Episode 10: Culture and the Good News

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In our final episode we will discuss the potential conflict that can arise between foreign team members and those from the local culture. To be effective in spreading the Good News we need to move beyond the attitudes associated with cultural imperialism of the past. How do we function as members of the same body, in spite of historical wrongs and cultural differences by our countries of origin? In order to be teams that are effective in transforming the lives and cultures for the Gospel, we will have to deal with these issues.

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Listeners of our Leadershipmatters podcasts have exclusive access to our free bonus leadership materials. For this series these include the Stress Test based on Holmes and Rahe Scale, Application Questions adapted from Roembke, and Contrasting Cultural Values created from Marvin Mayer’s research.

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Episode 10 Intro: In Spite of Differences

New Realities

If you have not taken advantage of some of the free resources, you can do so by clicking on the link in the description box. There is a Stress Test based on the Holmes and Rahe Scale, as well as a list of Application Questions adapted from Roembke which you may find helpful. There is also a tool to help in assessing the cultural values of each member of the team. I have created this from Marvin Mayers’ work in Christianity Confronts Culture. It evaluates contrasting values such as “Collaborative vs. Decisive,” “Time-Orientated vs. Event Orientated,” “Goal Conscious vs. Interaction-Conscious,” and so on. I think you’ll find them helpful.

Okay, let’s continue with our study. Those from what has been called the global south or two-thirds world, often have an advantage in cultural adaptation, as the host country is often similar to their own. Due to a host of reasons, some of which we have covered, those from more western cultures tend to find adapting more difficult. The reality is that as the center of Christianity has shifted from West to East and from North to South.

This is actually one of the exciting results of the development of multicultural teams. It also provides great opportunities moving forward. As we have discussed, the mix of a multicultural team will affect the dynamic of that team. If one nationality dominates there can be a struggle as to which values to adhere to. This is particularly an issue if the majority of the funding is coming from the outside, typically the West, and the majority of the team members are from the host country.

New Opportunities

There are new opportunities to grasp if we are willing to have a more balanced approach where funding does not necessarily drive the agenda of the team. The move of the center of Christianity from the West to the East and the North to the South is already making a positive change on the mission field and should be reflected on our teams.

It is a rather complex reality for non-Western team members. They are actually dealing with four cultures: The Biblical culture, the Western worker/missionary culture, their own culture, and the culture of the those they serve. This illustrates the difficulty of what a host country team member is dealing with.

When it comes to language acquisition, non-western team members also have an additional challenge. If a team member’s mother language is not English, it is likely that they will have the pressure of learning two languages simultaneously: English and that of the host country. Not an easy challenge. Ideally, not everyone will have to learn English, unless it is decided that this will be the common language of the team.

Since much of the training of international organizations is in English, it is often the case that team members have already learned some English in preparation to being on the field. Yet grace needs to extended to team members who are struggling to communicate in what may be their second or even third language. The value of the multicultural team is that team members can learn from each other and gain strength and learn new skills in areas where their home country may be weak. The key is mutual respect and making the effort to understand the challenges others on the team are facing.

Discussion Questions:

Evaluate your team members in relation to their country of origin. How different is this from the host culture and how can you help them adapt?

Forming the Team

The actual forming of the team is an important task in and of itself. The team leader may actually have had very little to do bringing together members of the team, they may arrive to an already formed group. This creates its own challenges as they have to adapt to existing relationships and group culture. As with any team, the multicultural team is never stronger than those that are on the team. This is why, if it is possible, selecting the right team members is essential.

As with any Christian ministry team, there should be several assumptions. An obvious assumption is that each team member has a real relationship with Jesus and has already been faithful in Christian service in their home country or church. Depending upon the type of team, it could also be assumed that they have at least a foundational knowledge of the Bible. Depending upon their role, they may need more education, particularly if they are going to be teaching others.

Now specific to multicultural teams, each member should also have a clear call to communicate the Gospel in another culture. Not having prior cross cultural experience is not a deal breaker, but obviously very helpful. The goal is to put members together who complement each other in personality and gifts so that a certain synergy can occur as relationships develop. A rule of thumb of healthy teams is that team members work 60-70% of the time in their area of expertise. This is the ideal, though not always possible.

Variety is a Team Strength

It should be noted, that effective teams are not necessarily made up of those of the same age. Differing ages on the team can actually allow for natural mentoring to take place as they learn from varying life experiences/stages. As previously mentioned, if married, both spouses need to be on the same page and at least be aligned in their common calling. Obviously, various evaluations such as personality, psychological, spiritual character, and gifts, are all helpful in determining if a member will fit on the team. We provide many of these through competency based leadership training in our Christian Leadership Institute, which you can check at on our website.

Even if team members are mature and growing spiritually, certain personality styles will invariably struggle with each other. If the conflict is continuous and becomes irresolvable changes to the composition of the team may have to be made. Generally, it is better to not put team members together who are “too different” or “too similar.” If they are too different, most of their time will be spent working on conflict resolution. If they are too similar then creativity of thought may suffer and there is even greater opportunity of competition. Obviously, either scenario is detrimental to a team.

Care should be taken to not choose team members who are immature, overly rigid, aggressive, have personality disorders, or have not yet dealt adequately with personal traumas in their lives. The stress of being in another culture often brings these issues to the surface and so it is wise to assess these before they join the team. An overload of stress, as indicated by Stress Test resource, should also probably delay a candidate’s inclusion on the team.

Another factor that needs to be considered is the cultural make up of the team. This will depend on the type of team and what its purpose is. It is likely that the majority of the team will be made up of local national members. If there are too many nationalities, the complexity of functioning as a team increases exponentially. The potentially most problematic issue is if the majority of the team is made up of foreign nationals, particularly if they control the funds and decision making. This increases the difficulty of leading the team, particularly if the team leader is from the host country and has all the responsibility, but very little authority.

Ongoing training is an essential element for teams. Cross cultural training is important for both international and national members. Ongoing biblical training is vital. Even those not as directly involved in the ministry, such as spouses, should be involved in the training process. Learning to apply the Scripture within another cultural context is invaluable. Though this training takes time, the cost of not doing such training is always greater in the long term.

Discussion Questions:

Consider the unique challenges you may face if you were not able to form your own team. How will you pass on your values and vision to these existing team members?

Consider each team member and how they fit on the team. Are there any changes that have to be made?

What is the cultural balance of the team? Is it sustainable?

Summary

Though we have covered many topics, we have just scratched the surface and hopefully raised your awareness of the issues involved. I have tried to show the unique challenges facing multicultural teams as well as the amazing opportunities they offer in taking this Good News to all nations. For a deeper dive you could look at Hesselgraves’ classic book, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally or Roembke’s Building Credible MultiCultural Teams, though this may be harder to get your hands on. For a general look at culture, Thomas and Inkson’s, Cultural Intelligence is worth the read. If you would like avail yourself of some of our other materials which can assist you and your team, you can find the in our ICM Canada library on our website, icmcanada.org.

Effective multicultural teams require healthy leadership who have made the effort to increase their own cultural intelligence as well as that of those on their teams. This process includes recognizing the unique challenges facing multicultural teams and how to minimize the damage to team members. In our global endeavor of making disciples of all nations, multicultural teams have a unique resiliency and strength as they use each member’s personal and cultural identity to together better fulfill the Great Commission.

My goal in this series was to not only increase your awareness of your own cultural intelligence, but then to provide some ideas as to how you can apply these tools within the context of a multicultural team. As a ministry we are committed to a team approach to ministry as well as having “all nations” represented on our teams. Hopefully you found these principles helpful and can apply them as you make disciples of all nations. Thank you again for taking the time to listen and may you fulfill the calling that God has on your life.

Episode 9: Culture and Team Leadership

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Leadership at the best of times is not easy, it’s not a walk in the park. Now leading a cultural diverse team adds additional challenges. In this episode we want to discuss some of the challenges we face as we function as leaders within varied cultural contexts. What are your leadership values and how will this be perceived by your team? How will you manage the relationship between the local team and an international team? And perhaps the most problematic is how to manage the differing economic realities of team members.

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Episode 9 Intro: Leadership Challenges

Leadership Values

It probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, leading multicultural teams is even more complicated than leading culturally homogenous teams. The leadership norms of the host culture will have an impact on the leadership style of the leader. This is a challenge when they are contrary to a biblical model of servant leadership. An additional challenge is that our leadership values are those that are closest to the core of who they are and so often are very difficult to change.

Team members from other cultures will likely have deeply held beliefs regarding leadership values and so there will likely be a resistance to any change. Issues of leadership generally focus around how decisions are made and the exercise of authority. Will the team be top-down and centralized, or more democratic and inclusive? Since each team member is from cultures that may have different values, this can be a challenge. The expectations of the team members are usually culturally defined, recognizing that some cultures expect high levels of participation and others low levels of participation.

In addition to decision making, other functions of leadership such as planning, motivating, advising, training, leading, problem solving, and so on, are all culturally defined. Some team members may expect the leader to do all of these functions while others expect to be more part of the process. Recognizing the expectations of each member and then helping them understand how their culture impacts their expectations of the leader is an important first step.

Moving the team from their cultural understanding to a biblical one, as I said, can be a challenge. This is compounded by the leadership values held by those in the host culture. Just deferring to the values of the host culture may be the way of least resistance, but likely not the wisest, particularly as these may contradict a biblical approach. Through discussion and mentoring, the team leader needs to impart these new values with each team member. Then the team needs to figure out how these Kingdom principles affect the dynamics of their team.

While the team leader will have a certain measure of authority, and there may even be a perceived power differential, depending upon the culture, it is crucial for the overall effectiveness of the team for the leader to harness it for their good and the mission. Authority should not be use as a means to get our own way or just to fulfill our vision.

Discussion Questions:

What is your team’s perception of leadership values? Is this the same as yours? How can you share these values with them?

International Relationships

Now this may not be applicable to all teams, and it may be getting a bit into the weeds, but typically a team leader will have the function of dealing with the local and international team. This means that they often have access to greater knowledge and information through their contact with an international office or network. In order to not increase the power differential needlessly, it is important to communicate how the organization works internationally and how this impacts the local team. One of the most difficult functions as a team leader is to be the liaison between the international team and the local team. Though counterintuitive, it is usually best to share as much information as possible. A vacuum of information leads to rumors and speculation that are usually worse than the truth.

There is often a clash of values between the local and the international culture – particularly if it is western and providing the funding. Due to historical dominance and other power differentials, foreign values often have been adopted by the educated minority in many non-western countries. This minority, in any given culture, carries a lot of influence. Regardless of the promise of globalization, in many regions of the world there is already a backlash to this dominance and this is likely to increase.

It is worth noting that the modern, western culture, with its emphasis on time-consciousness, lack of people focus, and preoccupation with numbers, is the exception as compared to most other cultures. Even in countries who have adopted the outward manifestations of western values, there are still deeply held local values. Depending upon the ratio of westerners to locals on the team, there will likely be some level of conflict between these two worlds. This is why it is so important that team leaders facilitate communication regarding local cultural values which may be counter to biblical ones and assist the team to take a countercultural approach in functioning as a team with Kingdom values.

Fortunately, in the 21^st Century we are continuing to see a transition from western led and dominated teams to ones led and governed by local national leadership . What does this new partnership look like? For starters, nationals will need to consider what role foreign team members are to play and communicate this to them. Rather than being discarded, perhaps they can best function as mentors and coaches, using their experience and network to strengthen the local team and ministry.

In practical terms, the function of reporting is also impacted by culture. Reporting for many more American leaning organizations can seem more of a public relations campaign, basically only emphasizing the positive and not the negative. From a European perspective this is looked down upon as they tend to value brutal honesty, reporting the good, the bad and the ugly. The reality is that local multicultural teams that interact with other international multicultural teams have a greater opportunity for misunderstanding and conflict. But this also provides lots of opportunity for growth both personally and in the organization.

Discussion Questions:

How do you communicate between the international and local team? Do you need to make adjustments in order to diminish some of the power differential?

To what degree has the host culture adopted western values? Is there a backlash to these? What role can you as a leader play as a liaison between these two worlds?

Making Decisions

When it comes to decision making, the different cultural approaches or patterns of logic are important to understand. Contextual logic uses analogies or stories to make the point and is very common in Africa and Latin America, while Linear logic, using principles and ideas to prove the point, which is more common in America and some European contexts.

Though countries such as Germany and others in more northern European contexts have a more Dialectical form of logic, which employs arguments and proofs made on both sides of the argument and after much discussion a compromise is made a decision is reached. This is typically a long process and drives those cultures which value quick decisions crazy. I remember when I was living in Berlin and involved in several multicultural teams and hearing the frustration level of western missionaries who were more used to just making a decision in one meeting rather than taking multiple meetings to seek to come to consensus . It took longer, but once a decision was made there are usually a greater buy in by everyone.

A fourth type of logic is Existential logic, which is typically associated with parts of Scandinavia, France and other countries. This is an intuitive approach which seems like a “leap of faith” in discovering new truth. Facts are not as important as the feeling and emotional response created in others. As with situational leadership, regardless of our default culture, we can adapt and use each of these decision making processes to fit the right type of situation. Each of these approaches produces different results. For simple decisions, Linear logic is quick and efficient, but for more complex decisions involving more people, a dialectic logic approach will take longer but produce more consensus, and often less hurt feelings.

An effective multicultural team seeks to ensure that every member is heard and has the freedom to share their opinions and help in the decision making process. This ownership of the decision, creates an environment that minimizes the tendency of one person or small group to take over and abuse their power.

Discussion Questions:

Discuss the four patterns of logic as a team and how this impacts the decision making of your team.

Financial Matters

We’ve discussed some issues regarding money, but let me offer a few more thoughts. One of the main issues that multicultural teams deal with is the varied economic reality between team members. This is usually based on their country of origin and the cultural values as to how finances should be used. While there are clear biblical values regarding finances and wealth, the outworking of these are impacted by each member’s own cultural values.

In order to maintain unity in the group, it is important to discuss this issue and perhaps even establish certain policies regarding finances and lifestyle. This is particularly important as it directly impacts the witness of the team within the host culture. The fact is that lifestyle does impact one’s credibility and so we to help each team member arrive at a lifestyle that builds bridges and not barriers to the host society/culture, the very people that we are seeking to serve.

A particularly problematic issue is the one of salary levels among members of multicultural teams. A rule of thumb would be to establish salaries which are similar to equivalent occupations in the country, such as teachers for example. But consideration has to be given to foreign team members who will likely have other expenses such as taxes in their home country, pensions, health care, and other issues such as travel.

Another issue is if there is a mix on the team of those who are salaried and those who raise their own funds, or a combination of both. Are those funds raised locally or in their home country? Each situation requires that the team leader discuss these matters with each team member privately and then address issues as a group. Team leaders can help non-western team members exercise their faith to raise up financial partners from their own country, even if this is not yet a common in their country.

In the 21st century, unlike the last century, the model of raising one’s own support is not functioning as it once did, due to changing demographics and generational values. This may mean allowing time for bi-vocational work to supplement living expenses and other new support models. While there are no rules that work in every context, the principle of understanding, fairness, and flexibility need to be exercised by the leader and team.

Discussion Questions:

Have a personal discussion with each team member regarding their financial values and how this impacts the team and its goals.

The First Team

As I wrap up this episode I want to make a few comments regarding marriage and how the team is impacted by married couples and vice versa. The very nature of missions work, or ministry in general, is that husbands and wives are a team and it is virtually impossible to be involved in such work without the support of one’s spouse. This is different than other professions, which do not necessarily require as close of a working relationship between spouses.

It is important that the team leader is aware of the dynamics within each team member’s family unit. The reality is that often the spouse of the team member is experiencing as much stress, or even more, than the spouse on the team involved in the day to day ministry. They are often engaged with the local culture on a very personal level as they take care of many of the necessities of life from shopping to paying bills and so on. This is why effort needs to be made in order to involve the spouse who is not a member of the team to connect relationally with the team.

The unique pressures faced by team members who are single needs to also be addressed. If steps are not taken to deal with the issue of loneliness, it is likely that they will not stay on the team. The team leader needs to make sure that opportunity is given for them to make friends and to include them in the family events of the team.

Discussion Questions:

Be sure to spend time with each family represented on your team to assess their health and ways that you can serve them.

Leadership is key and we have been looking at some of the specific challenges facing the leader of a multicultural team. As we wrap up our series next time with our last episode, I will discuss a few more related issues. Hope you’ll join me then.

Episode 8: Culture and Team Dynamics

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In this episode we will discuss how to deal with the cultural differences within the context of the team. How does the team interact and communicate together? How do we deal with the language barrier? How do you develop trust when there are competing values? These are not easy issues and are compounded in multicultural teams. We will revisit leadership again and discuss how we can reach our objectives when there are varied cultural definitions of effective leadership.

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Episode 8 Intro: Application for the Team

Cultural Differences

As we have noted, the degree of relative distance between the cultures of team members will impact the complexity of building the team. Further complicating this process, is the fact that the interaction is not just between the overall culture and the host culture, but also the culture of each member on the team. Yet the host culture – the one in which the team is embedded and wants to serve, must be the focus. This may or may not be the home culture of the team leader.

This does not mean that the host culture is not viewed critically. As with all cultures, it must be viewed from a biblical perspective, as all of our cultures have been tainted by sin. But to do this effectively, there must be mutual respect based on a team of equals, rather than creating power differentials among team members. So let’s look at some specific areas in which this should occur.

Discussion Questions:

As a team leader, is the host culture also your culture or not? How does this influence you and your leadership in the team?

Communication Issues

Perhaps the fundamental area for any team to deal with is Communication. How team members from different cultures relate to each can create misunderstanding and hurt. For example, while some cultures come close to each other to talk and touch, as in a Latino culture, those from northern European cultures tend to want at least a metre of space. They also typically do not greet each other as openly and physically, a handshake is enough. This can make them seem cold to those from more warmer communicative cultures.

These differences require a knowledge of everyone’s role, as well as a self-awareness of one’s own cultural norms and those of the other team members. The team will need to develop norms of communicating, most likely aligned with the host culture, or a hybrid of this depending upon the mix of the team. This means that every team member must give up something of their own culture and norms for the greater good of the team and the mission.

How we deal with the differences is crucial. Confronting them head on is how a western or European would approach them, however this can be problematic with team members who come from a shame based culture. A safe atmosphere of forgiveness needs to be created where mistakes can be admitted without feeling shame. As these cultural norms clash, it is necessary to constantly be engaged in conflict resolution, as we have previously discussed. Communication based on mutual respect and trust is essential for any team to function, but is compounded in teams made up of members from varied cultures.

Discussion Questions:

Considering the cultural mix of your team how can you best deal with issues that need to be “confronted”?

Language Issues

The degree to which the local language needs to be learned by every team member depends upon their task and the length of their stay in the host culture. Since language acquisition is closely linked to cultural understanding, for those team members staying in the host country for any significant length of time, learning the local language is essential and invaluable.

On most multicultural teams, the majority of members will likely speak English at some level. However, to conduct most of the ministry and team discussions in English often puts a greater burden on those whom English is a second (or third) language. While learning English may be helpful for team members involved on an international level, learning the local language will likely be more helpful in their local ministry. This is important to do so that subcultures based on language do not form in the team.

To help to avoid such problematic issues with regards to language, as well as many other reasons, it is beneficial to have someone from the host culture as the team leader, as well as the majority of the team being able to converse in the local language. While others are learning the local language, not requiring them to be involved in the business aspects of the team meetings may also be helpful. Not having a majority of English speakers on the team will likely help the overall mission, as well as limiting the amount of short termers in any one team who don’t know the language, as they will likely not be there long enough to learn it.

In teams where everyone knows English (in a non-English host culture) the most efficient way of relating is in English, however, it must be remembered that once a relationship has begun in one language it is difficult to switch to another in which members are less fluent. Where English is used in an international setting, it is often seen as impersonal in contrast to the mother tongue which communicates intimacy. The pros and cons of this needs to be evaluated by every team. The issue of the use of language is central to the effectiveness of the team and its ability to incarnate the Gospel in their local context. Within the country and the team itself, the goal is to remove as many barriers as possible.

Discussion Questions:

What is your expectation as a team leader regarding language acquisition (Host language? Common language?) of team members?

Trust Issues

It is inevitable that team members will offend one another during the course of working together. This can often be due to various cultural values as to what is sin or what is not. But as Paul writes in Rom. 14, our Christian liberty should never be an excuse to offend others. In those areas where the Bible does not prohibit practices of the host culture, these can also be normative for the team. The exception to this is if these activities are divisive among the team and create barriers to the Gospel within the host culture.

As practices arise that are found to be offensive among team members, these should be discussed openly and resolved in the spirit of love and compromise. This does not mean that all cultural differences lead to offenses, but disregarding and disrespecting members inevitably does. Team members should be self aware enough to ask if what they are doing, saying, or thinking is building or undermining trust. So while misunderstanding will occur, if the team leader is proactive and takes the initiative to open up channels of communication, trust need not be broken.

This includes helping each team member understand how their particular culture is perceived by others. Then helping each team member not judge each other according to these preconceptions, but for who they are as individuals. Even among our own culture we live in a time when the geopolitics of the day can cause divisions among believers. We need to separate the decisions and values in our own countries from our relationships with those from other countries and cultures. Accepting each other in Christ, moving beyond cultural stereotypes, is a gift that each member of a multicultural team can give to each other.

Discussion Questions:

Discuss some of the behaviors that are divisive in the team that are based in differing cultural values (including differing Christian values).

Wineskin Problems

As with all teams, multicultural teams are impacted by their structure. This is most often determined by the facilitator or team leader. If the team leader is autocratic, or hierarchical in their understanding of team, then the team will reflect this. However, if the team leader is inclusive and a servant leader, then the team will likely reflect these values also. A team leader has a great influence on how the team functions, they create the atmosphere for how the team will interrelate.

Since each member of the team also functions within the context of a local church, a family, friends, etc., the degree to which these other supportive structures meet their needs will influence the expectation they have for the team to meet their needs. Issues such as age, means of income, culture, language, and task of the team, determines the expectation of the team and how they will meet each other’s needs. Working teams are usually under ten members since most individuals cannot emotionally invest in more than these number of relationships.

Problem solving in multicultural teams is also influenced by culture. Some cultures value a direct approach (western) while others appreciate a more indirect “polite” approach (Asian). These differences create opportunity for misunderstanding and ongoing conflict. It is further complicated by thinking (or saying) that one culture is the biblical or “right” way. Multicultural teams need to begin by understanding each other’s cultural default approach and then develop a new approach for their team with which they all can learn to function. While the values of clarity and honesty, based on biblical values, may be similar from culture to culture (or even a Christian subculture), the ways of functioning or expressing these in culturally appropriate ways may be very different.

Discussion Questions:

Consider and discuss the felt need of every team member in relation to their need for your team to be a supportive structure.

Member Care

One of the key functions of a multicultural team and the team leader is member care. If the individuals are not having their personal needs met, it is unlikely that they will be productive members of the team. After the basic physical needs are met, interpersonal relationships will be the most significant felt need of every team member. Particularly if the closest relationships teams members have in the country are with each other, the degree they can meet these needs with each other is the degree to which the team will function effectively.

Relational factors should take into considerations the cultural differences in the area of singleness, as it impacts dating, housing, and forming friendships with the opposite gender. Again, these are very real world issues that the team leader needs to be aware of and deal with. It is also important to realize that not all married couples are getting their interpersonal needs met in their marriage relationship. The health (or unhealth) of their marriage and family relationship will have a direct impact on the team. Which is why we developed our First Team materials which are available on our website in several languages.

Counselling may be necessary, but personal needs can also be met through activities such as sports, celebrating national holidays together, and so on. If care is not taken to meet these needs, the reality of “burnout” in team members is very likely. Burnout is a case of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment, particularly among those who work with people. In order to counteract this, each member of the team should be involved in taking daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly breaks to refresh themselves spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically.

The stress of living and working in a cross-cultural setting needs to be balanced with input and relaxation (and this will vary from person to person). For the team leader, this also means not being out of balance personally and not requiring performance of team members that will cause them to be out of balance in their own lives. This will include helping them create boundaries in their own lives so that they do more than just work/ministry. Of course, this goes against the norm of many cultures and many church cultures and so how to implement this may vary and require wisdom. But to give in to a culture that only values work, or performance, is elevating the culture above biblical wisdom.

Discussion Questions:

How can you meet the personal needs of each team member? What are their expectations? What are your limitations?

To evaluate potential burnout, discuss Stress Test with each team member.

What steps do you need to put in place in order to help team members live balanced fruitful lives free of burnout?

Okay these are a few tips from research and my own experiences regarding some of the practical issues that arise in multicultural teams. I hope you have found this episode helpful. In the next couple episodes we will discuss some of the issues related specifically to the team leader and their role. Hope you’ll join me for that.

Episode 7: Culture and the Adjustment Process

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Relocating to another culture is stressful and requires learning to adapt to living as a minority in a majority culture. In this episode we will look at this adaptation process and some of the dynamics at work as we adjust to another culture. As we have already discussed this begins with understanding underlying values. How do we deal with culture shock in ourselves and in others? What are some of the negative outcomes of trying to “go native?” and how do we best identify with a host culture?

If you find the content of this episode useful, it would really help us reach more people if you click the Like and Subscribe for this episode on Youtube.

Check out our full list of Multi-Cultural Teams Podcasts

To view all of our series, visit our LEADERSHIPmatters Podcast page.

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For other valuable leadership resources

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Video Script

Episode 7 Intro: How to Adapt Culturally

The Adjustment Process

Adjusting to another culture that is different than our own can be very stressful. They call it “culture shock” for a reason. For those who have always been part of the majority in their own culture, it can come as quite a shock to be in the minority. This stress, added to the other stresses in their lives, will have an adverse impact on their ability to function until they are able to adapt. In the description box you can get access to Stress Test Chart from the reference section of these materials. This may be helpful for you and your team members. However, I should point out that as I have used this around the world, what is stressful in some cultures is not considered as stressful by others and so even this Test has cultural limitations. Written from a western mindset, everything is stressful!

A natural response of new team members is to bond with others of their own nationality. While this is helpful initially, eventually they need to build relationships with those from the host culture. From our time living in Africa as well as Berlin I observed that some new missionaries spent most of their time with other missionaries and found it increasingly difficult to connect with nationals. While everyone adjusts at their own pace, if one has made the decision to live in another culture, intentional steps should be made to connect with those in that culture.

Two Dynamics

There are at least two dynamics that occur as we form a teams in another culture. On one hand, the team is adapting to the host culture and, on the other hand, they are also having to adapt to the culture of each other –which may be quite far from their culture. One of the greatest challenges of adaptation is in the area of language. Even if a common language such as English is being used, team members often are also learning the local language, which adds to their stress levels.

Helping new team members understand the local culture and how to adapt is also crucial for them to be productive members of the mission. This initial process of culture shock should not be underestimated. Short termers often experience culture stress, but the more serious culture shock is experienced by long termers, those staying at least two years or more. This exchanging of one set of behavioural cues for new unknown ones is not an easy process. Often in this process team members will feel like they have been transported into a context where someone has changed all the rules and they are just trying to catch up with the changes.

Culture Shock

Some of the symptoms of culture shock may include: A negative and suspicious view of locals and their ways and values, homesickness, loneliness, boredom, lethargy, tendency to withdraw, rising stress, overall feeling of dissatisfaction, disgust, irritability, depression, physical illness, chronic headaches and hypertension, exhaustion, worry about one’s health, outburst of anger, or hurt feelings, just to name a few, there are many options. I’ve observed that if a newcomer spends most of their time complaining about the way life is, from the potholes to what they perceive as inefficiencies, it is likely that they will soon be on a plane back home.

The challenges on multicultural teams is that there are different levels of distance between cultures and how this impacts the ministry. These have been identified as: M-1 – ministry within the same culture; M-2 – ministry within a close language/culture which is not as easy and requires different approaches; and M-3 – ministry within a totally strange language/culture, which is considerably most difficult. For example, as this relates to culture shock, an Asian serving in another Asian country (M-2) may experience as much culture shock/stress as moving to a M-3 context.

While the adjustments to the food, climate, and living conditions are the obvious adjustments required, the more important ones (particularly long term) are the psychological and social adaptations necessary. This, along with relating to other members of a multicultural team (who are also going through this process of adjustment), is what causes increased challenges for multicultural teams. In order to help new members adjust, besides the logistics of meeting their basic physical needs and helping them lead a balanced life, it is also crucial that the leader facilitates the making of new friends and helping them make a real connection with the team.

Discussion Questions:

As a team leader what steps can you take in order to decrease the stress level of team members coming from other cultures?

Identify the cultural difference each team member is experiencing with regards to the host culture and the culture of other team members.

Going “Native”

We need to be aware of how team members are doing and watch for symptoms of culture shock. One extreme form of culture shock is the concept sometimes described as, “going native.” “Going native” is an unhealthy form of identification based on a compulsion to belong to the very society and culture that is causing the stress. This often involves giving up one’s own values in order to be accepted. The host culture is romanticized rather than viewed objectively and one’s own culture is rejected as well as that of others (possibly team members) who belong to it.

The opposite to this reaction is the “anti-native” response. This is the uncritical acceptance of one’s home or passport culture and seeing its values as superior and thereby rejecting the host culture. That ethnocentricity we talked about. These are the people who incessantly complain about everything from the food to the transportation and so on. If either of these persist in a team member, it is advisable that they return to their home culture for them to gain perspective and achieve equilibrium. Often these are signs of deeper problems which the stress of a different culture has merely surfaced.

Discussion Questions:

Pay attention to team members who are either trying to “go native” or are displaying anti-native behaviors and attitudes. Develop a personal relationship so that you can help them through this phase.

Four Phases of Transition

There are typically four phases of cultural adjustment. It begins with the honeymoon or tourist phase where everything is new and exciting. The next phase is the stage of disenchantment or culture shock, where reality begins to set in. This is when one realizes that they have bought a one-way ticket. The third phase is that of a period of resolution, which should lead to the final adjustment stage in which one feels at home in the host culture.

What occurs in resolution stage is very important for the long term health of the member. The patterns that are established in this time tend to stay with the person for the rest of their time in that culture. The foreign worker has a greater likelihood of adapting to the culture if they sense the acceptance and appreciation of others. If, however, they remain to themselves and don’t identify with the host culture during this time, it is more likely that they will never bond and identify with the culture and will likely not become an effective team member.

It is important to help the foreign team members realize that to be effective in the host culture the goal is not to be a “native,” for the reality is that they will always have their own cultural identity. Rather, the goal is to help them appreciate and identify the new culture they are in and contribute to it. Soon after we moved to Kenya, I remember our Kenyan co-worker telling me that locals were not impressed with westerners who tried to be more African than the Africans themselves! You will never be what you are not, but you can learn to identify with the local culture.

Over the last half of the 20th century, the influence of mass media from the West (particularly Hollywood) has created certain impressions about western culture. Like it or not, those in many non-western nations have assumptions about the cultural values of western team members that may or may not be true. Many from other cultures have learned English through watching movies and so this is their context for understanding the culture. While those from the west recognize that the values expressed through movies are not necessarily accurate, this fact can be lost on those viewing the culture from a distance.

So while aspects of western cultural influence have obviously been assimilated into many other cultures, it is important to remember that the assimilation of these activities does not mean that those in these societies do not love their traditional culture and values. They may like the movies and eat the fast food from global chains, but this does not mean that they do not hold deep seated values based on their own culture. To assume otherwise, will create misunderstandings as we develop relationships with each other. I have observed that the closer the host culture seems to our own, the greater the tendency to assume their values are the same. When you get off the plane in Africa, it smells, feels and looks quite different – it’s obvious you will need to adjust. But if you get off the plane in Europe it is easy to think, hey they look just like me, this adjustment is going to be easy. And yet this is not the case, the cultural adjustment may be even harder depending upon how close or far the values of that culture are from your own.

Discussion Questions:

Evaluate which cultural adjustment phase each of your team members are experiencing and help them in the process.

Cultural Identification

Incarnation is at the core of what it means to identify with others. Incarnational ministry means learning to adapt in order to share the Good News. Paul mentioned that he learned to become all things to all men so that he may win some. But some of the practical issues that need to be discussed include what lifestyle we will have and how this will impact our ability to identify. This does not mean that they must “live like the locals” as this can backfire and create lasting barriers as it can seem inauthentic.

Often those who come to a host country can afford a lifestyle much higher than those they are serving. Obviously, this too can isolate them and cause them to not identify and therefore limit their influence on the team and the ministry. Becoming an “insider” does not mean that we must give up all our cultural values, but it does mean understanding and appreciating the local culture so that we will become a credible, valuable person in the host culture.

This goes beyond merely conforming outwardly in how we dress, our lifestyle, or mannerisms. Outward adaptability does not necessary mean identification has taken place and credibility established. This is a matter of the heart, as the degree of outward identification is specific to each situation and a host of other factors. As in our discussion with “going native” versus “anti-native,” it is key to understand the maturity and motivations of the team member and help them in this process.

Discussion Questions:

Discuss with the team ways in which each member can identify with the host culture.

The expectations of team members and others in the host country are also important factors in helping the team member identify and adapt in the new culture. Helping them understand these expectations and the reason behind cultural norms is the responsibility of the team leader. The issue each team member must wrestle with is, How far must they adapt to build credibility, without losing their own identity? Let me explain it using four overlapping circles as with a bulls eye target as in the diagram.

The outer circle or ring, labeled with the letter “A,” represents values one can change without a sense of loss of identity; the next circle, labeled with the letter “B,” are values that one sees the need to change and, though willing, it will take time as these are habits of comfort, though maybe not real convictions. Perhaps issues regarding our food and entertainment preferences. The next circle (C) towards the center are values one really struggles to change as they are linked to our perception of our personal identity, these are pretty deep and go more to who we are. Finally the smallest circle at the center, represented by the bulls eye and letter “D,” represents the most important values and therefore the most difficult to give up without losing one’s identity or integrity. These are virtually impossible to change. They are the non-negotiables.

It is important to help each team member identify their personal values, particularly those at the very core of who they are. This will help them recognize those things that they can change without changing who they are as a person. Indigenization does not mean an uncritical acceptance of a culture – any culture. Being under the highest authority, the Word of God, should inform our view of our own culture and the host culture.

As a team builds credibility and respect, members from a variety of cultures can be a net benefit to the local ministry as they collectively bring a perspective of God’s Word from their culture and this can bring a focus as to what is the core of the Gospel versus that which is mere culture. This includes separating the biblical perspective of sin versus what is just culturally conditioned as wrong or unacceptable.

Discussion Questions:

What can you do to help team members not lose their own identity while building credibility in the culture?

What are some of the issues your team deals with regards to cultural values of what is sin?

Well as you can see adapting to another culture is not so straight forward – and we don’t really have the time to go into great detail here, just providing a brief roadmap. But in order to not get caught in a culture shock loop, we have to help our team take the right steps in order to successfully go through the phases of adaptability in order to identify with the culture that God has called us to. This may be in a foreign country or in a subgroup within our own country. Next time we want to continue on the this topic of adaptability by discussing some more principles regarding communication and language, issues of trust and team structure.

Episode 6: Culture and the Big Three

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Description

Providing leadership on a multicultural team is not easy. Team members come from diverse culture and have varied values, particularly as to how a leader should function. While this is true on any team, on a team made up of members from several cultures, the challenges become even greater. In this episode we want to look at three specific areas of potential differences and how to navigate them on a team. These are issues related to money, gender and the use of authority.

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Episode 6 Intro: Money, Sex, Power

Trust and Communication

Building healthy multicultural teams requires both the team leader and the members to have an understanding of the basic cultural intelligence issues we have been discussing in this series. In this episode I want to discuss some of the more challenging issues that sometimes arise. While these are important issues, they often stay below the surface as they are hard to discuss.

Trust is the basis of any relationship. This is particularly true in multicultural teams where there are many potential pitfalls for misunderstanding and opportunities to offend each other. While Christian multicultural teams assume that the team will operate on the basis of Christian love and acceptance, this does not mean that conflicts will not arise. To regain trust requires humility and forgiveness. Team leaders need to constantly be looking for ways in which team members can be building trust with each other so that when conflicts do arise and trust is broken, team unity can be restored through forgiveness and understanding.

The fact that there are disagreements does not mean trust needs to be broken. For example, when Paul and Barnabas disagreed they went separate ways with no indication of breaking trust with each other. No nasty messages were posted to all their friends. The same could be said of Abraham and Lot. However, there are times when personnel changes have to be made on a team for the health of individual involved. If a cycle of conflict-avoidance continually repeats itself, it is clearly not a healthy situation. If a team cannot resolve fundamental differences, it is often better to reconfigure the team before relationships are irreparably damaged.

One of the key areas that trust is made or broken is in the area of our communication. As we have previously discussed, communication is both verbal and non-verbal – it is more than just an exchange of words. In communicating between cultures there is often additional interference that we have to be aware of. Barriers that cause interference for the sender include, how others see them or their perception of the messenger. Receiver’s barriers include selecting messages that are acceptable to them or fit their worldview.

Barriers, or filters, such as worldview, learning, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and personality can all change the message if they are not based on the same values as that of the sender. The complex nature of communication reinforces the importance of feedback in multicultural teams. While this can seem tiresome and time consuming, it is critical to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts.

While it would be ideal for everyone on a multicultural team to learn each other’s language, this is usually not possible or realistic. Typically, one language becomes the common denomination for communication. Due to the complexity of language and meaning, the words that are used are crucial. Simplification and dynamic equivalency are necessary to communicate clearly. So while it is arrogant to think others should learn our language in order to receive the Gospel, in order to communicate on multicultural teams practical factors need to be considered. In the following episodes we will discuss this topic in greater depth.

Discussion Questions:

What are some of the impediments to communication on your team?

Evaluate how the team’s use of language is impacting the team’s unity and effectiveness.

What are ways that you as a team leader can build trust among team members?

Money and Culture

In the time we have remaining in this episode I want to address three big areas that will impact our multicultural teams. How our members view these and how we address these concerns will have a profound impact upon our effectiveness. The first of one of these will be our view of money and finances.

It is interesting that Jesus spoke about money more than any other area of life, except the topic of the Kingdom of God. This is likely due to the reality that money can have many of the same characteristics of deity (Mammon). It promises to give security and power, yet these are a false representation of the real thing. True security only comes from Jesus. While on this earth, Jesus received finances for his mission from others after leaving his employment as a carpenter, but he was never obsessed with the accumulation of wealth.

Paul financed his ministry from the donations of others, as well as his own business (tentmaking). Though he did not want to be a burden, he taught that the worker was worthy of his salary (1 Cor. 9:14). In not wanting to take money, it is likely that Paul was reacting to the common practice of his day where teachers would teach for profit. He did not want to be seen as preaching the Gospel for financial gain. Seems not too much has changed.

It is important to note that money and lifestyle are virtually synonymous. The amount of money one has determines the lifestyle that they can and therefore often will lead. While meeting our needs through gainful employment is not wrong, greed can carry this to an extreme. The issue becomes one of stewardship and what God wants us to do with the funds that he provides for us. This is particularly true for those receiving funds while being in full time ministry.

This is an issue that will inevitably arise on multicultural teams as members come from many different economic situations and differing views on how to handle their finances. The cost of living may also vary widely between members depending upon where in the world they live or receive their salary. Wisdom and grace needs to be exercised so that human value and team value is not equated with the level of income or wealth of each member.

As trust grows, teams need to talk about this issue respectfully so as to come to an understanding of these differences. However, regardless of the differences, the biblical principle of not seeing money as our “savior” and not being greedy is consistent. We need to encourage an attitude and understanding on the team that we all are only stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

Discussion Questions:

Consider the different economic backgrounds team members come from and how this impacts the team dynamic.

Gender and Culture

Before the break we were looking at the issue of finances. Perhaps the most obvious difference on any team, is that of the gender difference. Each culture has differing values when it comes to male/female relationships. And since each of the culture we come from are tainted by sin, it is a challenge to implement a biblical view which supersedes each of our cultures.

The challenge in multicultural teams is that the role of women in ministry is viewed through each person’s cultural lens. But as with leadership, we need to look at this issue from a Kingdom perspective, realizing that all cultures are fallen, and even some biblical interpretations have been wrongly influenced by the prevailing patriarchal culture or, conversely, a reaction against it. As a team, we want to affirm each member as being made in God’s image – both male and female. Yet it is important to recognize that our team members may have significant differences in both their biblical understanding of this topic, as well as how this should be implemented in ministry.

Those from more freer societies will inevitably clash with those from more traditional ones. While the context of the host culture is important, it is even more important that we rightly interpret the Word of God and understand his perspective. It is important that teams discuss what their negotiables and non-negotiables are related to this topic. In our First Team material we provide a more detailed exposition, but at this point allow me to make a few summarizing points:

God created both man and woman in his image (Gen. 1). Women, like men, are to first serve God, not each other. Against most cultures in which the Bible was written, women were given great value. Which makes sense since they are created in the image of God, just like men are. We see that women held both the highest offices of prophet, such as Miriam, Hulda, Deborah and even a judge as in Deborah’s case. And this was in the patriarchal Old Testament! We see this counter-cultural theme continuing in the New Testament. Jesus had a circle of female disciples that traveled with him, which was very counter-cultural at the time for a travelling rabbi (Jn. 4, Lk. 10:38-42). It should not be overlooked that women were also the first witnesses of his resurrection. This is quite remarkable since they were not considered credible witnesses in the judicial courts of the day.

The commands of Jesus were directed to women the same as they were to men; they both were commissioned to be his witnesses. The Holy Spirit was going to be poured out on “daughters” as well as “sons” (Acts 2; Joel 2) and both were to prophesy and teach as a result. In addition, gifts were given to all believers (men and women), so that they could serve (1 Cor. 12:1-11). Galatians 3:26-28 teaches how all barriers in the body of Christ are to be torn down, including the one of gender.

In 1 Peter 2:9 we see that the office of priest, once reserved for men and the Levites, was now given to all believers. We are all priests unto God. God is described with both male and female characteristics throughout Scripture, one example being in 1 Thess. 2:7-12, where he is described “. . . as a nursing mother cares for her children. . .” All believers (men and women) were also co-heirs with Christ (Gal. 3:29; Eph. 1:11).

Contrary to some teaching today, which I would suggest is a holdover from cultural norms, not biblical ones, women in the early church held positions of responsibility and authority. I don’t have time here to go into great details but you can go to my First Team teaching for a more comprehensive explanation and teaching regarding this. In Rom. 16:7 the female form “Junia” is listed by Paul as “one of the outstanding among the apostles.” The four daughters of Philip are listed as Prophets, as was Anna. Teachers included Priscilla and leaders in the church included “the elect lady” in 2 Jn. 1, as well as “the elect sister,” describing Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, Priscilla, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Chloe, Lydia, the mother of Mark, Nympha, Apphia and Stephana. Apologies to them if I didn’t say their name quite right, but some of them are a mouthful!

While multicultural teams will have to wrestle with this issue, it is important that we hold the Scriptures above any one of our cultures or cultural biases and lead our teams accordingly. The fact is, neither gender is to be above the other. As we see in Eph. 5:21, we are both to be equally submissive to each other under our mutual Lord, Jesus Christ.

Discussion Questions:

Consider the gender mix of your team. How will differing cultural views of gender roles likely influence your team?

How do these counter-cultural biblical principles regarding women in ministry affect your team and its ministry?

What challenges does your team face in implementing these in the face of the values of the host culture?

Culture and Leadership

Okay time is getting away from me, but let me quickly make a few comments regarding the third one, Power and how we exercise authority. Biblical leadership and its application in ministry is quite different than what we see in most cultures. Leadership in the body is so that all members may be equipped and built up, not to serve itself. This is counter cultural in virtually every society. It is not to be about the concentration of power in individuals or groups. This does not mean that authority cannot be incredibly helpful and beneficial to others. But this can only occur according to the Kingdom principle that, “he who wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all” (Matt. 20:26; Luke 9:48) and that we should only use “strength based on a recognition of our weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

As Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a person, he bids him come and die.” These Kingdom principles are for all cultures for all times. Authority is “loaned” to leaders by God, it is not theirs to do with as they will. When team members sense that the team leader has their best interest at heart, it helps to eliminate competition and conflict. Servanthood as Jesus taught and modelled, has a way of generating respect (Mark 10:43,44). Henri Nouwen’s uses the phrase “wounded healer” to describe such a leader. It is an authority that comes from vulnerability. For a deeper look at this topic you can check out my Mentoring Intelligence series.

The cultural backgrounds of team members will inevitably impact their understanding and perception of leadership. Even the exercise of servant leadership will be viewed through their cultural lens. An extreme example of this is in German culture where the word for leader (führer) was so abused and discredited by Hitler that it is seldom, if ever, is used in conversation today. Other words are used for leadership and as a country they have organized politically so that one individual cannot have too much power. In healthy multicultural teams, each member needs to be engaged in evaluating their own culture and aligning their values with Kingdom ones based upon what Jesus taught regarding leadership.

Discussion Questions:

What is the prevalent concept of leadership in the host culture of your team, among each team member, as well as with the leadership?

How will this impact the team and its mission?

Okay, this is not a deep dive into these three areas of Money, Sex, Power, but I hope that they will direct your thinking as to how deeply held cultural values on these topics will impact your team and the importance to take them into consideration as you seek to fulfill God’s purpose for your team. As we continue our study next time, I am going to provide some practical ways to help us adapt to another culture.

Episode 5: Culture and the Gospel

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Description

Historically, there have been two extreme views regarding how the Gospel has and should interact with culture. From the example of early missionaries, some believe that the Gospel destroys culture. According to this view, conversion was solely dependent upon adopting the messenger’s culture. The other extreme is that everything about a culture good– the noble savage approach. It is only to be observed and there is no need for culture to change. So what role should the Gospel play in each of our cultures?

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Episode 5 Intro: Two Extremes

The Bible and Culture

As you likely are aware, that Bible itself was written over a period of some 1500 years within the context of specific times and places. While inspired by God, the principles it teaches were expressed within the prevailing cultural issues of the day in which it was written. In my view, this does not make it less inspired, but points to the fact that God always speaks to us within our context. This is why it is timeless. It is not just a book of principles downloaded to humanity. If you don’t believe this, try reading other holy books like the Koran to see the difference.

For example, in the city of Corinth, the early Christians were dealing with the issue of what to do with meat that had been offered to idols. It obviously was not eaten by these idols and so was put on the market for sale at a reduced cost. So was a Christian free to eat this meat since the idols were not real anyway? Another example is Peter wrestling how his Jewish (cultural) dietary laws were impacted by the new Kingdom values that Jesus taught. We see these types of dilemmas coming up again and again in the early church. In Acts 15 we read about the debate the early church was having regarding which of the Jewish laws new believers had to adhere to; was circumcision a normative religious practice of the new faith or a specific cultural expression reserved for Jews?

Since the Bible was written within cultural contexts, we the reader do not get to decide what is inspired or not, but we do need to identify what the negotiables and non-negotiables are for Christian life. What particular cultural nuances may be permissible, but not obligatory? We determine this by understanding the different genre of Scripture, context and a host of other factors . I tackle this in greater detail in my series on understanding and applying the Scripture. Dealing with these issues is not unique to us, the early missionary teams were multicultural and had to wrestle with this. The foremost missionary, Paul, was a person of mixed heritage, truly what we today would call a “Third Culture Person”. And throughout the New Testament we see that he was part of mixed teams of Greeks and Romans, such as Timothy and Titus. This is why he was so uniquely qualified to expand the Gospel beyond the first Jewish audience to those of the Roman and Greek culture.

So while the Scriptures are embedded in particular cultures, it is important to observe that not all cultural values recorded in Scripture are approved by God. A glaring example of this is the passage in Genesis 3. Some have used this passage regarding the fall of humanity to support the cultural value of the wife being ruled by her husband. Yet a clear reading of this confirms that this power differential was actually part of the curse, not God’s original plan and was something corrected through the deeper revelation of Christ in the New Covenant. Mutual submission taught in the New Testament was a return to the Creation model. Not understanding this fundamental principle creates unnecessary confusion in many who read the Old Testament as they would a prescriptive text from the New Testament Epistles. Over the centuries this has led to all sorts of goofyness. Again, for a deeper dive check out my series of hermeneutics or how to read the Bible.

Discussion Questions:

Have a discussion with your team regarding their views regarding the formation of the biblical text within various cultural contexts.

Christ Above Culture

All cultures have to conform to Christ and no one culture is better or worse than another. Charles Kraft uses the phrase, “Christ above but through culture,” to describe this reality. Essentially, culture is neutral, but distorted by human sinfulness in its many forms. In relating to culture, two basic extremes have developed. On one hand early missionaries were accused of destroying culture; in other words, making conversion to the Gospel dependent upon adopting the messenger’s culture. Those who feel more “enlightened” take the approach that all practices in a culture are acceptable, there is no need to change harmful practices. They only “observe,” as it is their default that everything in that culture is beneficial and correct.

Cultural norms are those actions and activities that are expected as behavior within a society; it is the totality of its values, norms, expectations, rules, and aspirations. Yet each culture needs to submit to the eternal biblical values which are above time and culture. For example, the fruit of the Spirit is not dependent or subservient to culture.

As we see in Romans 12:1-2, our minds or worldview, needs to be renewed by the Word, rather than conformed to the world and its cultural norms.

Discussion Questions:

As your team fulfills the Great Commission, how does the cultural make up of your team affect your potential target group?

Of the two extremes mentioned with regards to the Gospel and Culture, which of these two extremes has influenced your culture and your team?

Missions Model

When it comes to the Gospel and Culture it can be instructive to look at what was happening in the very early days of the Church in the first century. One of the first missionary teams we see is that of Paul and Barnabas. Here we see amazing flexibility as they sacrificed their own personal cultural values for the higher value of sharing the Gospel. While they did not ignore cultural issues, Paul’s approach was to “become all things for all people that he might save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22). He related to his Jewish audience with ancient Scriptures and with his Greek audiences from their own poets. Without compromising the Gospel message.

So multicultural teams are not a completely new phenomena as they were relatively common in the early church. It was only in the centuries that followed that teams became more monolithic as nationhood increased. It has only been in the last century, or so, that mission teams have once again become more international in flavor. Of course in the early days of the Modern Missions Movement, teams were basically made up of members from the same sending country, which tended to be from resource-based, western countries.

However, in more recent years we are seeing more and more teams that are truly “from all nations to all nations.” There is increasing complexity as teams represent varied continents, languages, and socio-economic dynamics. Countries that were once receiving nations are now sending nations and so this issue of multicultural teams is expanding. Team leaders are now often from a variety of cultures and nationalities, even though the majority of the funding may be coming from another country.

I think this is a healthy and welcome development as we all together seek to share this Good News with all people groups. Of course, there are challenges in working in multicultural teams, which is why the principles in this series are so important. As we see in Rev. 5, one day around the heavenly throne we will be from all tribes, languages and nations and perhaps I could add, all cultures. Might be good for us to practise working together before we get there.

Discussion Questions:

Does your multicultural team reflect a more older model or newer model of missionary teams?

Discuss with your team ways in which each member’s ethnocentricity impacts the team.

A Balanced View

Fulfilling the Great Commission through multicultural teams has both positive and potential negative outcomes. While interpersonal relationships are often the cause of conflict in monocultural teams, interpersonal issues can be an even greater problem in the increased complexity of multicultural teams. Some multicultural teams have found this too difficult and so members have preferred to maintain their ethnocentric approach of creating teams that closely reflect those they identify with in their own culture. Yet in an increasingly globalized world, in either multinational companies, NGOs or non-profit organizations, avoiding this reality is not really possible or desirable. There are just too many advantages to multicultural teams that outweigh the challenges. So while we all tend to see the world and truth (and Scripture) from our own cultural viewpoint, the distinct advantage of multicultural teams is that as a team we can have a much broader perspective of the Bible and truth.

As I previously mentioned, we all are guilty of being somewhat ethnocentric , thinking our culture is the best and that others would be better served if they would behave as we do or as our country does. Now granted some countries and cultures are more ethnocentric than others, but my experience has been that none of us are immune. So while complete cultural objectivity is virtually impossible, it is important that each of us is self aware enough to recognize this dynamic and work at mitigating its negative effects. This of course can only happen as we respect and trust one another and allow the Holy Spirit to blend us into the image of his Son – truly functioning as the body of Christ. No one culture has a monopoly on biblical truth and how it is to be best expressed in our culture. We need each other to have a complete picture.

So while there are unique challenges to leading multicultural teams, there are also distinct advantages, particularly in relation to the spread of the Gospel. Some of these include more accurately reflecting the body of Christ. As there is a greater variety of cultures, socio-economic groups, and even denominations represented on teams, there is a greater opportunity for a variety of Christians and non-Christians to be able to identify with those teams.

Another advantage of multicultural teams is that they provide a greater network of resources and experiences based upon the variety of each team member. This usually means that there is a greater willingness to try something unfamiliar. This is why multicultural teams are often more effective and best equipped to try new ministries in new areas. A multicultural team that does the work to understand and trust each other and learn from each other, has a greater capacity to share the message of the Gospel that is free from negative cultural baggage.

Discussion Questions:

How does your team reflect the advantages of multicultural teams? What challenges do you have?

Conflict and Power

As with all teams, conflict and disagreement is an inevitable part of the process within multicultural teams. In the early church it is recorded that there were many conflicts, some of which were based specifically on cultural differences. Acts 6:1-6 records differences between groups of Hebraic Jewish Christians and Hellenistic Jewish Christians. Remember this had to do with one group who thought their widows were being overlooked by the other. This was cultural value intersecting with Kingdom values. In Acts 15 we see another major disagreement as the church was trying to discern what was required culturally by the early Christians. How much or little of the Jewish laws did they need to subscribe to. This was not only a doctrinal issue, but also cultural one.

Though differing situations require different approaches, resolving conflicts is critical if we are going to maintain trust and unity in our teams. The unity that Paul taught in 1 Cor. 12, is not one where everyone thinks the same or necessarily comes to the same conclusions. Rather, it is based on relationships that can absorb differences, but with grace and understanding. It is based not only on truth, but also love. As Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-14, we need to learn to “speak the truth in love.”

Resolving conflicts requires not defending one’s own position or interests, but considering the interests of others. Team leaders need to help members recognize their own motivations and help them identify the real issue in order to deal with it as soon as possible. Left unattended, conflicts seldom just get better or disappear. They are more like milk than wine….they don’t get better with time, they just sour. One of the areas of real conflict is how power or position is used on a team. The abuse of power has infected every culture as it seems to be part of humanity’s universal fallen condition. It is an inescapable reality that throughout history there has always been power differentials between cultures. These varied power differentials are typically based upon geopolitics, economics, or history. Though we do not encourage or endorse these differences, the reality is that they will invariably impact each of us as leaders and the member so our teams.

Discussion Questions:

What are ways that you as a team leader can build trust among team members?

What steps have you taken to mitigate the power differential on your team?

As a leader of a team it is our responsible to reflect Jesus model of servant leadership. If you would like a deeper dive into this topic you can look up my Mentoring Intelligence series. While not easy, it is even more important in multicultural teams. Humble leaders who seek to serve their teams will be careful as to how they exercise their authority – it should always be for the benefit of others and the team, not themselves and their agenda. This is reflective in a role that is more of a facilitator than from a top down hierarchical approach. Next time we are going to look at three big areas we need to address on our teams, Money, Sex, and Power.

Episode 4: CQ and Leadership Style

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Description

As we continue to discuss the cultural factors that impact multicultural teams, one of the key issues relates to what responsibilities leaders have in leading such teams to accomplish their goals. So in this episode we are going to look at how our leadership styles are affected by our Cultural Intelligence. This is related to how those from difference cultures respond to different styles of leadership and how culture affect how we make decisions.

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Episode 4 Intro: Style Matters

Leadership Style and CQ

We all have a certain default leadership style and yet we learn to adjust this default approach according to the situation. This is also the case for the leader of a multicultural team. There are many ways to define leadership styles, but there are two fundamental leadership styles. One focuses on getting tasks done and the other on relationships, making sure that everyone is getting along.

Regardless of cultural issues, those who learn to focus on the relationships of those they lead tend to have healthier teams. Yet the very purpose of a team is that it is organized to accomplish common goals (or tasks). It is these competing challenges that often complicate the process. Now, within multicultural teams, there is an added dynamic that people from different cultures respond to task-orientated leadership in different ways.

There is both formal leadership, which is based on position and title and informal leadership, those which may not have position but who nonetheless have the influence and respect of others. From a biblical perspective, a leader functioning as a servant should function with both. The reality is that in multi-cultural contexts, leadership organized around position and title may not be accepted to those with other cultural norms. So what happens is that an informal leader – without title or position – usually emerges. And they tend to be from the host culture. This is why it is so important for the team leader to exercise a leadership style that reflects the values of those on their team and not alienate others by actions based on their own cultural norms.

A culturally intelligent leader uses a leadership style that is balanced between their own normal style, the cultural context of the team, and the demands of the task or situation. So instead of just reflecting the values of leadership from their own culture, they become aware of this dynamic and adjust. Ideally they will base this on the kind of servant-leader based on Jesus’ model of leadership.

Discussion Questions:

Evaluate your own leadership style and determine how much of it is based on your culture. How do you need to adapt?

Decision Making

There are many ways to make decisions within a team and if you want to take a deeper dive into that you can download our “Team Building” section of our Ministry Guide Workshops. Effective situational leadership means that we have to learn to adapt due to the context or the type of decision being made. As with all areas, this too is impacted by each person’s cultural values.

The typical Rational or Western Model of decision making begins with, 1) Defining a problem, 2) Producing a range of potential Solutions, 3) Apply systematic analysis to potential solutions to predict which will satisfy predetermined criteria, and then 4) Choosing and implement the best alternative. Other approaches would include decisions based more on personality, family, consensus, tradition, position, connections, intuition, and so on.

While the Rational approach to decision making is helpful, it is important to realize that it is based on a cultural narrative founded upon values and assumptions that are typically reflected in the West. Of course, there are clear limitations to this model, such as the fact that criteria are not nearly as clearly defined as it would seem and often there are competing criteria and values. Most decisions involve people and so fitting them into such a rational model does not take the human elements into consideration. In reality, leaders can seldom so accurately define the problem or take all the factors into consideration or even understand all the possible outcomes.

Since this purely rational approach to decision making is over simplistic, the reality is all leaders, even in the “rational” west, implement other ways of making decisions. For example, they work incrementally, taking many small steps to a solution rather than a single all encompassing analysis. Or they create heuristics or simple rules of thumbs, which may not be rational, but simplify the decision making process and can often be pretty accurate. They can also often choose a plausible alternative early on rather than continuing to pursue other alternatives or they may also procrastinate, panic, or avoid making decisions. There are lots of options.

These alternative methods of making decisions are common across many cultures, so it is important to realize that culture puts limits on what is acceptable and therefore what decisions can be implemented and how. In many cultures, how a decision is made is as important as the decision itself and can ensure its success or failure. Leaders of multi-cultural teams need to be aware of their cultural bias in making decisions and be willing to look at the process from the cultural contexts of the other team members. We will look at more specific application to this in upcoming episodes.

Discussion Questions:

What is your typical decision making process? How is this influenced by your culture?

Social Dynamics

As with most groups, teams create their own social dynamic and this can actually undermine the potential of the group. For example, two such group dynamics are Groupthink and Social Loafing. Groupthink is a dynamic that occurs in teams as they overemphasize harmony and consensus and discourage dissenting views and creative alternatives. Once consensus is achieved, all other debate or dissent becomes a question of loyalty. This never leads to the best solutions. Another social dynamic is what we call Social Loafing. This occurs as members of the team put less effort in to complete tasks, as they think others will compensate to get the job done. So they can just sit back and watch and not take the risk of failure. Obviously, this also reduces the effectiveness of the team and its goals.

Our cultural values influence how we are affected by these two group dynamics. For example, those from more individualistic cultures will likely take a stand against Groupthink, but are more likely to take advantage of Social Loafing. Every team leader needs to be aware of these dysfunctional dynamics of teams, however leaders of multicultural teams have additionally be aware that cultural differences between team members will also impact these dysfunctional processes.

Discussion Questions:

Take some time to assess the interpersonal cohesiveness of your team. How can you mitigate these two social dynamics?

Cultural Divergence

We have been discussing some of the social dynamics at play in all teams, but which are magnified in multicultural teams. While diversity can be a positive influence on the outcomes of a team, the reality is that those in the group that are farther ways culturally from the others tend to feel more negative about the group. Only by being proactive can the leader help them identify this and develop a unifying culture. On the up side, diverse groups with healthy team dynamics tend to be very productive and high performing. Diversity provides a wider range of ideas and viewpoints which makes the team healthier and more effective than what often occurs in homogenous groups. Having differing perspectives can generate greater creativity, which is precisely what is needed in fulfilling the Great Commission within a increasingly globalized world.

But not all diversity is the same. As we have seen, cultures are on a continuum and so are not equidistant from each other. So the greater the difference, the more effort it takes by the leader and the other members to overcome these differences. We need to be aware of those on the team who feel most distant from others. This is usually displayed by withdrawing and not participating. Hesselgrave outlines seven areas of cultural divergence such as World view, Cognitive Process, Linguistic Form, Behavioral Pattern, Social Structure, Media Influence, and Motivational Influence. So while diversity provides a team with great potential for excellence, due to the cultural distance/diversity dynamics, the risks are also greater that the group may have difficulty in working together.

Discussion Questions:

Consider the cultural distance between team members according to Hesselgrave’s matrix.

Leadership Responsibility

This bring us back to the issue of leadership and more specific what we can do as leaders to help each member of a culturally diverse team reach their potential and be creative and productive. As we conclude this episode I would like to mention three main things a culturally Intelligent team leader can do to accomplish this.

1. Manage Environment

The first thing we need to do is manage the environment. This begins by appreciating the differences and being intentional in communicating this to the team. It is then important to provide rewards in a way that is culturally acceptable to each member. This will differ, for example, between individualists and collectivists. This is a challenge in a diverse group, but effective groups agree upon appropriate individual and group rewards.

It is also important for the leader to be aware of the value that each member places on the group. For some, group dynamics will be more important than for others. Another way for a team leader to provide motivation and synergy is to allow for as much self-management as possible. This is also helpful with diverse teams, though it should never undermine the cohesion and common goals of the team.

2. Developing Team

Secondly, it is important to realize that teams take time to develop. From the early stages when members are just getting to know each other, through the various conflicts that inevitably arise, to the eventual establishment of common expectations and being able to effectively work together to fulfill a task. It is important to be aware that this process will likely take longer in multicultural teams, due to the greater differences in expectations of how groups should work based on each member’s cultural perspective. This becomes an additional challenge for the team leader and requires increasing one’ own cultural intelligence.

3. Developing Team CQ

Finally, the best way to take advantage of the cultural diversity of teams is to help increase the Cultural Intelligence of each team member. This means that the team leader needs to first learn these principles and then pass them on to others. This will include providing situations for team members to talk about their cultural values and background. Allowing for feedback ensures that every member feels that their voice is heard and connects them to the rest of the team. This can help each member be reflective and change their own narrative or scripts that are being detrimental to the team.

Team leaders have several responsibilities as they facilitate this. The first is to identify the current dynamics of the team and then identify if the task of the team is simple, routine or more complex. The leader needs to also recognize the degree of cultural diversity on the team and the specific cultural issues that may produce conflict. And then finally develop the processes necessary for dealing with the cross cultural issues and ensure that all members participate, regardless of their culture.

Discussion Questions:

Take steps to develop a plan to increase the CQ of your team members.

Well I know there is a lot there to chew on, but as the old saying goes, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And so while you are digesting this, let me encourage you to continually make incremental steps in this direction. Next time we will briefly consider how culture has impacted the expansion of the Gospel message and some resultant factors multicultural teams will need to deal with.

Episode 3: Cultural Communication

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Description

How do we convert the principles we have been discussing and this new knowledge about cultural awareness into practical action within our multi-cultural teams? As we increase our Cultural Quotient, how will this impact how we function as members and leaders on our various teams? In this episode we will discover that one of the main aspects this will influence is our communication content and style – which includes not just our words, but also our non-verbal communication.

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Episode 3 Intro: Style Matters

Learning New Behavior

In the last few episodes we began looking at three key ways we can increase our Cultural Intelligence. So far we have discussed increasing our basic Knowledge as well as our Cultural Awareness. Now we want to begin to discuss the Behavioural Skills that result from this new knowledge and how to put these into practice within our multi-cultural teams.

Though a bit beyond the scope of this study, one of best ways we can learn to be effective in our teams is to learn basic social skills or EQ. By their very nature, teams are about learning to deal with people. As we have learned, many of these skills are culturally defined, so as we work on teams comprised of various cultures, a new set of skills will need to be learned. This often requires unlearning behaviours from our own culture.

Discussion Questions:

Using some of our materials or others, take steps to increase your own Emotional Intelligence.

Some of those new skills will likely be interpersonal skills, relational building skills, decision making, and negotiating skills. But they will also include more specific skills such as leadership and teamwork skills. Cultural Intelligence requires adaptability and so we need to learn a new set of behaviors much like an athlete learning a new sport requires new routines in order to build new “muscle memory.” These will vary from culture to culture and person to person, but each of us will be constantly adapting as we increase our own personal cultural awareness.

Let me put on my Capt Obvious hat again, Experience in foreign cultures, or being around many cultures, does not necessarily mean someone will develop a high cultural intelligence. It takes intentionality. Without change, most of us will remain rather ethnocentric, regardless of how many airline points we may have accumulated or countries we have checked off the bucket list. Actually, just being in other cultures can amplify our own deeply held cultural beliefs, which can make us rather obnoxious to those around us.

We have likely all travelled with someone who complained most the time as to how different – and inferior – everything in the country they were visiting was. Having led a few short term mission teams, I can identify. Hearing this complaining, I have often wondered, “Why didn’t you just stay home!” It might also be worth mentioning that success in one context does not necessarily mean success in another context. Effectiveness may depend upon the relative distance from one’s own culture to the culture of the other person or the place you visiting. It is not so much about geographic distance, but rather the further the cultural distance the greater the challenge.

Communicating Cross-Culturally

One the most fundamental areas we need to grow in is how we communicate. This is foundational, for many of the other skills we need are based on these. Communication is the process by which a communicator transmits messages to others (receivers). This can be through spoken or written words, nonverbal behavior, in person, telephone, letters, emails, and any other means.

The challenge with communication is the process itself. The message needs to be encoded and sent, which then must be decoded by the receiver. But when each of these participants is from a different culture, with differing values and cultural norms, communication breakdown is common. Of course, language is the most obvious way of encoding a message. But each language has both a clear and obvious meaning of its words, as well as figures of speech, euphemisms, and nuances that are not always so obvious. So even when we are using the same language, there may be quite a diverse understanding of the words used to encode and then decode the same message.

This is further complicated by the fact that each subgroup within the majority culture also has its own vocabularies, slang, and idioms. Since it is awkward and time consuming to always use a translator in meetings and one-on-one communications, often a common language is used (ie. English) and it is likely that this may not even be the mother language of anyone in the group. While this is efficient, the leader needs to be aware of the varied comprehension levels and ensure that true communication is taking place. Effort needs to be made to simplify words and clarify meanings.

Discussion Questions:

Consider some of the communication challenges present on your team. Assess if these are due to cultural differences.

Does your team use a common language? What have been the pros and cons of this approach?

Language Conventions

Within each culture there are certain ways that language and other codes are used. In some cultures it is a value to be clear and direct when communicating, while in others being polite and avoiding embarrassment is a higher value and so communication is more implicit, indirect, and ambiguous. While this is understand by those of the same culture, those from the “direct is the only way to communicate” camp a bit crazy. But we need to be aware that “Direct” communication focuses on the content while “indirect” communication focuses on the context and those involved. Which is why the direct approach is more common in individualistic cultures and an indirect approach in more collectivist or social societies. Those from the more indirect approach are more concerned with other’s perceptions, feelings and keeping unity.

So it is should come as no surprise that misunderstandings and conflict often arises with those from different types of cultures trying to communicate with each other. Since this occurs when there is face-to-face communication where one can identify body language and so on, the potential for miscommunication through indirect communications such as emails, video chats becomes even greater.

As I mentioned at an earlier time, different cultures also have differing levels of volume when they communicate, as well as the amount of information they communicate. Many cultures use silence for different reasons, either to illicit more dialogue, control, or show respect. Others, typically more western cultures, get increasingly uneasy the longer there is silence. It is important to learn the cultural norms of every team member so that we can understand what they are saying through silence and build more intelligent communication.

Discussion Questions:

Does the culture in which your team operates use direct or indirect communication? How does this affect your team?

Non-Verbal Communication

We have been discussing culture and communication before the break. There are many nonverbal indicators of communication that are universal to the human experience. This would be classified under “Human Nature” on the pyramid or iceberg diagram we looked at previously. For example, while a smile expresses positive feelings in virtually every culture, there are nuances as some may use a smile to conceal nervousness or embarrassment as typically happens in Asian cultures.

But there is also other non-verbal communication that we need to be aware of. For example there is the varied use of Distance when we communicate and this varies from team member to team member. You may have noticed that if you are a “close talker” others keep moving backwards as you talk to them. Other conventions such as with regards to Physical Touch also need to be taken into consideration. This can vary from only shaking someone’s hand, to kissing on one cheek, both cheeks and even this can vary between genders. Such conventions vary from culture to culture and we need to know what is appropriate, rather than just doing what comes most natural to us.

Growing up in Canada with a northern European background, I grew up not being much of a hugger. As I have lived in other cultural contexts, I learned to adapt, but then found that back in my own country I had to switch back so that I would not freak people out by hugging them and God forbid giving them a kiss on the cheek! Yet I also discovered that if I just shook hands in some cultures people would think I was cold or aloof. While others are usually rather forgiving of foreigners, there is an expiration date on being inappropriate and the quicker you learn the better. Low touch cultures are typically from North America, Northern Europe, and Asia, while high touch cultures tend to be in Latin America, Southern and Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Cultures also vary with regards to Body Position. When to sit down and stand up and when and how often to bow are often complex and difficult for an outsider to master. I remember offending my Africa hosts in the early days by putting my foot on a chair while I was sharing. I learned that in that culture that was a no-no. By being perceptive and asking questions, we can learn what each team members is most comfortable with.

Our Gestures can also be a minefield of mistakes that can take some time to recover from. In some cultures the same gestures can be offensive and even obscene in their meaning. In some African cultures you would never motion for someone to come to you as you would in the west, it was also with the hand cupped downward. I found out that one the hard way. It is often best to avoid explicit gestures in other cultures until one knows what they really mean. Finally Eye Contact is also an important issue and very culturally defined. Some like Middle Eastern, Latinos, and South Asians make longer eye contact, while Africans and East Asians avoid it. This is further complicated by the differences between those of different gender, age, and social status within a culture.

Well this is obviously a huge topic and we cannot cover it all here, but just a primer to be self aware of how we are communicating, even if our mouths are not open.

Discussion Questions:

Evaluate the communication style of each of your team members. Which are based on culture and which on personality?

Discuss the non-verbal communication norms that each team member has from their culture and help them be aware of them as they interact with other team members.

Team Dynamics

As we conclude this episode allow me make a few comments regarding some general team dynamics. While there will always be differences between individuals on our teams, the challenge is to get the most out of each individual on the team without allowing their cultural difference to tear the group apart or cause unresolved friction. This is primarily the responsibility of the team leader, but required buy in by every member of the team.

While the focus of a team needs to be on its purpose or goals, it must also focus on the relational nature of the team or this dysfunction will guarantee it does not accomplish its common goals. Cultural Intelligence is a means by which to deal with team development, in spite of the cultural differences. Analyzing the process in a team means that we have to evaluate the type of task or goals of the team. Due to the nature of their goals, some teams have to work much closer together than other groups, while others can get away with being more loosely organized.

Cultural Intelligence is important regardless of if you are meeting in person or part of an emerging virtual team, one that is primarily connected electronically. The challenge with such virtual teams is the lack of cues that face to face interpersonal relationships provide. Though these difference may not be as noticeable (since the team may not be close relationally), it does not mean that they do not have as much effect on the activities of the team. This is particularly an issue if trust has not been previously developed through a personal relationship, as it is more difficult to do through electronic platforms.

Discussion Questions:

Consider ways you can increase the cultural intelligence of each of your team members.

Next time I want to spent a bit more time looking at leadership within multicultural teams and I hope you’ll join me for that.

Episode 2: Cultural Awareness

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Description

While culture is all around us and impacts our behaviors on a daily basis, we often don’t take the time to really understand HOW it impacts what we do and how we do it. In this series we are applying this specifically within our teams which are becoming more and more diverse. This episode we will look at several matrixes that have developed in order to explain culture. The goal is to increase our own cultural intelligence so that we will be more effective as a team in fulfilling our purpose and calling.

If you find the content of this episode useful, it would really help us reach more people if you click the Like and Subscribe for this episode on Youtube.

Check out our full list of Multi-Cultural Teams Podcasts

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Video Script

Episode 2 Intro: How Aware are You?

Five Dimensions of Culture

In our last episode we began looking at three key ways we can increase our Cultural Intelligence, which was illustrated by three concentric circles. We will now continue discussing the first of these, our basic Cultural Knowledge and then we will turn our attention to the need to develop our own Cultural Awareness. In the next episode we will discuss the resultant Behavioural Skills from this new awareness.

It is important to understand that, while each culture is diverse, it shares values and behaviours with other cultures. Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist who did extensive research on cross-cultural organizations and cultural dimensions, identified five main cultural dimensions. Each of the groupings does not define a culture completely, but each describes dimensions along a continuum upon which each country can be arranged. He studied over 100,000 employees of large multinational corporations in 50 countries and identified the following groupings of cultures:

The Individualistic Dimension describes cultures where people are more concerned about the consequences of actions on themselves, not others. Decisions are made by individuals and not the group. He discovered that there was a strong correlation between a country’s individualism and wealth.

The Collectivistic Dimension describes cultures where people view themselves as members of groups and are most concerned with how their actions impact the group. Decisions within these cultures are usually made by consensus or consultation taking into consideration everyone in the group.

The Power Distance Dimension seeks to identify how each culture has varying degrees of power differentials between the various status of those in the culture. The higher the power distance, the more likely autocratic behaviour by a leader will be tolerated.

The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension describes the degree to which a culture seeks to create stability. In a high uncertainty avoidance country, more formal procedures are implemented with strong norms or procedures to guide actions. They seek to control all aspects of the society.

Finally, the Masculinity/Femininity Dimension is the measurement of the balance between the traditional goals of “ambition and achievement” versus “nurturing and interpersonal harmony” within the culture.

Cultural Dimensions Applied

For example, here is how this applies to two difference cultures, American versus Guatemalan culture. In his study, the higher the number, out of 100, the more extensive these characteristics are within that culture. In the table you can see the values he assigned from his study.

At 91, the USA has a very high level of Individualism, which should come as no surprise, while Guatemalan culture scores a 6 on the Individualism scale. At 62, American culture has above average masculinity (high ambition and achievement), moderate power distance at 40, and moderate uncertainty avoidance at 46. In contrast, Guatemala, though close geographically, has very low individualism at 6, but very high power distance, at 95 (a higher tolerance for autocratic leadership), with below average masculinity of 37 and very high uncertainty avoidance 100 (in other words they seek stability, which may explain the low individualism and higher power distance.

Discussion Questions:

Using Hofstede’s designations, identify your culture and that of each of your team members. How do you think the differences on your team will impact your effectiveness as a team?

City-Peasant-Tribal Continuum

Another lens through which to view culture is the “city-peasant-tribal” continuum. Tribal and peasant societies are the most homogenous and have much in common. They are more traditional and resist change. As a culture moves from a more peasant or rural society to a urban-based one, the values of the culture also change. There is less cohesion and many more subcultures develop within the majority culture.

Cultural Patterns

A scholar who has studied and written extensively regarding culture is David Hesselgrave. You likely have read one of his books, though they are not an easy read. Coming from a Christian worldview he outlines several cultural patterns that are evident in most societies. Understanding these will help us as we become more aware of the cultural values of those on our teams. He organizes these cultural patterns in four pairings: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, Dionysian and Apollonian, Guilt and Shame, Repression and Suppression.

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft identifies the fundamental difference in the relationship of the individuals to his group which impacts his motivations, values and decisions. Gemeinschaft, which is the German word for community, describes cultures that tend to be more rural and preindustrial where communal values dominate the social relationships; these are typically non-western societies. Gesellschaft, which has the meaning of “association” are cultures which are typically more urban, and industrial societies where the individual is free to choose who they relate to and how they relate with them. There is more freedom of association.

Dionysian cultures are individualistic where people look beyond the five senses in order to experience and explain their existence. This can be dreams, supernatural experiences, and so on, while Apollonian cultures limit themselves to describing the world through tradition and distrust the individualism of finding meaning through personal experiences. You can see how this would affect the shared values within these groups and make it hard to understand the other’s perspective.

On the Guilt and Shame continuum, guilt cultures are more concerned with each separate violation that goes against known codes. The emphasis is on decision making with the victory over guilt producing right living. In contrast, Shame cultures are more concerned with the overall self and the failure to reach the ideal. Emphasis is the ability to live with some indecisiveness and the quality of the experience. Transcending shame leads to a sense of identity and freedom.

Repression and Suppression is the final pairing his research identifies. In repressive cultures, internal controls are more important in the society. The pattern of life is individual-centered and religion focuses on the search for the meaning of life by the individual and is most often monotheistic. Suppression cultures emphasize external controls and the pattern of life is situation-centered. Religions stress the need to be aligned with every power, which leads to polytheism or many gods.

While some of the implications for discipling others, leadership development, and leading multicultural teams may be rather obvious, there are also nuances that may not be so obvious. Depending on how close the country’s culture is to biblical values will likely determine the resistance to changing hearts and minds to a biblical worldview from the prevalent cultural one. These differences must also be taken into consideration by the team called to serve that community.

Discussion Questions:

Using Hesselgrave’s matrix identify the key indicators of the majority culture within which your team operates.

How has your own cultural biases affected your perceptions of others and the values you attribute to their behaviors?

Increasing our Awareness

We have been discussing some of the aspects of culture in order to increase our own knowledge so that we can increase our own Cultural Quotient. The next step is to increase our awareness so that we can better interpret cultural cues or indicators in ourselves and others. Learning to pay attention to cultural cues and interpreting them is a skill we can learn. How do we interpret actions of others that seem to be based on values very different than our own?

Every culture has its own narrative or scripts. These are explanations as to what is acceptable behavior in a culture and are often “short hand” or code for understanding values. Those of us with a Christian worldview believe that each culture is “fallen” due to sin. Yet believers in every country have to evaluate what aspects of their culture contradicts biblical values and which do not. Once we begin to interact with those from these different cultures we begin to realize that believers from various cultures have come to different conclusions about what is sin, based on their cultural values.

Of course there is general agreement on the major items, don’t lie, steal or kill. What about the gray areas? For example, while all believers would likely agree that drinking alcohol in excess violates biblical commands, Christians in some cultures do not feel a prohibition on all alcohol consumption is warranted from Scriptures while others take a zero tolerance approach. So in those areas that may not be categorically immoral for some, problems arise when we have to interact with others who have grown up with different narratives. We will be confronted with a decision, either these team members are sinners or my deeply held beliefs were more cultural than biblical.

I grew up in more zero-tolerance culture, since most people that drank tended to do so to get drunk or as a medication to numb their pain. This cultural bias served me well in Africa, where the evangelical church also held this view. No Christian or church leader would ever allow fermented fruit of the vine to touch their lips. Then I moved to Berlin. At my first spiritual retreat weekend with local German pastors, I discovered that a good day of prayer was usually capped off with a good beer over dinner. After all we were only an hour and a half from Luther’s ol’ stompin’ grounds and he did have the largest brewery in Wittenberg. Now, either all these pastors were on a direct path to hell and perdition, or my deeply held beliefs were more cultural than biblical, or at the very least contextual. Beer in this context was merely a beverage no one drank in excess.

This means we have to understand and interpret their actions rather than just relying on our own scripts. This is important in multicultural teams in dealing with different ways of doing things, and becomes particularly complex in differentiating between cultural differences based on moral judgements. However, if we do not engage in this process, we will get locked in the box of our own thinking and not able to adapt to see the values of others. This requires all members of the team to not only understand their cultural bias’, but also understanding where the other person is coming from, their context. Paul brings this up in his discussion of meat offered to idols. We do not have the freedom to offend others in areas their culture has bound them.

Discussion Questions:

Discuss the differences between team members of their conclusions as to what is cultural vs. biblical.

Cultural Muscle-Memory

To function within any society or culture requires developing a certain cultural “muscle memory.” This means that without patterns of behaviour we do not need to consciously think about, we would have to expend lots of energy on basic repetitive tasks. This muscle memory works well when we are in our own culture, but once we are interacting with other cultures it can be an impediment to relationships. This happens as we make the assumption that others share our cultural scripts and norms when they do not.

But as we learn to take notice of other’s reactions to our behaviors we can take steps to change. Paying attention to context means that we have to engage in the mental reprogramming we looked at in a previous episode. It does not mean abandoning our own identity, but rather to be aware of differences and think differently in those areas that are neither moral/immoral, but just different.

Discussion Questions:

Are there areas that you have cultural “muscle memory” that cause friction in your interaction with others?

Have each team member share their personal values in contrast to their national cultural values. In what ways is there conflict or harmony? Discuss how this impacts the team.

Practical Steps

Okay what are some practical steps? First, we need to be aware of our own assumptions, ideas, and emotions that have been embedded by our cultural script and notice the other person and their assumptions, words, and behavior. This requires using all of our senses, not just listening to their words and then viewing the situation from a variety of perspectives. Understanding their context can help us to not wrongly interpret other’s behavior, not stereotyping people and putting them in boxes of our own making. Finally, this requires continually seeking out new information in order to confirm or discard our ideas of others and putting ourselves in the place of others. In our next session, we will take a deeper look into specific behaviors we can modify to make our teams function more cohesively.

Episode 1: Understanding Cultural Intelligence

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Description

In previous series we have discussed our Mentoring Intelligence – our skill set in developing others, as well as Emotional Intelligence – our social skill set in understanding and working with others. Yet to learn the skills to increase our CQ – or the ability to relate with those from varied cultures in teams is also crucial in accomplishing common goals. In this episode we will further define Cultural Intelligence and then how we can increase our own cultural quotient.

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Video Script

Episode 1 Intro: How is Your CQ?

Cultural Intelligence Components

Teams that fail to understand and take into consideration the embedded cultural values of its various members will struggle to fulfill their common objectives. The potential damage done in teams by leaders who do not develop their own cultural intelligence should also not be underestimated. As with EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and MQ (Mentoring Intelligence), CQ (Cultural Intelligence) is not something leaders are born with, but rather are skills and attitudes that they need to learn to develop.

A lack of CQ can be displayed in various attitudes and actions. Fundamentally, it is being unaware of our own cultural biases. For example, not being aware of how loud some cultures tend to be in public compared to other cultures. Northern Europeans tend to talk to each other in hushed tones in public. So when we lived in Berlin, we noticed our visitors would often stand out in public due to the volume with which they conversed with each other. Those with higher CQ recognized this but others had to constantly be “hushed.”

This is kind of a minor issue, but a lack of CQ is also displayed by a tendency to be threatened or uneasy when interacting with those from another culture. When we can’t explain the behavior of others we tend to impose our values on them. There is a tendency to want them to be “like us,” even though their actions are not based on the same values and motivations as ours. This leads us to being unable to transfer the knowledge we have from one culture to another culture by not recognizing how our own cultural values influence our behaviors. This is often more difficult as it occurs at a subconscious level.

Discussion Questions:

Are you aware of the cultural biases you may have and that your team members may have? How does mental programming impact this?

Cultural Intelligence means being able to understand other cultures by changing our own thinking and actions as we interact and respond to those of other cultures. We will see that this involves three components: 1) Learning fundamental intercultural principles, 2) Practicing the ability to perceive and interpret cultural cues and their meaning, and 3) Develop appropriate behaviors for differing cultural contexts.

So if this is so important then the obvious question becomes, “How can we increase our own cultural intelligence individually and then as a team?” Thomson and Inksom use three concentric circles to describe what makes up CQ. These are the three circles of Knowledge, Awareness, and Behavioural Skills. So let’s look at each of these.

Increasing our CQ – Gaining Knowledge

To be an effective member or leader of a multicultural team, the first step is to gain knowledge and learn to increase our own CQ. Culture can most simply be defined as the resultant behavior as people respond to their environment. As I have stated elsewhere, it is “just the way we do things around here.” It’s the unwritten rules that everyone in one culture know on a subconscious level. We typically are unaware that our own behaviors are embedded in our culture. It’s kind of like the fish who is unaware the he is surrounded by a culture of water, until he is put in another context like air. At that point he is truly a “fish out of water,” gasping for breath.

These strong bonds between people as they share the “ways they do things together,” are invisible ties or rules that are understood by everyone who shares that same culture. However, they often think that everyone else shares those same values and “culture.” But they can only hold to this belief as long as they stay within their own context or homogenous group. Once they become that “fish out of water” the reality of their uniqueness only becomes evident. In our current global context, there are fewer truly homogenous people groups. The migration of people for various reasons as well as expanded travel opportunities and all the various media platforms, means that we all deal with those from many cultures, even if we remain in our own country. This makes learning these skills important for all of us.

Geert Hofstede in his research, describes culture as “shared mental programs that condition individual’s responses to their environment.” He continues this idea by describing three different levels of mental programming within our Personhood: Our Personality, Culture, and Human Nature. In a three level pyramid, Human Nature is the bottom level, it’s the most fundamental. Then he places Culture on the next level up and Personality on the top. If it were an iceberg, Personality would be above the waterline and what we all see and each level below is at a deeper unseen level.

He describes each of these areas of Personhood like this. At the shallowest level, or the top of the iceberg, is our Personality. This is the specific makeup and experiences that makes an individual unique and is typically what others notice about us. This is both inherited and learned and is very specific to individuals. The next level of our personhood, is Culture. These are the common experiences shared with a particular group of people, which could be as large as a nation, or a subgroup within the culture, as with an organizational subculture (ie. Church). These are specific to groups, not just individuals. Now at the deepest level of our personhood is Human Nature. These are the common biological reactions that all humans share. They are universal and not learned and fundamental to what makes us human beings.

Increasing our cultural intelligence has to do with learning those common experiences of a group and how they may differs from our own common experiences. It assumes certain basic human qualities and experiences that all human beings share, as well as the unique expressions of personhood displayed through each person’s temperament or personality. This existence of subcultures with larger cultural groups, as well as individual personal differences, indicate the wide variation that there is between individuals within any larger ethnic group.

Discussion Questions:

Consider how your common experience differ from the group and how individuals differ within the group.

In addition to the common culture, what subcultures are your team members part of?

Characteristics of Culture

We have been looking at cultural dynamics and discovered that there are several key characteristics of culture. These are shared by a group. I introduced the concept of mental programming which helps to explain why a group has certain common traits that are not shared by others outside of the group. This mental programming is learned over a long period of time as people interact with their environment, including their family and other societal institutions which they are part of. These patterns are very resilient and one of the most difficult aspect of human connections to change. This programming is so strong that it is hard to break away from it, even after it is recognized. This is why adapting our behavior to other cultures is so difficult. Having said that, immigrant populations around the world prove that, through the process of acculturation, new mental programming (and resulting behaviors) can occur with effort.

Culture is also an organized system of values, attitudes, beliefs, and meanings that are related to each other. We usually just see the tip of the iceberg, certain actions or behaviors that are visible. But what we don’t necessarily see is the more complex system of values, ideas, and a worldview that particular behaviors are based upon or what they actually express. Often those in the culture – like the fish in water –don’t fully appreciate or recognize the values that their long standing behaviours are based on.

When I was in China, I asked them why they used chopsticks rather than the utensils most other cultures use. I know dumb question, right?! Nobody really knew, it was just the way they had always done things. They could not explain that it started sometime during the Shang Dynasty of 1200 BC. They did not know that Confucius advocated for chopsticks as he thought they were potentially less violent than knives, he of course had not seen any martial arts action movies yet! Chopsticks also seem suited to the types of food Chinese typically eat. They knew none of that, only that it was just the way they always did things, they were just “fish in water.”

This speaks to another characteristic of culture, namely it’s invisibility. While we see the expressions of culture, the technical term being “artifacts,” much of a culture’s underlying values and assumptions are under the surface and invisible. But they are still powerful in their ability to influence our behavior. However, the strength of these cultural ties are not equally strong among all people groups. Some cultures have a high degree of uniformity determined by the majority within that culture, while others are more diverse, with a more loose social culture or structure.

Discussion Questions:

What are some of the behaviors that you engage in that are just part of your culture? How do you think being aware of these can help you become less ethnocentric?

National Identity

It is important that we make a distinction between nationality (and I’ll often use the term, “passport country”) and our ethnic culture (or organizational subculture). While these influence each other, they are also distinct from one another. It is important to recognize that subgroups within a nation are influenced by both the majority culture, as well as by the overall ethnic culture of the nation.

While globalization is a reality, it is clear that it is not producing one homogeneous global culture that some a generation ago thought that it would. Some thought that the “McDonaldization” of the world would eventually lead to one culture. While many culture have been influenced by what some have called the Americanization of the world, one does not need to dig too deep to realize that a few Starbucks or Fast Food Chains in a country is not enough to change the basic values that the local culture is based upon, usually going back hundreds or thousands of years.

So while in some sense all cultures are modernizing, they are doing so in unique ways. Convergence of cultures only seems to be happening superficially and not at the values and assumptions level, which is much deeper and resilient. So it is not really possible (or even desirable) to export culture. The study of cultural intelligence and the ramifications it has on leading multicultural teams is crucial. Another reality is that the pace of change in cultures is very slow, as cultural exerts tremendous pressure for conformity on those in the culture. So, everyone can breathe a collective sigh of relief, as it is unlikely that the complete westernization of cultures will be happening any time soon!

Discussion Questions:

What did you learn about the dynamics of culture and teams that you were not previous aware of?

How has your culture been influenced by outside forces, or cultures, and how does this impact your team?

It is precisely this rich cultural diversity that can serve to enrich humanity with different ways of doing things which ultimately provides great resiliency for humanity. I realize that in this episode we have been looking at some pretty big, macro and global ideas. But these influence each of us on our multicultural teams as they are a microcosm where these same dynamics play out. Learning to be part of a multicultural teams will serve to provide the Church with greater resiliency and strength as it responds to Jesus’ mandate to “go and make disciples of ‘all peoples’”.

So next time we are going to consider more specifically how we can increase our cultural awareness and then learn to adapt our behavior at a team level. I hope you’ll be able to join me for that.

Episode: Series Intro

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Description

Welcome to my podcast series, Multi-Cultural Teams. In this series we want to discuss some of the dynamics and components of an effective multi-cultural team. How do we accomplish our goals in the face of what is often complicated and competing cultural values by members on our team? While this used to be something only a few who lived and worked in foreign countries had to deal with, today the reality of culturally diverse teams affects most of us in one way or the other.

If you find the content of this episode useful, it would really help us reach more people if you click the Like and Subscribe for this episode on Youtube.

Check out our full list of Multi-Cultural Teams Podcasts

To view all of our series, visit our LEADERSHIPmatters Podcast page.

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Video Script

Episode Series Intro: Welcome and Intro

Personal Background

I experienced this for the first time, when I spend two weeks in Mexico on a short term missions trip at the ripe age of 18 in 1980. In the following decade I did some schooling, got married and we started our family and we eventually moved and lived in Kenya, East Africa in 1990. A decade later, in 2000, we moved to Berlin, Germany, serving church leaders in Eastern Europe as well as throughout Russia and Ukraine. So, though I don’t necessarily consider myself a cultural expert, I have learned a few things over the years as I have had the opportunity to work with teams from Asia, to Africa, as well as many countries in Eurasia. Over the last twenty years I have also been able to teach teams in Cuba and other countries in Latin American and the Caribbean.

Currently I am engaged with an international team of Ministry coaches that is represented on every continent. So working with other cultures within a teaching and team setting is something I have had the privilege to do for over the last forty-five years, since those early days a teenager in Mexico. I count it one of my greatest blessings in life to be able to connect with so many quality people around the world. So in this series I will draw on my experiences and hopefully provide you with some insights as you are a member or lead a multi-cultural team.

As Christians, the very nature of our mandate, to take the Gospel from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) means that we by nature and design will be in contact with many cultures and people groups. However, like the early disciples, we tend to be ethnocentric, thinking our culture is the best, which is counterproductive to fulfilling the basic mandate of the Great Commission, to make disciples of all people.

Global Realities

Over the last decades, multinational companies have increasingly become aware that the greatest indicator of the success of their leaders and employees in our global world is in large measure to their ability to survive and thrive in another cultural context. For those of us engaged in the world of global missions this is no surprise. We have been doing this for decades. In the 20^th Century “global missions” typically involved sending someone on a plane to another country. They then needed to learn to adapt to another country and culture in order to be successful in fulfilling the Great Commission. However in the 21^st Century working with those from varied cultures does not necessarily happen in some distant corner of the world, but in our own backyard.

Perhaps as in no other time in history, we have become more connected from one end of the globe to the other. This has occurred as a result of conflicts, migration and greater ease of travel, not to mention how communication through the internet and social media have shrunken the world. Regardless from where you are listening or watching this, I am sure you recognize that you have been impacted by these global realities. These realities influence us, regardless if we like or dislike the ramifications. As every generation, we have to function in the world we have, not the one we wish we had.

The common road system, common language and currency in the ancient Roman world were the very realities that helped to propel the Gospel forward in the first century. I would suggest that we can use our unique 21^st Century realities in a similar way in order to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation. But if we are going to be effective in fulfilling Matt. 28:19-20 – you know, go and make disciples of all nations – we will have to adapt to these new realities and develop new skill sets. The specific skill set we will focus on this series is our “Cultural Intelligence” or our Cultural Quotient. In other series I have discussed Mentoring Intelligence – our skill set in developing others, as well as Emotional Intelligence – our social skill set in understanding and working with others.

Cultural Intelligence Defined

Here we want to look at Cultural Intelligence – the ability to adapt and adjust within cultures that are foreign to us. Ministry is a team sport and so this is directly applicable in the teams that we are part of, regardless if we are in our own country or a foreign country. It is true that we all share certain common characteristics as humans, but the culture in which we grew up has had a profound impact on our values and who we are. As leaders and team members we will have to learn to increase our CQ if we are going to be effective over the long haul.

An Overview

The episodes are based on the teaching materials I developed several years ago. If you would like to download these materials you can follow the link in the description box below. First off, let me state the obvious, no one culture has a monopoly on being ethnocentric. While it is low hanging fruit to point out the mistakes and excesses of those from western cultures as they engage around the world, we are not the only offenders. Being ethnocentric seems to be a human condition, not based upon our geography. I have discovered that as those from other nations engage around the world they too have the capacity to make the same mistakes we westerners have been making for quite some time. No one culture has a monopoly on thinking they are the best.

The materials are divided into Five Chapters. We will begin our study by defining the basics of what Cultural Intelligence is and how we need to gain knowledge, increase our awareness and change our behavior on an individual level. We will also then look at some the challenges to CQ which relate to ways we communicate, our leadership style, decision making and what the leader’s role is in all of that. Then we will discuss various factors that we have to consider on a multi-cultural team from language, trust, conflict resolution, leadership, money, and varying gender roles. So while these are all issues we deal with on any team that we are part of, we want to specifically look at these through the lens of the various cultures that make up our team.

In the last two chapters we will then conclude by discussing ways that individuals on the team need to adjust as well as how the team as a whole needs to learn to adjust so that they can accomplish our goals rather than spending most of these time frustrated and fighting internal battles. In the final chapter we will then specifically look at the leadership challenges that arise when leading a multi-cultural team. I will help you recognize some of the dynamics that occur as you lead multi-ethnic and multi-cultural teams and how to navigate these effectively.

Free Resources

I have also provided a few free resources from the workshop. To download them just click on the link in the description box. There is a Stress Test based on the Holmes and Rahe Scale, as well as a list of Application Questions adapted from Roembke which you may find helpful. There is also a tool to help in assessing the cultural values of each member of the team. I have created this from Marvin Mayers work in “Christianity Confronts Culture.” It evaluates contrasting values such as “Collaborative vs. Decisive,” “Time-Orientated vs. Event Orientated,” “Goal Conscious vs. Interaction-Conscious,” and so on. I think you’ll find them helpful.

So, I hope you enjoy our time together, however you consume your podcasts. It is definitely an exciting time to be alive and engaged in our world. While in many ways, travel and exposure has shrunken the world in terms of access, it would be a mistake to not fully appreciate the differences in core values that we each bring to a team. While there are many ways to look at this, in this series we want to focus on the lens of culture and how our cultural quotient will impact our effectiveness as a team member and a team leader.

I am looking forward to going on this learning journey with you and hope that my experience – which includes may fair share of mistakes, will help you as a member and leader of a multi-cultural team! As we begin here are a few application questions to consider.

Discussion Questions:

How has your leadership been personally affected by globalization and a shrinking world?

What preparation have you already made in learning to be a part of, or leading, a multicultural team?