Developing Cross Cultural Skills and Habits

Most of us have crafted methods for interacting with our world that define who we are and who we want to be. Habits enable us to conserve energy, make choices about where we invest our resources and spend our time, even limit the bandwidth of freedom and free fall that are a natural part of life. Habits, too, can limit us as people, managers, and leaders; our thoughts and deeds become so habituated that we no longer actually see what is in front of us, feel what is going on, or honestly reflect on our own and others’ words and actions.

There are successful habits we can all learn in order to develop new cross cultural skills and cultivate a cross cultural mind-set. This, in turn, will enable us to better relate in cross cultural relationships and environments. The ability to function in a state of ambiguity is very helpful because the manifestations of different cultures can seem strange to us, and its rules mysterious or contradictory. To function effectively across cultural differences, it is important to keep an open mind while observing and experiencing different ways of living. Strive to accept, and even celebrate, differences.

A firm grounding in your own culture — without acquiring a feeling of superiority — provides the necessary confidence to venture into understanding another culture. Having humility makes you more approachable, while at the same time enabling you to refrain from quickly judging others — instead, you can learn from them. Arrogance is the enemy of learning. Having empathy, and the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others, can be very helpful in bridging the cultural gap between people. Empathy comes from having interest in people, and not merely in material things or pure concepts.

Curiosity about other people will help you see them as separate people, and see them for who they really are as opposed to your own preconceptions — as reflections of yourself. Creativity helps you think outside the box so you can both appreciate the new ways you’re seeing into the other culture and come up with new ways to adapt to and effectively deal with it. The desire and ability to communicate are crucial to functioning effectively across cultural differences.