So what should you remember about culture difference?
- Value systems may differ, but no one culture is better or more right than another.
- Difference is not automatically a negative thing – our goal is to understand how the other individual views the world as compared to us, acknowledge the differences, and learn how to communicate despite these differences.
- Our underlying belief that difference is, by itself, a negative thing stems from our lack of familiarity with and understanding of our own cultural perspectives. Once we identify the various influences that age, gender, ethnicity, race and nationality have on our perspectives, we can then expect that others who differ along one or more of these social dimensions will, of course, have their own perspectives.
- We should never judge or attempt to understand another individual on the basis of one single cultural dimension (e.g. race, ethnicity, age).
- In order to understand someone from another culture, we need to understand how they view the world along the four components (Orientation to time, people, environment, philosophies) or 3 Ps of culture (Perspectives, Practices, Products).
- The best way to begin to understand culture is to first explore and understand our own!
To facilitate your own exploration of your cultural lens, you may ask yourself the following:
- What are my values and where do they come from?
- What mottos or philosophies do I hold?
- By what criteria do I tend to evaluate or judge others against?
- Who would I consider a role model and why? What characteristics do I most appreciate?
- What kind of person do I strive to be?
- Which cultural dimension would I consider to be the most salient or influential in terms of defining and/or shaping my perspective on the world and my place in it? (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, age, generation)
- How did growing up when I did shape who I am and how I view the world?
Practices
- What expectations do I have about how people should interact with one another? To what degree do I understand these to be culturally based?
- Do I tend to stand close to others or do I give them space? What meanings do I assign to someone who does the opposite of me?
- What role does my gender play in what I feel I can do or say in the workplace? At home? Even if I feel there is no difference, what might that say about my cultural perspective?
- What events or holidays do I celebrate? How important are they to me? How would I feel if I were not allowed to observe them?
Products
- What music do I prefer?
- How do I prefer to dress?
- What types of food do I prefer to eat?
- Do I appreciate other kinds of foods? Other kinds of music? Other styles of dress?
Perspectives
If we first seek to understand ourselves, then it's only a small step forward to understanding and connecting with others!
In summary, Intercultural Intelligence:
- Addresses much more than race and skin color, while not negating either.
- Supports individuals in the development of key interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
- Supports development of effective communication, listening, introspection and empathy skills.
- Serves as an ideal tool for resolving and/or avoiding the conflict that often stems from culture difference.
- Supports organizational effectiveness and growth into new markets.
- Can support leaders and managers in fulfilling the very important role they play in increasingly diverse, global organizations.