In our training sessions, we regularly receive this type of question from participants: “Why is my Russian colleague always so negative? Is it something I did wrong?” asks Tom from London. Our answer is: “On the contrary Tom, your Russian colleague trusts you enough to share his concerns with you. Actually he is trying to be friends and bond with you.”

Bonding by complaining

In Western Russia, many Eastern European cultures and various cultures in Southern Europe and Latin America, people try to bond with others by complaining. Complaints about the boss or about tasks to be performed or simply about the food, places people ‘together’ in a common situation in which they can relate to each other - bonding with the suffering majority. These complaints are usually expressed with emotion. However, it is passive and is not followed by an action to change the situation that is complained about. An outsider will get the impression that something terrible has happened and that the complainer is deeply unhappy. This however is not the case. There are many reasons for such behavior depending on the context. Some of the underlying reasons may be uncertainty, risk avoidance, xenophobia, fatalism and the feeling of not being in charge as well as being unable to create or accept change.

Seeking appraisal by complaining

Another reason people complain is to seek appraisal. The complainer feels that they have to show and communicate how problematic life or a task is in order to be taken seriously by his boss, colleagues and others. In this case the complainer seeks admiration, respect and compliments for his skills and the effort put into the task.

The mirror

For those coming from a mindset where one bonds by communicating something positive like “isn’t this interesting” or “let us make this work” complaining is seen as negative. For these people, someone who frequently complains at work is seen as being inadequate for the job. Frequent complaining in a social setting is seen as whining and complainers are not taken seriously. In this case, ‘frequent’ means complaining several times a day. Complainers are seen as negative and dissatisfied people whom no one likes to work or socialize with. In case one does complain he is expected to take action to change the situation he complains about. When we look at the American corporate language, we see that the word ‘problem’ has a negative connotation. Therefore, Americans substituted the negative word ‘problem’ by the word ‘challenge’ which has a positive connotation. The word ‘problem’ implies a negative situation, while the word ‘challenge’ has a ‘yes we can change it’ positive type of energy and action in it.

Ideas for creating a positive attitude for everyone

If you have members in your multicultural team who complain to bond or seek appraisal and like to try to create a more positive attitude try the following;

• Explain how you experience complaining.

• Discuss the different interpretations of complaining in various cultures.

• Show how stimulating it can be to have a positive approach towards work.

• Try to provide insight into how complaining influences the energy of the team members from other cultures.

• Together make two lists. One of what is the benefit of complaining for each person present and one of what is the benefit of a positive approach for each person present (energy, pain, admiration) and which of those benefits serve the project or task best.

• Create together a code of communication.

• Make a list of desired behaviors during meetings or ground rules for the team or the office. Post them on the wall as an aid in guiding conversation towards positivity and constructive action oriented communication.

© Eleonore Breukel

www.intercultural.nl

Misunderstandings, irritations, feelings of exclusion and a sense of inferiority, are daily challenges for non-native English speakers trying to communicate in the language of global business. What exactly happens and how can global organizations help employees become more effective in this intercultural language and its various communication styles?

Vast amounts of skill, expertise and knowledge remains hidden in organizations because of language and cultural barriers. Native Spanish, German, Dutch, Turkish, Chinese or Bahasa Indonesia speakers all make a daily effort to understand, speak and write English. Native English speakers try to understand the many variants of non-native speakers.

Together we try to get used to each other’s accents and accept the language mistakes inevitably made. We try to figure out what a good translation would be for a particular expression and how the words are to be interpreted and valued in our own language. We get lost in translation.

On many occasions the native English speakers form the majority at international meetings. They patiently watch how non-native speakers demolish their native language and still praise them on their command of English. Are native English speakers aware of the difficulties non-native speakers face and how this affects their feelings and the dynamics of a discussion or debate?

International presentations and discussions

During presentations at business meetings non-native speakers usually take more time to make their point. Their presentations may not be smooth and exiting since they’re often searching for the right words to use. Words with impact, words that sell their new project to the management. Searching for words causes many ‘umm’s in the speaker’s presentation, which distracts the listener.

Non-native English speakers may have a lot of expertise on a particular subject but may decide not to take part in discussions on it, as their English vocabulary is too limited for a fast intellectual debate. Or they try to memorize the English words the native English speakers use during the discussion, to be able to reproduce those words when it is their turn to speak. In the meantime they loose track of the thread of the discussion or debate.

This has a psychological effect on the non-native as well as native English speakers present in the meeting room. The non-native English speaker often feels inferior and excluded, while the native English speaker wonders if he is capable enough for the job.

What can both native- and non-native English speakers do?

• Observe if people frown or squeeze their eyes. This is often body language for not understanding a speaker.

• Ask once, twice or even three times if you do not understand.

• Ask questions frequently in order to know if that what is discussed is also understood.

• Summarize often or ask others to summarize for you.

• Invite a non-native English speaker to participate in the discussion and reassure him that if the language is a problem you will help.

• Native English speakers avoid proverbs, expressions, metaphors, slang, jargon and abbreviations.

• Non-native English speaker avoid translating proverbs, metaphors or jokes from your own language into the English language.

The internet

On the internet there are no facial expressions, gestures, or other non-verbal cues, which makes communication even more complicated. During a serious written virtual discussion, the non-native English speaker will want to check his English for mistakes. After all he does not want to lose face in front of three – or maybe 30,000 – people who might read his text.

As with verbal discussion, the thinking process is delayed by the search for words and the attempt to memorize words used by previous writers. Consequently, native English speaking people tend to dominate on the internet in the same way they might in meeting rooms.

What can you do?

• If you are a non-native English speaker and you think you have something valuable to say, say it and try to explain and describe what you mean.

• Use translation resources such as translate google or freetranslation.com

It is far from perfect, but it helps.

• Both native and non-native English speakers ask questions if you do not understand.

Cultural interpretations

As if translations weren’t complicated enough, a single word can have different cultural interpretations. The word and concept ‘contract’ requires different actions in various cultures. In U.S. English it does not have the same substantive meaning as the same word in Guiana, also an English-speaking country. In Japanese, it carries a different meaning as well.

Likewise the word ‘assertiveness’ varies according to the cultural values of the respective countries. In the Netherlands this carries a very positive connotation, while the same concept in Vietnam is highly negative.

What can you do?

• Make sure that you have thoroughly discussed the cultural interpretation of words before you start any collaboration or sign a contract.

Communication styles

Even if English is the global language of business, cultures maintain their own style of communicating. This frequently causes serious misunderstandings and irritations especially as we have no insight into our own communication style and the affect this has on people with a different cultural background.

Some may be offended by the directness of a foreign colleague while others find indirectness a cause for suspicion. There are cultures where people need many words to express themselves, such as in Italy or in India, while in other cultures people limit themselves to the minimum number of words possible, such as the Danish or the Dutch.

What can you do?

• Observe discussion programs on foreign television stations and look at the verbal and non-verbal communication style. Don’t worry if you understand the language or not.

• Watch foreign movies. Pay attention to those produced and directed by the countries you work with. Movies make it possible to ‘participate’ in the culture while you watch. They inform you about how people live and communicate.

• For those who are naturally direct, consider what impact your words may have before you speak.

• For those needing many words to express themselves, try not deviate from the main subject and save details for later.

Best results

The best results are achieved when people from different cultural backgrounds – both native- and non-native English speakers – look for solutions together with the condition that everyone is understood and feels included.

© Eleonore Breukel

www.intercultural.nl

International Women’s Day Webcast

16 March 2009

The March 6, 2009 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International Women’s Day (IWD) Webcast was a great success, and the recording of the event is now available at
http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid=108843&cid=250949,00.html?wt.mc_id=IWD.
More than 630 callers from 23 countries attended the Webcast, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Jim Wall opened the program. Ellen Galinsky, co-founder and president, Families and Work Institute, moderated, and the virtual panel included some very notable global business leaders:

• Sharon Allen, chairman of the board, Deloitte LLP, and member of the board of directors of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
• Hutham S. Olayan, president and CEO, Olayan America Corporation, and director, The Olayan Group
• Mirella Visser, president of the European Professional Women’s Network, and CEO, Center for Inclusive Leadership
• Kaori Sasaki, president and CEO, eWoman Inc. and president, UNICUL International Inc.

Deloitte’s goal was to host an event that spoke to the business case for supporting the advancement and retention of women—even in a down economy. The 60-minute market-driven panel discussion explored:

• How current economics are both a challenge and opportunity for women and organizations
• How the workplace has changed and is changing for women around the world
• Best practices around gender diversity programs

The recording of the DTT IWD Webcast is now available online, free to the public. More information is available at http://www.deloitte.com/iwd. You can log on, register, and listen, or you can share the link with your colleagues and networks. There’s an invitation to access the recording attached to this email.

If you attended the DTT IWD Webcast, thank you for being part of the program. If you were unable to attend, I’m sorry we missed you. I hope you enjoy and make good use of the recorded Webcast. It offers a great opportunity to build awareness of women’s workplace issues and build Deloitte’s eminence as a thought and market-leader on Diversity.

Sincerely,

James H. Wall
Global Managing Director, Talent
Chief Diversity Officer
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu