed with this knowledge, Sarah devises a strategy to improve her interactions with Kayla.

She reflects on how Kayla might perceives her because of the way she writes her mails. She realizes that she might come across as rude, bossy and even arrogant.

Sarah identifies areas where she can adapt, an important one will be on how she will write her messages. She is going to spend some time building the relationship, being more group-oriented and use the “why” technique.

Step 4: Action – Implementing the Strategy

Sarah implements her strategy by putting her thoughts into actions.  She decides to use TEAMS and the webcam instead of email to communicate, she explains why the document is so important  and finally she decides to use the term we and incorporate collective words such as “our goal”, “what can we do together as a team to improve this document” and generally asks Kayla to work on the document together.

As a talent development professional, it is hard to know which skills to focus on for your team. When looking to create high-performance, and navigating the complexities of cross-cultural interactions, developing cultural intelligence is paramount. By following the four steps – Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, and Action – individuals like Sarah can effectively bridge cultural divides, foster inclusivity, and unlock the full potential of diverse teams. Embracing cultural intelligence not only enhances professional relationships but also cultivates a more enriched and impactful work environment where psychological safety thrives.

Culturelink - embrace cultural intelligence for thriving teams

Want a collaborative Team? Embrace Cultural Intelligence

A few years ago, I dedicated about four months to preparing a team workshop for a client. It was mostly enjoyable, but there was one colleague, let’s refer to him as “Alex,” who made my hair stand on end.

Every email I received from Alex felt like a slap across the face. I couldn’t help but interpret his emails as brash, arrogant, and even misogynistic. Those mails which were at most seven words long, triggered a cascade of negative emotions in me. Here is a sample of three typical mails he would write.

– “What are your thoughts to the attached?”

– “FYI.”

– “Take a look at the below.”

No greeting, no salutation, no context to why he was sending the message.

It’s not just expats who need to embrace Cultural Intelligence

There seems to be a misconception that cultural intelligence is only relevant for expats or colleagues who don’t share the same mother tongue. In reality, cultural intelligence is the corner stone for fostering team spirit, collaboration, and achieving excellence within any multicultural team.

Cultural intelligence empowers us to understand our own communication style and its potential impact on others. It helps us analyse how culture influences our colleagues’ communication styles. Most importantly, it equips us with the ability to adapt our communication or “code-switch,” enhancing effectiveness in collaboration.

Practical example of embracing cultural intelligence

When I received messages from Alex, I didn’t stop to think about his cultural background. I was just reacting according to my intuition, my biases. Our biases are created by our normality. My normality in the email field, is to always greet with at least a “Hi” or “Good Morning,“ if it’s the first mail exchange of the day with that person. If it’s the first email of the week, I’ll likely even ask about the person’s weekend.   I then usually also give some context to what is on my mind. Admittedly, maybe I give too much context… but that is my normality.

I felt offended by Alex’s mails because they didn’t fit into my normality. When you start thinking negatively about your colleagues and losing motivation to work with them, you need to stake a step back and ask yourself: “What do I know about this person’s cultural background? What is impacting their communication style, for example, are they individualists, are they transactional, are they linear thinkers rather than big picture thinkers?”

Cultural Intelligence teaches us to adapt or code-switch

If we embrace cultural intelligence we learn to adapt our communication to be more effective. If I was offended by his short, straight to the point messages, who knows what he thought about my long-winded, time-consuming messages. He probably thought I was wasting his time and therefore also losing respect for me, not to mention what it did to his motivation.

Once we understand why our colleagues are communicating in a certain way, it helps us eliminate the biases and therefore the negative judgment. This in turn helps us not feel offended by the situation.

So, in this scenario, one of us had to adapt. In a high-performing team, ideally both colleagues adapt. How far you decide to adapt is up to you. I certainly could not eliminate my morning greeting. However, after the “Hi Alex”, I decided I could also go straight to the point.

Cultural Intelligence creates an environment conducive to collaboration

Lack of consideration for cultural differences can lead to misinterpretations and hinder collaboration. We cultivate cultural intelligence to understand others and to foster an environment where diverse communication styles are appreciated and leveraged for team success.

The positive outcome of our journey with Alex speaks volumes about the transformative power of cultural intelligence. By acknowledging and adapting to each other’s communication preferences, we eliminate biases and create an environment conducive to collaboration.

In our globalised workplace, where teams are diverse in every sense, cultural intelligence isn’t just a skill; it’s a necessity for fostering understanding, promoting collaboration, and achieving excellence collectively. Embrace it, and watch your team thrive.

Culturelink - thriving teams need psychological safety

Thriving Teams? “It’s not about comfort and happiness.”

In a recent podcast by The Economist1, Amy Edmondson, author of “The Fearless Organisation” stated that there is a misconception that psychological safety equates to happiness and comfort in a team.

Psychological safety is not the absence of stress and it’s not job security, it is the absence of interpersonal fear.

Amy Edmondson

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is the belief that individuals feel safe for interpersonal risk-taking. It gives team members the space to speak up and state their opinion or to make errors. Consequently, they can admit to having made the error without having to hide what was really done.

Consequently, psychological safety is prevalent in teams where individuals have mutual respect and trust. Generally, most of us want to be liked and want to be seen as competent at fulfilling our tasks. However, if there is fear of being laughed at when we state our thoughts, we prefer to keep quiet.

If psychological safety is absent in a team culture, usually there is negative prejudging amongst colleagues. This influences individuals to not be authentic and to have to hide their true thoughts and ideas.

Innovation Creates Growth

A psychologically safe environment encourages team members to share new ideas without fear of judgment, leading to increased innovation. Generally, when team members feel safe, they are more likely to take risks. They then learn from failures, and use setbacks as opportunities for growth.

In effect, it creates team spirit and collaboration. Basically, individuals listen to one another and support one another by asking for help and giving help where necessary.

In turn, it creates a team culture that allows for growth and high performance.

Open Communication

Trust, collaboration and innovation open the room for constructive feedback which fosters open communication. This in turn helps team members learn and grow collaboratively.

Google conducted a study called Project Aristotle to identify the key factors that make a successful team. As a result, the study found that the most important factor in predicting a team’s effectiveness was the presence of psychological safety.

The Leader’s Role

Team leaders play a crucial role in building this safe environment. Chiefly, it is the leaders who need to consciously give each individual the time and space in each meeting to express themselves and to ensure that feedback is given when learning is necessary.

Think about how you react when bad news is expressed. Do you get angry, show your frustrations or raise your voice to the person sharing the bad news?

Consider instead, to reward the person who admits to having made a mistake. Explain to them how they can learn from it and share their learnings with the others on the team.

Building Trust in Culturally Diverse Teams

Multicultural teams can often find it more challenging to build psychological safety. Culture influences the way we build trust and give feedback. Similarly, it also impacts whether it is acceptable to give one’s personal opinion in a public setting.

Leaders of multicultural teams need to first be aware of what cultural values might be impacting each individual on the team before they can consider the best approach to encouraging psychological safety.

For example, imagine you are leading a team where one individual has been brought up to always show that they are confident and need to be in the spotlight. On the same team, you have an individual who has grown up to learn that showing you are better than your colleagues is a loss of face. How would you encourage the latter person to speak up?

To conclude

We have seen briefly that psychological safety is not about comfort and happiness, it is a key factor in creating a team culture where individuals are encouraged to express their opinions, take risks and make mistakes all without the fear of being mocked, laughed at, or retributed.

Remember that a team culture reflects what is encouraged, reinforced and rewarded within the group.

What can you do to help build psychological safety in your team?

  1. The Economist Podcast, Boss Class 4, Inside The Yellow Line ↩︎
Culturelink - Use Cultural Intelligence to enhance team morale

How to elevate team morale and collaboration with Cultural Intelligence

You can elevate team morale and foster effective communication through cultural intelligence.

Individuals in culturally diverse teams can often have very diverse communication preferences. These might range from direct and assertive to more indirect and diplomatic approaches. Despite some teammates preferring give feedback on the spot, irrespective of who is present, others prefer to do it in a roundabout way, perhaps over a cup of coffee in the team break area. The former can offend team members who are not accustomed to it and the latter can confuse those who see communication more as black and white without any grey areas.

Cultural Intelligence can help elevate team morale and foster effective communication

Effective communication fosters a collaborative environment and creates harmony by allowing team members to express themselves in their preferred manner rather than in the manner that the majority of the team feel is acceptable.

In culturally diverse teams, sometimes team members lack awareness of teammates’ values, assuming that everyone communicates the same way, that feedback should be given exactly the same and that all emails should be written according to one format.

However, we all have different problem-solving skills and the way we speak and write is highly connected to how we think, see the world, create relationships and problem solve.

If we overlook these diverse communication styles and assume that all team members communicate the same way, we can fall into misalignment and miss our objectives. Let’s look at a brief case study.

Case Study: The Project Deadline Dilemma

Background: In a dynamic marketing agency, a team of creative professionals was tasked with delivering a high-stakes project with a tight deadline. The team comprised individuals with diverse roles, including designers, writers, and project managers.

The Misalignment: The project manager, Alex, was known for their direct and succinct communication style. They believed in concise updates and straightforward instructions to keep the project on track. On the other hand, Sarah, the lead designer, had a more collaborative and big picture approach. She preferred detailed discussions to ensure a thorough understanding of the creative aspects of the project.

As the project progressed, communication challenges started to emerge. Alex assumed that brief updates, including emails made up of bullet points,  were sufficient for everyone. Sarah, on the other hand, felt left out of crucial decision-making processes. She struggled to join all the dots without the big picture elements she needed to problem-solve. Moreover, the lack of detailed communication, for her, led to misunderstandings about the creative direction, and deadlines began to slip.

Alex not only did not elevate team morale, they created exclusion, lack of collaboration and undermined team spirit.

Consequences of not using cultural intelligence

1. Missed Milestones: Due to the misalignment in communication styles, the team missed several project milestones, impacting the overall timeline.

2. Frustration and Tension: Team members, especially Sarah, became frustrated due to the perceived lack of involvement in decision-making. This tension started affecting team dynamics.

3. Quality Compromises: The final deliverables did not meet the expected quality standards because of the miscommunication on creative elements.

Resolution: Recognising the misalignment, the team decided to hold a workshop that was not related to work objectives but rather to discuss their cultural values which in turn impacted their communication.

Cultural Intelligence helps us understand the differing values of our teammates, highlighting what communication techniques they prefer. This in turn leads to improved collaboration, on time delivery and elevates team morale.

Culturelink- culturally diverse team discussing strategy

“Culturally-diverse teams: How to nurture them to psychological safety”


What are the key indicators of a thriving team? What does it feel like to lead and be a team member of a flourishing team? These questions go beyond meeting targets and deadlines; they delve into the heart of a team’s success.

In the dynamic landscape of today’s workplaces, where cultural intelligence, diversity, and psychological safety play pivotal roles, understanding the pulse of your team is more crucial than ever.

In this article we explore three indicators that signify not just a productive team but a truly thriving one. An environment where cultural intelligence is cultivated, diversity is celebrated, and psychological safety is the cornerstone of success. An environment therefore where a leader and their team members together, create a culture where each member feels they can be themselves and are accepted for who they are.

With each indicator we will give you a strategy to help create that success indicator in your team.


A thriving team is the backbone of any successful organisation. It’s not just about meeting deadlines; it’s about creating a collaborative and positive environment that fosters creativity, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Let’s look at three key indicators.

Key Indicator 1: Effective Communication

Strategy 1: Style-Shifting for more effective communication in culturally diverse teams

“A culture of silence is a dangerous culture.” Effective communication is the cornerstone of a thriving team, and the ability to style-shift plays a pivotal role. Style-shifting involves adapting communication styles to resonate with diverse team members.

In a multicultural team, varying communication preferences and cultural nuances can influence understanding. Leaders must be adept at recognising these differences and adjusting their communication approach accordingly.

Consider a scenario where a manager, Sarah, oversees a team with members from various cultural backgrounds. One team member, Ahmed, values direct communication, while another, Mei, appreciates a more indirect and nuanced approach.

Recognising these differences, Sarah employs style-shifting techniques in her communication. In team meetings, she ensures clear and concise directives for Ahmed, while providing additional context and allowing space for discussion with Mei.

By adapting her communication style to each team member’s preferences, Sarah not only fosters understanding but also creates an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard.

Key indicator 2: High Level Engagement

Strategy 2: Style-shift to motivate culturally diverse teams

Motivating a culturally diverse team requires a nuanced understanding of individual and collective motivations. Different cultures may place distinct values on teamwork, individual contributions, or recognition. Leaders need to identify and leverage these cultural dynamics by style-shifting to create an environment that resonates with every team member.

High-level engagement goes beyond task assignments; it involves understanding personal and cultural motivators. It acknowledges diverse perspectives, and fosters an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels heard and valued.

In this culturally diverse team, Sarah delves deeper into understanding individual motivations. She learns that Ahmed finds motivation in personal recognition for his achievements, whereas Mei values contributions that benefit the team as a whole.

Sarah, recognising these differences, tailors her motivational approach. She publicly acknowledges Ahmed’s accomplishments, highlighting his individual contributions. Whereas with Mei, she focuses on the collective achievements of the team. By acknowledging and catering to diverse motivations, Sarah ensures that each member feels valued and motivated in their unique way.

Key Indictor 3: Resilience

Strategy 3: Style-shift to inspire you team in the face of uncertainty

Resilience is a critical trait for any team, and inspiring resilience in a diverse group requires strategic leadership. Cultural diversity often brings varied perspectives on adversity and coping mechanisms. Leaders can inspire resilience by acknowledging and respecting diverse approaches to challenges.

An example would be to encourage open dialogue about overcoming setbacks. Perhaps share stories of triumph over adversity, and promote a culture where failure is seen as an opportunity for growth. By fostering resilience in a diverse group, leaders empower their teams to adapt, learn, and thrive in the face of uncertainty.

In a challenging project, the team faces unexpected setbacks. Sarah takes this opportunity to style shift and inspire resilience within the culturally diverse group. She organises a team discussion where members, draw from their varied cultural backgrounds and share stories of overcoming adversity.

Ahmed for example, discusses how his cultural upbringing taught him the importance of perseverance, while Mei shares insights from her culture’s approach to collaborative problem-solving.

Through this exchange, the team gains a deeper understanding of each other and learns to appreciate diverse perspectives on resilience. This dialogue fosters a culture of resilience, where the team collectively faces challenges with a newfound strength drawn from their cultural diversity.

Effective communication, high-level engagement and resilience

In summary, effective communication, high-level engagement, and resilience are vital components of a thriving team. Style-shifting enables leaders to communicate with clarity and understanding. Recognising individual motivations within a cultural framework helps build engagement.

Finally, inspiring resilience in a diverse group requires embracing and learning from the varied perspectives on overcoming challenges. Using this approach enhances team dynamics and promotes a workplace culture that celebrates diversity and harnesses its strengths.

Change blame to accountability in culture diverse teams by creating psychological safety

How to change blame to accountability on your team

A few years ago I was working on a team with four other women. I thought we all got along beautifully; we laughed and joked constantly and seemed to have a thriving team culture.

However, often when something didn’t go well, my teammates tended to blame others rather than accept accountability for not achieving set tasks. At times they also blamed me. “Sorry,” they’d say, “we couldn’t finish this document on time because John from Finance didn’t send us the information.” Or, “This presentation isn’t ready because you haven’t yet given us approval for the photos we would like to use.”

Blame is a common factor when psychological safety is missing

Blame rather than accountability, is a common factor when psychological safety is missing from the team. Psychological safety is one the most important factors in creating thriving teams. In her book, the “Fearless Organization”, Amy Edmondson, explains that when there is psychological safety, there is a shared belief that the work environment is safe for interpersonal risk, including accepting accountability.

We fear laughter and ridicule, therefore we blame others for our unaccomplished tasks.

Trust and respect generate psychological safety

For a team to feel that there is psychological safety, individuals need to trust and respect one another. Trust and respect allow for productive disagreements or giving feedback without feeling ashamed or disrespected.

In culture-diverse teams, building this level of trust and respect can be challenging. We see the world according to our different cultural influences. These cultural factors could be related to our gender, where we were brought up, our education or our profession. This in turn influences what we feel is the correct way to build trust with our colleagues. The same goes for how we feel about disagreeing with colleagues, how much information we wish to share with others, give feedback and even what motivates us to spend a few extra hours in the office or not.

We build trust through understanding the underlying values of our colleagues

To create psychological safety in a culture-diverse team, we need to be able to see and understand the perspective of our teammates. Do they believe in maintaining a very harmonious environment without any conflict? Do they therefore need time to get to know a person well before giving feedback? Or on the contrary, are they comfortable in a meeting saying exactly what is on their mind, irrespective of how long they’ve known the other person?

Even if we finally do not agree with their perspective we need to at least try to comprehend it. By demonstrating to our colleagues that we are open to seeing the world through their eyes, we start to create a level of trust and respect that is the first step to creating a psychologically safe environment.

How to change blame to accountability

Once we have trust and respect on the team, our colleagues will be more inclined to open up and be accountable for their tasks.

Does your team have psychological safety?

If you’re wondering whether there is pychological safety on your team, ask yourself these two simple questions:

  1. If you make a mistake on this team, is it held against you?
  2. Is it difficult to ask other members on the team for help?

If you answered yes to both questions, you’re probably on a team where individuals feel trusted and respected. If you answered no, think about why not.

What can a silent smile really mean? Cultural Intelligence.

Why strive for Cultural Intelligence in today’s global world?

A colleague of mine was in Thailand a few years back on a business trip. On her last day, her final meeting ran a little longer than planned. She was panicking slightly that she would miss her flight home and as she finally slipped into the back seat of the taxi, she asked the driver, “How long until we reach the airport?” The driver timidly answered with his polite Thai smile, “Sorry Ma’am, do you need to wash your hands?”

I remember laughing very heartily when I first heard this story.

Cultural Intelligence is the skill of interpreting cultural patterns and then adapting our communication to be more effective.

How can such a simple sentence be interpreted so differently to what was really intended? My colleague was really nervous that she was going to miss her return flight to the Netherlands, but the Thai taxi driver thought she needed to use a restroom. In some countries the word “toilet” can seem vulgar and therefore it isn't used. Even restroom was obviously not a word this taxi driver was confident using. So he kindly asked her if she needed to wash her hands, when in fact my colleague just wanted to know how long it would take to reach the airport.

Leading in business with Cultural Intelligence

So what does this have to do with cultural intelligence? If cultural intelligence (CQ) is the skill of interpreting cultural patterns and learning to adapt our communication skills accordingly, then this is a perfect example.

If we were brought up in a society that expects good communication to be clear and transparent, in a business meeting when we ask a simple question such as, “Will the delivery arrive on Thursday?” we expect a simple answer. "Yes it will"or "No I don’t think it will because… "  But that “yes/no” answer is a pattern used by societies where it is considered acceptable behaviour to speak directly and actually it is also acceptable to use negative terms without creating discomfort or creating loss of face.

However, if we are dealing with somebody brought up in a culture where a direct, "no" can be considered rude or aggressive  that “no” might never come and we are expected to learn a different pattern of communication.   Imagine being in Qatar, Japan or Brazil. If you ask that such a “yes / no” question questions to a business associate whom you don't know well, it is likely that you will often receive  an answer that could appear  (in your ears) to mean "yes". You would need to spend quite some time interpreting what that, "yes" really means. So the first cultural intelligence skill here is to recognise the communication pattern and the second skill is adapting our communication to find out what the real meaning of the sentence could be.

4 steps to developing CQ

Cultural Intelligence allows us to learn the communication and behavioural patterns of certain societies and then apply different communication techniques accordingly.

There are 4 steps to developing Cultural Intelligence

Step 1: Drive

How driven (or motivated) are you to modify and adapt your communication to reach your goals? This is a question that only you can answer.  How important is it to you that that delivery arrive on Thursday and what are you willing to do to find out the true answer?

Step 2: Knowledge

What do I know about the other culture? What do you know about that person’s cultural upbringing that can help you determine what their communication pattern means?

Let's go back to that simple question, "Will the delivery arrive on Thursday?" Is the person you are speaking to from a face-saving, indirect speaking culture where the word, “no” is not often spoken? Or have they spent most of their careers working in multicultural environments and ,“I’m trying my hardest” actually could mean that the delivery might arrive?

The pattern is just that; a pattern. It is not obvious (and certainly not a pattern) if only used once. The pattern becomes more obvious when several people of the same group use the same pattern. It can take several trials and discussions before you realise what the communication pattern is.

Step 3: Strategy

Once you have understood the communication pattern you are only half way there. You still have not worked out if the delivery is arriving on Thursday. This is where cultural self-awareness comes in. Ask yourself: "How do I usually communicate in such a situation? What do I need to do to figure out if the delivery is running late, lost somewhere, if the cargo truck has had an accident or if they are expecting me to pay off the customs officials to get the cargo into the country?"

In step three you create your strategy. This could sometimes be as simple as just asking an open question, for example, "What are the chances that the delivery arrive on time or what are the challenges that we are facing right now?" Or it could be a longer strategy. Do you need to leave the "group" meeting and invite your associate to drink a cup of tea maybe a beer in a trust-binding one-on-one discussion to be told what is really going on with the delivery?

Step 4: Put it into action

Whatever your strategy ends up being, step 4 is where you put it into action.  This is where we sometimes have to come out of our comfort zone to learn what we are really capable of.  If you are uncomfortable in this kind of "trust" creating one-on-one meeting, plan it out carefully.

Step 4 needs to be tried, analysed and tried again until it works and until you start to feel more comfortable. After each new action, ask yourself three questions:

  1. How dit feel?
  2. How did the other person react?
  3. Would I do it again the same way or should I change something?

Only at this point do we really start to develop cultural intelligence.

businessman using cultural intelligence to reach full impact in global calls

How to reach full impact in your global calls

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The first step to reaching full impact in your global calls in this age of less travel and more home-office, is to use cultural intelligence. Our business world seems to shrink day by day. When you look at your agenda in the morning it likely says:

  • 07:30 am meeting with Japan
  • 11:00 am with Switzerland
  • 6:00 pm with the USA

We have conversations and discuss business strategies, on a daily basis, with people all over the globe. Yet, do we modify the way we describe our thoughts and strategies depending on whether we are speaking to a North American rather than a Korean? Have we learnt how to create a strong business relationship with a Finn, a Qatari and a Brazilian?

Today, more than ever before, our daily activities require us to be ever so alert about very different mindsets. If you want to reach full impact in your global calls, you need to switch off autopilot and consciously prepare your meetings in advance, according to the mindset of the people you are expecting to deal with. One way to do that is to use Cultura Intelligence.

What is Cultural Intelligence?

Cultural Intelligence is the skill of being able to interpret unspoken codes of culture and then switch our communication styles accordingly, so that we become more effective with the person with whom we’re dealing and therefore reach our goals

There are two parts to that statement above. Firstly, we need to learn to read the “unspoken codes”. That might entail understanding when a “yes” means a “no”; how to know whether the question being asked is used to display interest or displeasure, or perhaps knowing when a smile or a laugh is hiding loss of face or embarrassment.

The second part of the statement refers to modifying our communication. Without that adaptation, we often struggle in really reaching the impact we were hoping for. If you are successful in reading the unspoken code but persist on using the same communication and behaviour you started with, it becomes much harder to reach your goals.

Let’s look at an example of how to use cultural intelligence.

Asia-Pacific Conference call

Julie works for a multinational organisation in Western Europe where each colleague is responsible for a different world region. She has recently started a new role as Head of Asia Pacific. Once a month, Julie has a conference call with the managers and teams in her region, Australia, Vietnam, Japan, etc. It’s her responsibility during each call to learn what the best practices are from each team.

Julie prepares her meetings meticulously, practising the exact questions she will ask the group and then how she will distribute the information afterwards. What Julie hasn’t prepared, is how to understand the unspoken codes that the various cultural norms might influence.

Julie comes out of her first few meetings feeling as though she has not achieved what she wanted. Her goal is to supply her manager with the best practices from the region. The Australian team supplied her one and she may have received one or two other results. However, she is missing quite a few, namely, the Japanese best practices, and Japan is an important market for her.

Julie wonders to herself, why is it that she can rarely get the information she needs from the Japanese market?

Cultural intelligence can help you decipher the unspoken codes

Why is Julie not effective in communicating her request to the Japanese team? Let’s look at how Julie can use Cultural Intelligence (CQ) to figure our what she needs to do.

Step 1 of CQ is Drive. Is Julie driven? Yes, she is. She is motivated to modify her communication and behaviour to reach her goals.

Step 2 of CQ is Knowledge. This is a very important aspect. What does Julie know about the Japanese culture? Well, Julie has learnt through reading up on Japan, that Japanese people are usually collectivist, or group-oriented. This could mean that a colleague is not willing to show or share their personal opinion. They would usually rather express the opinion of the team. Therefore in Julie’s case, the Japanese team likely need to have a team meeting after each call to discuss what they have heard in the meeting and then be able to give their opinion on the subject as a team at a later date.

Lack of knowledge about cultural norms and values can lead us to false negative judgments

It is usually easier to read the unspoken codes if we have acquired an understanding of the different cultural values of the people we are dealing with. Without that knowledge we are often prone to rely on our biases and start judging our counterparts negatively. In this case, Julie might erringly think that the Japanese team members are not speaking up because they are not experienced enough or don’t understand her or that they are just plain shy.

Step 3 of CQ is Strategy. Once Julie feels she knows why the team is not speaking up, she then needs to create a strategy that will allow the Japanese team to display all their knowledge and talk about their best practices. There may be several different ways of doing this and each individual should determine what would work best for them.

Step 4 of CQ is Putting the strategy into Action. Once the strategy has been decided, put the thoughts into action and see what happens. The action can be verbal or non-verbal. It could be a different manner of asking questions or a distinct approach to writing emails. It might be as simple as transforming the method of building trust with the team.

I don’t have enough hours in the day to go through all of that

Well, yes, it can seem a little long-winded, but what happens if you don’t take the time to think through your strategy? Are you prepared to risk missing your desired goals and not reaching full impact in your global conference calls?