Cultural Agility is Critical for Global Leaders
2016-04-11 Abdi Jama
Have you ever asked yourself, why some companies succeed in international markets while some others with similar products and services stumble?
Many leaders think that as the world has become a global village, business teams will understand and communicate effortlessly in different cultures. These leaders then continue staying in their autopilot leadership mode in a new culture.
True, geographical borders are gradually becoming irrelevant, but cultural differences remain very real and they often obstruct business success and effective leadership in new markets. We could say that globalisation has helped up to this level in cross-cultural integration, but also created wrong beliefs for many leaders that they know everything about other cultures already. Cultures are like onions, with many layers on top of one other - and when it comes to business, many are starting to realise that cultural agility competence is a major requirement for their leaders to succeed in new international markets.
“More than ever before, organizations need a pipeline of professionals who possess cultural agility, the ability to quickly, comfortably, and successfully work in cross-cultural and international environments. As the competition for culturally agile talent grows, meeting this critical human resource challenge requires highly effective, cutting-edge talent management practices.” - Says Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D, in her book, Cultural Agility.
Therefore, for any company to succeed in today''''s global economy calls for the development of professionals who can operate effectively around the globe, irrespective of country or culture.
In Pertec Consulting we have developed the Four Worlds model of Culture in which cultures are divided into four types: pragmatic, holistic, humanistic and rational. However, you will never find any one culture that is purely of one type. Thus, an effective way of leading in the current digital economy might be to equip yourself with all of them - knowing the proportion or emphasis of utilisation of a particular type as the situation and context dictates. This requires agility and adaptability so that one could capture the unspoken norms and cues in a culture, and shift personal responses spontaneously and accordingly. This requires putting in place a culturally agile business development process, that supports both individuals and teams in international markets.
Apart from a formal process, I found the following three tips amazingly relevant in developing strong and sustainable international business relationships - and believe that, leaders could achieve a lot by turning these tips into regular habits.
Be discovered authentically
In any relationship, first steps of engagements are critical and in business even more critical as people are inclined at this stage for evaluating and judging each other. It’s a complex phase that combines personality, culture and business discoveries. Business people representing companies and proposing solutions are judged vigorously at all levels in this phase. So it’s vital to be aware of this and prepare yourself to make an impactful and authentic first impression.
Position your company’s solutions effectively
Once the discovery phase is successful, presenting your company’s products and services well and positioning your company’s solutions in the minds of the customer requires cultural agility and intelligent sales competence. Many leaders think that their best-of-breed products sell themselves. But remember, everybody has the best-of-breed products these days. If this stage is carefully and professionally managed, it could be a major advantage for company’s market entry.
Co-creating solutions with your customer builds trust
At this level of engagement, solution providers and their clients could become a community of co-creators – succeeding and celebrating together cheerfully. Many companies understand the importance of managing international accounts well and deepening relations meaningfully. At this stage, the two partners’ teams understand, trust each other and exchange ideas easily. More often than not, many global innovations happen at this stage, because innovations happen when solution providers and their clients co-create and collaborate effectively.
In conclusion, companies that exercise cultural agility, will gain a substantial competitive advantage in this culturally different but global village.
Have you ever asked yourself, why some companies succeed in international markets while some others with similar products and services stumble?
Many leaders think that as the world has become a global village, business teams will understand and communicate effortlessly in different cultures. These leaders then continue staying in their autopilot leadership mode in a new culture.
True, geographical borders are gradually becoming irrelevant, but cultural differences remain very real and they often obstruct business success and effective leadership in new markets. We could say that globalisation has helped up to this level in cross-cultural integration, but also created wrong beliefs for many leaders that they know everything about other cultures already. Cultures are like onions, with many layers on top of one other - and when it comes to business, many are starting to realise that cultural agility competence is a major requirement for their leaders to succeed in new international markets.
“More than ever before, organizations need a pipeline of professionals who possess cultural agility, the ability to quickly, comfortably, and successfully work in cross-cultural and international environments. As the competition for culturally agile talent grows, meeting this critical human resource challenge requires highly effective, cutting-edge talent management practices.” - Says Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D, in her book, Cultural Agility.
Therefore, for any company to succeed in today''''s global economy calls for the development of professionals who can operate effectively around the globe, irrespective of country or culture.
In Pertec Consulting we have developed the Four Worlds model of Culture in which cultures are divided into four types: pragmatic, holistic, humanistic and rational. However, you will never find any one culture that is purely of one type. Thus, an effective way of leading in the current digital economy might be to equip yourself with all of them - knowing the proportion or emphasis of utilisation of a particular type as the situation and context dictates. This requires agility and adaptability so that one could capture the unspoken norms and cues in a culture, and shift personal responses spontaneously and accordingly. This requires putting in place a culturally agile business development process, that supports both individuals and teams in international markets.
Apart from a formal process, I found the following three tips amazingly relevant in developing strong and sustainable international business relationships - and believe that, leaders could achieve a lot by turning these tips into regular habits.
Be discovered authentically
In any relationship, first steps of engagements are critical and in business even more critical as people are inclined at this stage for evaluating and judging each other. It’s a complex phase that combines personality, culture and business discoveries. Business people representing companies and proposing solutions are judged vigorously at all levels in this phase. So it’s vital to be aware of this and prepare yourself to make an impactful and authentic first impression.
Position your company’s solutions effectively
Once the discovery phase is successful, presenting your company’s products and services well and positioning your company’s solutions in the minds of the customer requires cultural agility and intelligent sales competence. Many leaders think that their best-of-breed products sell themselves. But remember, everybody has the best-of-breed products these days. If this stage is carefully and professionally managed, it could be a major advantage for company’s market entry.
Co-creating solutions with your customer builds trust
At this level of engagement, solution providers and their clients could become a community of co-creators – succeeding and celebrating together cheerfully. Many companies understand the importance of managing international accounts well and deepening relations meaningfully. At this stage, the two partners’ teams understand, trust each other and exchange ideas easily. More often than not, many global innovations happen at this stage, because innovations happen when solution providers and their clients co-create and collaborate effectively.
In conclusion, companies that exercise cultural agility, will gain a substantial competitive advantage in this culturally different but global village.
