Translator: Jess Chung Reviewer: Elena Montrasio
The year 2010 was an important year for me.
I worked with a German-US team in a company.
The company hired me because the team was not getting along,
they were bickering, they were falling behind schedule,
and the company thought,
"Maybe it's cultural differences that are causing these problems."
My job was to work with the team,
teach them about US business practices, German business practices,
and then work with them to create team processes
that worked between the two cultures.
On the second day of training, we broached the subject of risk,
how the two cultures approach risk in the workplace.
Germans have a process to address risk prudently.
Americans have a process to address risk assertively.
The Germans bitterly complained to the Americans.
They said, "We do not trust you to behave prudently
when we are addressing risk."
This is no surprise to you,
the Americans said, "And we do not trust you to behave assertively
when we are addressing risk."
As I was listening to these two cultures bicker with each other,
I thought I had a lightning bolt.
It was,
"Is trust colored by culture?"
Culture is very important in the workplace.
It increases productivity, creativity, morale, ingenuity,
and when trust isn't present, those results tend to plummet.
Culture is our norms, our values
that inform us how to behave
in order to fit into our groups.
But trust, trust is a belief;
a belief in the virtue, the ethics, the honesty of someone.
I thought, "What does that look like?
What does virtue, and ethics, and honesty look like?"
We don't see beliefs. We see behaviors.
So that's when I thought, "I'm going to embark on my research."
There are copious studies available to us about trust in the workplace.
The research shows
that there are attributes that drive trust.
Those attributes are:
competence
- the way we do our jobs right -
integrity
- sticking to a code of behavior as we're doing our jobs -
and caring
- demonstrating that we care about our colleagues
when we are working with them.
So, as I work with people around the world,
I ask this question,
"What does your culture look for when deciding to trust?"
I purposely ask the question this way
because I want them to describe the behaviors that they look for.
But they rarely do.
Typically, people will say, "We look for competence.
People need to know how to do their jobs right.
We look for integrity.
People need to behave properly while they're doing their jobs.
And caring.
People need to show that they care about the people that they work with."
So that's when I ask,
"What is the behavior of competence, integrity, and caring
when you are working with people, when you are deciding to trust?"
That's when I typically get a blank stare.
It's very difficult to describe those behaviors
that we learned at such a young age.
But as the conversation goes on,
it gets rich, and it gets deep as we talk about that culture.
I have been having this very conversation
for six years now, with people around the world.
And I have learned so much
about the behavior of trust across cultures in the workplace.
I'll give you some examples of what I've learned.
In terms of competence, Russians look for deep intellect,
the ability to dissect an argument, dissect a project,
dissect whatever anybody is saying in front of them.
Germans look for order;
a logical, reasonable approach to the workplace.
Indians - Indians look for accuracy.
Is the math perfect?
Is the science perfect?
In terms of integrity,
Japanese look for loyalty;
loyalty to your colleagues, to your team, to your department, to your company.
It is rude and disrespectful
to openly criticize, in Japan.
Americans - American look for honesty.
You say you're going to do something, you must come through with it.
If that means working weekends, working holidays, working all night,
you come through with it.
Your word is your bond.
Italians -
Italians look for "bella figura"
a beautiful, elegant, dignified approach to the work.
In terms of caring,
South Koreans look for harmony.
They do this through "nunchi."
"Nunchi" is anticipating the needs of others.
And they do that by reading "Kibun,"
someone's mood, someone's state of mind,
and then acting accordingly so as not to cause upset.
English? English look for privacy.
No personal or intimate questions or comments.
Or if you absolutely must go there, couch it in subtle humor.
Brazilians - Brazilians always say this, "We look for a good person.
We look for someone with "gente boa,"
a person who actively seeks ways to help others without being asked.
There are so many behaviors;
some similar, some different, some contrary,
all driven by the three attributes:
competence, integrity, and caring.
Imagine yourself at a multicultural workplace.
Perhaps you work in a multicultural workplace.
Imagine your colleagues behaving in ways that they were taught in their cultures,
perhaps even rewarded for in their cultures.
Imagine your colleagues being marginalized, or even disciplined,
for behaving in that very way.
Perhaps you have been the recipient of this injustice.
I know that I have, and it doesn't feel good.
And that's when productivity, creativity, morale, ingenuity plummet.
There are ways that we can increase trust in our multicultural workplaces.
We can do that by taking four simple steps.
Number 1: ask.
Ask your colleagues, "What are the behaviors
of competence, integrity, and caring in your workplace?"
You may get that blank stare I get,
but you also will probably get that rich, deep discussion about culture.
Number 2: write it down.
Capture your data in a website, in a forum,
someplace where people can access.
It's a good idea to read books about trust,
to listen to speeches about trust,
but this information you are gathering comes from your own people.
And that makes it so much more meaningful.
Number 3: read it.
If you find yourself in a distrust situation,
not understanding a behavior, read your list.
You might learn something about culture,
and chances are people are reading about your culture, too.
Number 4: be flexible, be willing to change.
When we are willing to change, we broaden our worlds,
and that bodes well for us, for our companies, for our cultures,
and I would even say for the world at large.
Before I end, if you're curious about my German-US team,
it ended on a good note.
Their product is out on the market, today.
The way that they dealt with their distrust of each other
is they created a team process.
They even named the process; they called it 'The Pub, '
like a pub that you would go out to.
If during a meeting or an impromptu gathering,
someone said, "Pub!",
for the next 20 minutes, they were devoted to listening
with the intent to learn, to build trust, and not judge each other
based on their behaviors.
I have many stories to share with you, but I chose that one, purposely,
because it has a moral.
The moral to the story is:
trust is colored by culture.
Thank you.
(Applause)