Battling with cultural awareness
DURING focus group sessions recently we were investigating the concept of ‘cross-cultural awareness’. We asked participants what being cross-culturally aware meant to them and how aware they thought they were. Although most participants acknowledged that being cross-culturally aware was very important in a multicultural society and/or working in an international environment, some of their interpretations were quite revealing in the sense that being ‘cross-culturally aware’ is easily misunderstood.
For one participant, it simply meant understanding and speaking the basic language in a foreign country, which is a quite limiting definition. Another participant mentioned that she had gone to school with a Greek girl and therefore was very culturally aware, “like most people in multicultural societies”, she said. I don’t think that by simply going to a multicultural school this necessarily makes you cross-culturally aware.
I was curious to know if she went home with her Greek friend, spent time learning about her traditions, beliefs and values, met the (extended) family, and ate their food? There is an interesting scene in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the Greek girl ate her lunch by herself because the other schoolgirls just could not stomach her Greek food.
Children make a real effort to fit in as soon as they realise that their behavior is different to their peers. Being different for a child is not always a good sign; they feel that they need to fit in with their peers to survive.
So what exactly is cross-cultural awareness? It is being sensitive to the fact that people from different cultures behave differently. An awareness of our own cultural identity might be a good place to start to understand others. Once we understand how values and biases influence people, we can use this information to enhance relationships with them.
Being aware of and sensitive to other cultures will help people feel more comfortable with differences, and can be useful in predicting how people who come from different backgrounds will act, speak, think, make decisions and perceive the world. Multiculturalism is the word that we have invented to describe this cross-cultural interaction. Even though the word may still be quite new, the fact is that people of different cultures have been living together for thousands of years.
For some people, cross-cultural awareness seems to come more naturally. Others blindly hurtle forward, unaware that their ignorance is offensive to others. In business, being aware of and sensitive to other cultures can win you contracts and life-long relationships on which you can build your business relationships – and keep them. Cross-cultural awareness is one of those abstract, ‘soft’ skills that take time to cultivate. It is an evolutionary process that continues throughout your life, if you choose to open yourself to it.
There are several ways to gain this awareness, such as by searching the Internet, reading books, watching movies, and attending training courses. Direct contact with a culture means that you can use active listening – asking questions while also revealing information about yourself. Many of us are embarrassed to ask questions because we fear that we will be judged as ignorant. Non-judgmental questions motivated by a sincere interest to learn are often answered with enthusiasm, as people are usually delighted to talk about the customs and culture of their homeland.
I recommended the movie The Castle to a newly arrived Indian manager during a training session. It was the ‘battler’ concept that I wanted to introduce him to. Some of the Australians in the group started to grin and one said: “But the battler is such a normal concept in Australia!” Yeah … ‘normal’ for Australians who have grown up here. For others more recently arrived, it is quite a novel and interesting concept that might help them understand and deal with ‘Aussies’ in a more culturally appropriate way!
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