The following strategies can help you avoid jumping to conclusions when working with people of other cultures:

• Before taking action or letting emotions get the better of you, consider several different interpretations of the behavior/situation in question.
• Don’t assume that other people think/behave the way you do. ? Accept the possibility that whatever occurred could be an anomaly caused by any number of circumstances (e.g., someone having a bad day or dealing with personal issues).
• Be aware of your personal biases (increase your self-awareness).
• Treat people as individuals and not as generalized stereotypes. Refrain from seeing things at the extremes since there are many shades of gray.
• Remain positive. Don’t always assume the worst/negative outcome.
• Avoid making comments such as, “You don’t understand” or “What’s your problem?” since they may cause the other party to respond defensively.
• When communicating with others, use descriptive and non-evaluative language.
• Be mindful of terms people use to explain themselves and the world around them, as certain terms have different meanings across cultures.

For more information, check the 2nd Edition of my Communicating Through a Global Lens booklet.

Yael Zofi

1. Describe – “Nat joins the call late every Monday.”
2. Interpret – “Nat doesn’t care about the job.”
3. Evaluate – “I’ll give Nat the less desirable projects.”

 
Now think about the three-step evaluation approach with one additional step:

1. Describe – “Nat joins the call late every Monday.”

 
Before you make an assumptions, consider several reasons for his behavior.  For example:

• He has familial obligations every Monday morning.
• His start-of-week meeting with his boss always runs late because his boss wants to discuss a report that never arrives on time, thereby putting him behind schedule.
• He oversleeps after the weekend.
• He doesn’t care about the job.

Once you’ve formulated several hypotheses for Nat’s behavior, you are ready to make your interpretation:

2.  Interpret – “Nat’s tardiness could be due to a factor which may be out of his control.”

3.  Evaluate – “I will talk to Nat about his tardiness and learn more about why it’s happening.”

This ‘consider several options’ step is the one that many people skip, leading them to erroneous, and often biased, conclusions.
 

This might be argued given the recent controversy when Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer called all virtual workers back to the office. Shortly after her announcement, New York Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd called it a “fem-quake” while Virgin CEO Richard Branson deemed it “a backwards step.” A “symptom of problems,” is how The Economist put it.
 

Whatever your opinion or company direction may be, don’t forget that there are several tips that can guide you to be more successful and overcome those distractions – a barking dog, a crying baby, and a ubiquitous refrigerator.
 

Yael Zofi, author of A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams, was the featured guest on Ora Shtull’s Need a lock for your refrigerator? video blog (also known as vlog) and offers tips on maximizing our virtual workday. Ora and Yael discussed the biggest challenges for those who work virtually, many who have never met their teammates and use technology as a means to communicate. Yael offered guidance on how to diminish problems while amplifying the benefits of working virtually.
 

Question:How to keep productivity levels high while minimizing the distractions around you?

Yael shared tidbits on getting ready for work as if you were leaving the house, putting on work attire, creating a separate work area, and dedicating time for setting goals/agenda. And, Zofi suggests, don’t forget to take breaks throughout the day!

Question: How do you maintain relationships with people you do not see?
 
At their core, people like to connect, Zofi asserts. So spend time before or after virtual meetings to get to know each other, look for commonalities that you share. Food is a great example of what brings people together. No matter the culture, people always enjoy food!
 
Question: What things does a team need to think about when using technology?
 
When it comes to technology, your virtual team needs to examine their common denominator. Yael explains that if one region/area has sophisticated technology available while another location/person only has phone capabilities, the common denominator for that team is a phone. Why? Because it gives all team members equal opportunity to interact. Technology is a useful medium to engage team members, so make sure you find your common denominator.
 

Need a lock for your refrigerator? gave useful, simple and thoughtful tidbits that anyone working virtually can apply. Yael covers each section more in depth in her book A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams.
 

Trudy Ann Channer
OD Consultant

Managing Virtual Teams

Monday, April 22, 2013 | 3:15pm-4:15pm,

Times Square, New York City

An increasingly digital workplace has more leaders managing teams spread around the world. This evolution in management structure requires new skills to produce the best performance from the members of your team. Our own AIM CEO and virtual team expert, Yael Zofi,  will help the audience identify the strategies needed to build and coach virtual teams that work collaboratively and communicate effectively during a keynote address in Times Square on Monday, April 22nd.

Yael is a featured speaker at the upcoming ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives) Global Education Conference. Her keynote address will address professionals that  range from global travel executives as members from the airline and hotel industries.

During her session on Managing Virtual Teams, Yael will provide highlights about the virtual team trends we can expect in the next 3-5 years. She will explore the four human connection elements necessary for effective collaboration and close with the 8 characteristics of high performing virtual teams.

Following this presentation, Yael will be available for book signing and  Q&A.

Join us if you can. For more information see schedule snapshot or contact info@aim-strategies.com.

Trudy Ann Channer
OD Consultant

Look at these situations, some of which you may have experienced firsthand. The proposed solutions are taken from various client sessions where we brainstormed how best to respond to the issues stated below.
 

Yael Zofi

Effective cross-cultural communication can be difficult if you have trouble showing respect for another’s differences.  A low score here does not mean that you don’t respect others; it means that your behavior may not show it.  Just as you want to be respected for different characteristics that you may bring to a group, others do as well.  With the right attitude (as the cliché says, attitude is everything), you can encourage your team members to think of their differences as the spice that lends interest to your Pepper Pot Soup

Strategy #4  R E S P E C T: RESPECT DIFFERENCES

PART 1

While different cultures vary in how they show respect, following these general guidelines should lead to positive results:

• Make it your business to learn at least one fact about every member’s culture.
• Acknowledge cultural differences and remind team members to respect them, as they want to be respected in turn.
• Make it a point to create common ground among team members where they share similarities, especially around work goals.
• Be professional; even those with a less than perfect understanding of English will be able to detect curtness or indifference in your tone.  Therefore, make it a point to assume a clear and welcoming tone when you communicate by phone.
• Be punctual when meeting someone new from an unfamiliar culture.
• Do not over generalize or attribute characteristics of a given culture to individuals – in other words refrain from stereotyping, even when others around you do.
• Use optimistic, positive terms in your written or oral communication.
• Find every opportunity to acknowledge others.
• Demonstrate flexibility. Be open to discussing other options. If you find that you and the person with whom you are speaking want different things, try to find a middle ground and compromise. Being rigid and too tied to your way of doing things could set back your progress.
• No one expects you to master a slew of foreign languages; however using the phrases ‘please’ and ‘thank you’; in the individual’s native tongue is appreciated.
• Watch or read the news from your team members’ countries of origin. Discuss cultural topics to better understand different viewpoints (perhaps it’s best to avoid political issues).
• Become aware of the traditional festivals of your virtual team members’ countries. They may genuinely appreciate a greeting via email or IM on that day.
• Respect different time zones when scheduling virtual meetings. Work towards sharing this responsibility so that everyone’s availability and time preferences are honored equally.
• Use social networks to learn more about your virtual co-workers. You will often find common interests that can become topics of conversation.
• Develop an action plan to improve your own skills.

Next week’s post will provide suggestions for practicing active communication in the virtual environment and will bring 5 steps to manage differences.

Yael Zofi

Awareness of culturally derived differences in behavior and communication is step one in decreasing ambiguity.  If you score low on this category from the Cultural Strategy Checklist on pages 64-65 of Communicating Through a Global Lens, How to Broaden Your Perspective in a Cross Cultural World, 2nd Ed, know that the ability to avoid ambiguity is directly tied to active listening skills. Avoiding or tolerating ambiguity doesn’t necessarily mean that you deliberately avoid these types of situations. It is the ability to react to new, different and potentially unpredictable situations with little visible distress. The goal is to avoid the uneasiness that could lead to frustration, which hinders your ability to communicate. Having prior knowledge about team members’ cultures can also help reduce ambiguity. The greater your knowledge about another culture the less ambiguous it becomes, and when someone behaves accordingly you won’t be surprised and uncertain.

These suggestions can help build a virtual environment that avoids ambiguity.

• Create a safe, friendly environment that encourages participation.
• Share information about team members’ cultural backgrounds.
• Be careful with humor. It can be easily misunderstood, or even considered offensive, in many cultures. In most cases, it is best to just avoid making jokes.
• Recognize your own assumptions and pre-judgments, which may be clouded by cultural backgrounds, past experiences and subconscious bias.
• Encourage participation in conference calls so that questions are brought up.
• Build in feedback loops to ensure clarity.  May include: asking questions; paraphrasing what someone says; asking someone to repeat a statement.

Next week’s post will focus on the fourth letter of our L E A R N cross cultural communications acronym:  R= Respecting Differences.

Enjoy!

Yael Zofi

Ms. Mayer must know something the rest of us do not–and that’s probably my biggest problem with this announcement and the hyped up media around it. There must be another factor (or factors) here. Because while telecommuting is a fantastic option for a lot of people, there are few jobs that wouldn’t benefit from more face-to-face interaction. And, there are some jobs that are almost impossible to do well working remotely.

Consider Ms. Mayer’s position: She was brought on board with the once-glorious Yahoo to right this sinking ship. They need new, fresh ideas–and they need them implemented fast across departments. When a company is implementing fast, drastic changes, they need people interacting face-to-face in real time.

While telecommuting is a great option that can reduce commutes, let companies search for talent worldwide, and give flexibility to folks who have to take care of family members, some studies suggest that the productivity gains some companies get from telecommuting are offset by the costs of telecommuting technology.

Looking at the big picture–at what Ms. Mayer wants to accomplish with Yahoo and at the bottom line for the company–choosing to put an end to telecommuting may actually make a lot of sense for Yahoo.

But in the meantime, since we’re not sitting where Ms. Mayer is, it’s hard to judge if this policy is a harsh but necessary step in Yahoo’s rebirth or if this change is a backwards attempt to regain some sort of control that will unnecessarily upset employees at every level.

What employees lose in flexibility (and possibly productivity), Yahoo may gain in more creativity, camaraderie, and overall company stability.

Either way, I’m sure the decision was not an easy one for Ms. Mayer. It’s a decision I’ve helped many companies and executives have to make–not only whether to allow virtual teams and remote work but also how to set up those teams to allow for maximum productivity. How do you set yourself up for communication and relationships that are so good you’d swear you can’t tell the difference whether you’re in the office together or half a world apart?

Done the right way, the payoff for virtual teams can be astounding.

And done improperly or with the wrong people, virtual teams can be a disaster.

Time will tell if Ms. Mayer’s decision will help Yahoo skirt disaster–or will bring it on faster.

Strategy #2 Keep it Transparent: EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE
Virtual teams need to compensate for the lack of visual and physical cues. The aim is to keep the communication lines open and transparent so that when conflicts arise – and they will – a resolution is found quickly. Here is a helpful technique to keep the cultural communication lines open:
 
1. Respond with appropriate words that will not inflame a situation, when you sense difficulty.
 

2. Deliver balanced feedback
 

3.    Build on an idea
 

4.    Give credit / positive reinforcement
 

 
Regarding teleconferences, here are some good practices to follow:

• If the conversation appears to be coming to a close, conclude with a transition or sum-up statement.  For example, “So you are saying that…”
• Allow the other person to complete his/her thoughts – avoid dominating the conversation – even if you feel you have a lot to say.
• If the other person appears bored and uninterested, change the subject and/or direction of the conversation. Keep the other person involved by asking question, and even asking where the person would like the conversation to go.

 
 
Next week’s post will focus on the third letter of our L E A R N cross cultural communications acronym:  A= Avoid Ambiguity.

Enjoy and Regards,

Yael Zofi