By Terence Brake, Head, Learning & Innovation, TMA World
Several years ago, my colleagues and I were asked to help virtual teams operating in a merger between French and Japanese companies. Relationships between the French and Japanese team members were sour, and the productivity outlook was increasingly bleak. Not surprisingly, we were asked to come in and help the teams understand and work with their cultural differences. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t an unreasonable request.
After meetings in Paris and Tokyo, I became skeptical about the wisdom of “teaching” the teams about their national cultural differences—an Englishman living in America trying to explain French and Japanese cultures to the French and the Japanese! It felt like a disaster waiting to happen given the hostility between the parties involved, and my own cowardice.
After one meeting, I persuaded the client to let me talk with some of the team leaders directly. I needed to explore in and around the perceived problem to see if I could better understand the root causes. The early calls I made reinforced the view that cultural differences were to blame. Communication was difficult not just because of language, but also style. The French liked to argue with themselves in meetings, while the Japanese came to meetings with a consensual view. To the Japanese, the French appeared undisciplined and disrespectful. Most of the Japanese in meetings would be silent except for a designated spokesperson. This annoyed the French and caused them to perceive the Japanese as uncooperative. “They won’t share information with us,” was a typical complaint.
Multiple, Contradictory Layers
So far, national cultures could explain the difficulties, but then an observation such as the following from a French manager would arise: “We can’t get them to think long term; all they care about is short-term results.” This didn’t fit with any national Japanese culture characteristic from the research or my experience. With a little more digging, it became clear that short-termism was a feature of the organizational culture in this particular Japanese company, not of Japanese culture per se. Here was another wrinkle in the national cultural differences paradigm. There were multiple and sometimes contradictory layers of culture within and between both groups—national, organizational, business, functional, and so on. How was I to talk about culture in the teams without adding mind-numbing complexity and confusion, and possibly, more hostility?
Part of the problem was that both the client and I were thinking in terms of taking a direct approach to teaching about cultural differences. There had to be an indirect approach that could be more productive and less life-threatening.
In the early sessions with the teams, I focused on relationship-building through fun exercises, open discussions, and simple joint strategy development. It was during these first sessions that I came to realize I was only putting a band-aid on their problem. Culture was a challenge, but the bigger challenge was collaboration. The teams had no common collaboration framework on which to hang their work together. When things went wrong—as they often did—they would blame individuals or culture or both.
Strategies for Success
Two strategies were an enormous help in creating a way forward:
- First, build a framework that could provide a shared collaboration reference point.
- Second, don’t focus on cultural differences but instead on culture-building.
What emerged from the first strategy was the Six Cs of Collaboration (you can find out more about the Six Cs in my “instructional soap opera,” “Where in the World Is My Team?” Wiley, 2009):
- Cooperation: Our ability to develop and maintain productive relationships across distances/borders
- Convergence: Our ability to stay on the same track to achieve our shared purpose
- Coordination: Our ability to create and maintain smooth processes for managing our work together
- Capability: Our ability to make the best use of all knowledge and expertise on the team
- Communication: Our ability to create shared understandings across the team
- Cultural Intelligence: Our ability to be culturally adaptable and inclusive
Once the framework was built, the second strategy became primary—culture-building. This entailed French and Japanese team members working together in small groups to draft shared operating agreements based on the Six Cs. They asked themselves questions such as:
- How will we all stay on track? (Convergence)
- How will we make sure we understand each other? (Communication)
- How will we share knowledge effectively? (Capability)
Draft agreements were shared and refined with the whole team. Notice the emphasis on “we” because these agreements were not rooted in “your” culture or “my” culture, but formed the foundation for “our” team culture. Agreements didn’t have to be created for every activity on their teams, but at least for those that had a significant impact on their efficiency and effectiveness. Working group membership would change during the day so all members got a chance to work face-to-face with everyone.
When cultural differences did emerge in the working groups they were used as learning resources for the plenary sessions. Periodically, following the workshop, the team met virtually to assess how well they were keeping to the agreements within each “C,” and to refocus/re-strategize as they needed.
Using a High, Moderate, and Low rating system, how would you rate your team(s) on the Six Cs?
It would be great to hear your thoughts; please contact me at tbrake@tmaworld.com.
Terence Brake is the head of Learning & Innovation, TMA World (http://www.tmaworld.com/training-solutions/), which provides blended learning solutions for developing talent with borderless working capabilities. Brake specializes in the globalization process and organizational design, cross-cultural management, global leadership, transnational teamwork, and the borderless workplace. He has designed, developed, and delivered training programmes for numerous Fortune 500 clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Brake is the author of six books on international management, including “Where in the World Is My Team?” (Wiley, 2009) and e-book “TheBorderless Workplace.”
