I've been enjoying the following books lately. Still find myself reading a lot of "print" books with the occasional Kindle book thrown in. The balance hasn't shifted for me yet!
Make Haste Slowly: Growing effective intercultural communication, by Donald Smith. Great little book about simple things that make complex situations (i.e. commmunicating cross-culturally) more understandable. Originally written in 1984, this was revised last year with some new examples, but the principles (i.e. 12 signal systems, the cultural onion (levels of culture), stimulating change, etc.) are timeless. Humanitarian relief and development groups are talking more and more about "theories of change" and "social norm change" these days. They would do well to learn from the experience (and, yes, a few mistakes) of faith-based organizations.
Uprising: How to build a brand -- and change the world -- by sparking cultural movements, by Scott Goodson. Just started this one, but looks good. Has a brief history section and plenty of examples from corporate America. Would love to see a book like this written by an African or Asia thinker. I do think that movements (think the "Occupy", "livestrong", etc.) and the different ways to create them is very important to analyze.
Free: The future of a radical Price, by Chris Anderson. I like this guy (Wired mag editor) and both his thinking and writing. Lots of great examples of how to make yourself or your organization more valuable by strategically giving stuff away. I think the principles and ideas here are especially important for non-profits who want to add value and attract a new kind of donor.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Why cultural literacy doesn't really help
I've noticed during consulting with several organizations and through a few recent articles that cultural intelligence (CQ) is confused with cultural literacy or intercultural sensitivity. There is a huge missed opportunity here for organizations to improve!
In short, most organizations -- from businesses to humanitarian groups -- that do cross-cultural work seem to have little in the way of structures for educating people before their assignments or debriefing them upon return. But even if every employee with an intercultural role was forced to read my favorite book on the topic (the Art of Crossing Cultures by Storti), or even if the tactics of training and debriefing were done, I'm not sure we'd be better off. Why?
Business people and even humanitarian leaders (who often work on the same principles of delivering goods/services and reducing costs) are missing a foundational truth. In the words of David Hoopes from a 1981 article:
In other words, cultural literacy (knowing how a people group eats, sits, etc.) or even intercultural sensitivity (being open to the differences in how people live) is not enough. A good debriefing, for example, shouldn't just measure the knowledge about a new culture. Instead it must assess whether the person is clearly pursuing a cultural learning process which will lead to correct conclusions.
The key is cultural intelligence (CQ) which is embracing the process that allows you to quickly enter any culture and learn accurately what is happening and then adapt. Some others call this intercultural competence or ethnorelativism, but I like CQ better.
A red flag that CQ isn't understood? People comment on the behaviors they see or don't see in another place without asking what motivates this behavior. Or people only talk about the similarities between cultures (i.e. "they love children just like we do"). This African case study caught my attention recently. A classic example of when people think they can blend in but don't realize they are viewed as fundamentally different by the host culture. CQ was low even though specific cultural knowledge was high.
By the way, I'm assuming people see the benefits for pursuing CQ so won't discuss it today, but I continue to discover how it clearly leads to, among other things, savings in money and time due to contracts being signed sooner, deadlines having common agreement, and high-quality deliverables being achieved. Not to mention there is less mental stress!
In short, most organizations -- from businesses to humanitarian groups -- that do cross-cultural work seem to have little in the way of structures for educating people before their assignments or debriefing them upon return. But even if every employee with an intercultural role was forced to read my favorite book on the topic (the Art of Crossing Cultures by Storti), or even if the tactics of training and debriefing were done, I'm not sure we'd be better off. Why?
Business people and even humanitarian leaders (who often work on the same principles of delivering goods/services and reducing costs) are missing a foundational truth. In the words of David Hoopes from a 1981 article:
"The critical element in the expansion of intercultural learning is not the fullness with which one knows each culture, but the degree to which the process of cross-cultural learning, communication and human relations [has] been mastered."
In other words, cultural literacy (knowing how a people group eats, sits, etc.) or even intercultural sensitivity (being open to the differences in how people live) is not enough. A good debriefing, for example, shouldn't just measure the knowledge about a new culture. Instead it must assess whether the person is clearly pursuing a cultural learning process which will lead to correct conclusions.
The key is cultural intelligence (CQ) which is embracing the process that allows you to quickly enter any culture and learn accurately what is happening and then adapt. Some others call this intercultural competence or ethnorelativism, but I like CQ better.
A red flag that CQ isn't understood? People comment on the behaviors they see or don't see in another place without asking what motivates this behavior. Or people only talk about the similarities between cultures (i.e. "they love children just like we do"). This African case study caught my attention recently. A classic example of when people think they can blend in but don't realize they are viewed as fundamentally different by the host culture. CQ was low even though specific cultural knowledge was high.
By the way, I'm assuming people see the benefits for pursuing CQ so won't discuss it today, but I continue to discover how it clearly leads to, among other things, savings in money and time due to contracts being signed sooner, deadlines having common agreement, and high-quality deliverables being achieved. Not to mention there is less mental stress!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
My cyclical, surprising challenges of cultural re-entry
Exactly a year ago, my family and I headed to the Hyderabad airport. We arrived in Portland about 38 hours later and began the re-entry journey.
We'd been in India for five and a half years (and I'd put in another 1.5 years before we got married). So we'd picked up many cultural behaviors (i.e. the head bobble) and even some values (i.e. I can now live with an unbelievable level of ambiguity, or what is a crisis to you is probably not a big deal to me).
Of course, the first few months back in the USA were dizzying and I've written about that here, here and here. People ask if we are over the cultural shock/stress or re-entry. Yes. And no. Some small examples include:
Cultural re-entry is not an event. It is cyclical. And, good news, the gaps between "episodes" lengthen over time. I knew this intellectually, but to experience it is different.
The first few days back were constant re-learning and readjustment. Then, after a few months, episodes would only happen every week or so (i.e. an overwhelming moment in the proverbial cereal aisle). Now the episodes are once or twice a month. This is progress. This is normal. This is cultural re-entry.
Second, cultural re-entry surprises everyone. In some ways, it is more challenging than the adjustment to a different culture; when you return to your own land, you and people around you expect you to fit in...after all, you used to live here and function successfully! So everyone is doubly surprised when behaviors or feelings don't match expectations.
The danger is that we assume people go through cultural re-entry and then are done. But it is an ongoing cycle of episodes that really never finish, although they certainly become less frequent. Or we let surprise turn into judgment (i.e. "You did what? That is weird").
How can we show grace to people in our midst who may look like us on the surface -- even act like us most of the time -- but have a different cultural background, experiences, or orientation? It's a worthy challenge.
We'd been in India for five and a half years (and I'd put in another 1.5 years before we got married). So we'd picked up many cultural behaviors (i.e. the head bobble) and even some values (i.e. I can now live with an unbelievable level of ambiguity, or what is a crisis to you is probably not a big deal to me).
Of course, the first few months back in the USA were dizzying and I've written about that here, here and here. People ask if we are over the cultural shock/stress or re-entry. Yes. And no. Some small examples include:
- Two weeks ago I accused (nicely) a cashier in the Nike cafeteria of giving me the wrong change. Then I realized that I hadn't recognized the coins correctly (I thought the new one-dollar coins were quarters).
- My children wash their mouths after meals "Indian style", assume we'll have mangoes tomorrow, still must be urged to use sidewalks, etc.
- I still occasionally panic when we only have 10 minutes to get to an appointment, forgetting that traffic is generally good here and you rarely have to search hard for parking.
- I sometimes call or email people on the day of an appointment because I suspect a crisis (a monsoon flood? an unannounced strike? illness of a relative?) might have forced them to cancel without telling me.
- Several of the thank you notes I mailed after job interviews this spring had old "first class" stamps on them...so the recipients had to pay the extra $.06 postage. Um, yeah, oops.
Cultural re-entry is not an event. It is cyclical. And, good news, the gaps between "episodes" lengthen over time. I knew this intellectually, but to experience it is different.
The first few days back were constant re-learning and readjustment. Then, after a few months, episodes would only happen every week or so (i.e. an overwhelming moment in the proverbial cereal aisle). Now the episodes are once or twice a month. This is progress. This is normal. This is cultural re-entry.
Second, cultural re-entry surprises everyone. In some ways, it is more challenging than the adjustment to a different culture; when you return to your own land, you and people around you expect you to fit in...after all, you used to live here and function successfully! So everyone is doubly surprised when behaviors or feelings don't match expectations.
The danger is that we assume people go through cultural re-entry and then are done. But it is an ongoing cycle of episodes that really never finish, although they certainly become less frequent. Or we let surprise turn into judgment (i.e. "You did what? That is weird").
How can we show grace to people in our midst who may look like us on the surface -- even act like us most of the time -- but have a different cultural background, experiences, or orientation? It's a worthy challenge.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Damn Lies, Stats, and Global Confusion
During five months I lived in Washington, D.C., one of my favorite experiences was reading and discussing how statistics get twisted by diplomats, politicians, and more. A great article which I still have in my file cabinet is "The Truth but not the Whole Truth" by Peter Carlson. The subtitle? "In political Washington, statistics are weapons of war. That's why they get manipulated and massaged and twisted until any connection to reality is strictly coincidental."
With globalization and the increase of Internet tools such as Twitter, there are now more statistics available. This overload of information makes it even more difficult to find "truth" about issues. For example, I enjoyed this great blog from last week by the lead researcher for Oxfam about a confusing statistic on women and girls in poverty.
And here's the thing. Misused or inaccurate stats, especially in humanitarian efforts, can lead to serious consequences like not understanding where the real needs are and, thus, deaths of the most underserved.
I continue to monitor self-curated media like Twitter and occasionally find some gems. And even when I'm reading respected publications like The Economist or the Stanford Innovation Review, I still have to keep my skeptic hat on. Independent thinking, confirming facts through triangulation or cross-references, and asking questions beyond surface issues are still essential.
But I suspect that knowing what to ask is largely a product of having diverse life experiences, recognizing ambiguity and complexity in the world, and awareness of both extremes of any argument. Not easy work and very time consuming, but worthwhile.
With globalization and the increase of Internet tools such as Twitter, there are now more statistics available. This overload of information makes it even more difficult to find "truth" about issues. For example, I enjoyed this great blog from last week by the lead researcher for Oxfam about a confusing statistic on women and girls in poverty.
And here's the thing. Misused or inaccurate stats, especially in humanitarian efforts, can lead to serious consequences like not understanding where the real needs are and, thus, deaths of the most underserved.
I continue to monitor self-curated media like Twitter and occasionally find some gems. And even when I'm reading respected publications like The Economist or the Stanford Innovation Review, I still have to keep my skeptic hat on. Independent thinking, confirming facts through triangulation or cross-references, and asking questions beyond surface issues are still essential.
But I suspect that knowing what to ask is largely a product of having diverse life experiences, recognizing ambiguity and complexity in the world, and awareness of both extremes of any argument. Not easy work and very time consuming, but worthwhile.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Naps and Commencement Speeches
I delivered my first commencement speech on Saturday. It was a good experience...and I don't think anyone took a nap. During research for the speech, I listened to a great NPR interview with an experienced speech writer. It was comforting to remember that you're talking to a captive audience.
But I didn't want to be forgettable. However, it's difficult to avoid. You have to either be great (my YouTube research pointed repeatedly to Steve Jobs' 2005 speech) or horrible (lots of fingers pointing at actor Richard Jones in 2011). Few people remember their high school or university graduation speaker. I don't! Do you?
Anyway, I was surprised as I drafted the speech. At first, I couldn't think of anything really important to share with these high school graduates from a private school I attended years ago. Later, I was overwhelmed with how many pieces of advice I wanted to give them in 15 minutes! I settled on three personal stories that illustrated the points below, but would be interested: What would you tell graduates today? What do you wish you would have been told when you graduated? What are you glad that you DIDN'T know?
And yes, despite my efforts, there were a few yawns in the crowd. I suspect I connected more with the graduates' families than the graduates themselves. But at least nobody (?!) napped.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
1. Ask great questions. This helps us get beyond selfishness, can transform lives (ours, others), helps us deal with disappointment or heartache in a messy world. As a person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus (in my opinion, this is different than being a "Christian"), I like that he asked tons of great questions.
2. Take the harder path. This helps with decision making, often leads toward helping the most vulnerable, allows us to conquer fear (even though we may still feel afraid). Many religious people or institutions have a deservedly bad rap. But Jesus was clear that it's not about getting a ticket to heaven and becoming judgmental about everyone else. It is about right relationships and changing the world for better -- but, of course, helping your neighbor (or even enemy) is not easy.
3. Focus on strengths and vocation, not career. Strengths are innate patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior (not skills or knowledge). We often spend disproportionate time or energy improving weak areas. And a vocation or "calling" could include many careers. Figure out your design.
But I didn't want to be forgettable. However, it's difficult to avoid. You have to either be great (my YouTube research pointed repeatedly to Steve Jobs' 2005 speech) or horrible (lots of fingers pointing at actor Richard Jones in 2011). Few people remember their high school or university graduation speaker. I don't! Do you?
Anyway, I was surprised as I drafted the speech. At first, I couldn't think of anything really important to share with these high school graduates from a private school I attended years ago. Later, I was overwhelmed with how many pieces of advice I wanted to give them in 15 minutes! I settled on three personal stories that illustrated the points below, but would be interested: What would you tell graduates today? What do you wish you would have been told when you graduated? What are you glad that you DIDN'T know?
And yes, despite my efforts, there were a few yawns in the crowd. I suspect I connected more with the graduates' families than the graduates themselves. But at least nobody (?!) napped.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
1. Ask great questions. This helps us get beyond selfishness, can transform lives (ours, others), helps us deal with disappointment or heartache in a messy world. As a person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus (in my opinion, this is different than being a "Christian"), I like that he asked tons of great questions.
2. Take the harder path. This helps with decision making, often leads toward helping the most vulnerable, allows us to conquer fear (even though we may still feel afraid). Many religious people or institutions have a deservedly bad rap. But Jesus was clear that it's not about getting a ticket to heaven and becoming judgmental about everyone else. It is about right relationships and changing the world for better -- but, of course, helping your neighbor (or even enemy) is not easy.
3. Focus on strengths and vocation, not career. Strengths are innate patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior (not skills or knowledge). We often spend disproportionate time or energy improving weak areas. And a vocation or "calling" could include many careers. Figure out your design.
Friday, May 04, 2012
7.5 Things I Never Travel Without
This may be a more light-hearted blog, but it's a product of suffering and painful experiences. Here are essentials to bring with you on any trip -- especially to developing countries but also within the USA.
1. Sandals: These should be slip-on/off types. I love Chacos or Tevas. Essential if you enounter nasty showers, decide to head to the pool, need to visit multiple village huts for tea, or run into warmer than expected weather and a free evening to explore a town.
2. Two plastic hangers: If you need to "wet iron" something (i.e. sprinkle, smooth, hang, and let dry straight overnight), these are essential. Hotel hangers sometimes are rusted, often designed so they can't be used other than in the hotel closet, or simply missing.
3. Small flashlight: Essential for not disturbing roomates while trying to get to the bathroom at night, reading during power outages, finding the exit in an emergency, and more.
4. Hankerchief: I know you're worried about holding an accessory usually gripped by a senior citizen, but it's a swissarmy knife. Multiple uses include holding hot things, cleaning glasses or camera lenses, wiping the sweat off your brow after running to catch a plane, drying off surfaces (i.e. laptop after downpour), cleaning dirty dishes, etc.
5. Earplugs: Priceless if you want to sleep at urban hotels, concentrate while on airplane, or convey to others that you want to be alone.
6. Stomach meds: Middle of the night when the food poisoning hits? Good luck. Best to carry some pepto pills, immodium, and either a full dose of cipro or flagel.
7. Plastic grocery bags: Great for putting muddy shoes inside before closing the suitcase, using as laundry bags, protecting electronics against a monsoon rain, keeping food away from bugs, etc.
7.5 Great questions. Cross-culturally appropriate questions to break awkward silence or befriend a business contact include: what is the meaning or history of your family surname? what do you like to do with your free time? where have you traveled that you enjoyed most?
As an aside, I love these short videos of travel tips from author/travel warrior Dan Pink. Do you always bring something essential that is extremely useful? I'd love to hear about it.
1. Sandals: These should be slip-on/off types. I love Chacos or Tevas. Essential if you enounter nasty showers, decide to head to the pool, need to visit multiple village huts for tea, or run into warmer than expected weather and a free evening to explore a town.
2. Two plastic hangers: If you need to "wet iron" something (i.e. sprinkle, smooth, hang, and let dry straight overnight), these are essential. Hotel hangers sometimes are rusted, often designed so they can't be used other than in the hotel closet, or simply missing.
3. Small flashlight: Essential for not disturbing roomates while trying to get to the bathroom at night, reading during power outages, finding the exit in an emergency, and more.
4. Hankerchief: I know you're worried about holding an accessory usually gripped by a senior citizen, but it's a swissarmy knife. Multiple uses include holding hot things, cleaning glasses or camera lenses, wiping the sweat off your brow after running to catch a plane, drying off surfaces (i.e. laptop after downpour), cleaning dirty dishes, etc.
5. Earplugs: Priceless if you want to sleep at urban hotels, concentrate while on airplane, or convey to others that you want to be alone.
6. Stomach meds: Middle of the night when the food poisoning hits? Good luck. Best to carry some pepto pills, immodium, and either a full dose of cipro or flagel.
7. Plastic grocery bags: Great for putting muddy shoes inside before closing the suitcase, using as laundry bags, protecting electronics against a monsoon rain, keeping food away from bugs, etc.
7.5 Great questions. Cross-culturally appropriate questions to break awkward silence or befriend a business contact include: what is the meaning or history of your family surname? what do you like to do with your free time? where have you traveled that you enjoyed most?
As an aside, I love these short videos of travel tips from author/travel warrior Dan Pink. Do you always bring something essential that is extremely useful? I'd love to hear about it.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Intercultural partnerships are complex but simple
We humans either make intercultural partnerships too complex or too simple. I've spent the last twelve years in the midst of Western partnerships with non-profits and private sector orgs in the developing world. Seven of those years I was privileged to see issues from the perspective of nationals trying to transform their own country. This perspective was mind-altering. The daily (often unintentional) pressure that many donors -- financial or otherwise -- put on recipients was clear. The outcomes are sad. For example, there's a natural tendency to stifle innovation as nationals doing great work with limited resources suddenly focus on reporting requirements or hosting Western visitors instead of assessing their programs' impact on a community.
Then there's the constant challenge of communications: how much do nationals need to tell the donor...because any explanation seems to require another explanation?! I remember a school/community center that was being built in rural India. The land purchased had major problems (there were disputed deeds, the land was prone to floods, etc.). While trying to fix the problem with government officials or logistical solutions like fill-dirt, my friends barely had energy to explain things to donors who probably just wanted the problem fixed anyway. More important, communications about meetings with authorities were likely to set off more questions, especially from Europeans worried about financial accountability or Americans trying to transfer solutions.
But at the end of the day, there are some simple principles in effective partnerships.
I've found the recently articulated concept of "collective impact" as discussed in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (original article and more pragmatic follow-up) to be helpful...however, it doesn't specifically address intercultural partnerships. Isolated pieces in the Harvard Business Review touch on culture (e.g. usually in context of virtual teams), but don't propose an overall methodology. And an overarching strategy is crucial since it is the key to many development and aid failures, missionary groups who damaged societies, or corporates that destroyed cultures.
After closely watching many types of international partnerships and reading widely, I've learned a lot. Although I certainly have more questions than answers, these are my thoughts at this point. I'm sure I'll blog on this again in the future and may even change my opinions, but the bottom line for me is clear. As Westerners, we must make sure our motives are not of a white savior. And we must also acknowledge it isn't as simple as a memo of understanding or finding people who want to change the world in the same way we do. But we should not make intercultural collaboration so complex that we're paralyzed by fear.
Then there's the constant challenge of communications: how much do nationals need to tell the donor...because any explanation seems to require another explanation?! I remember a school/community center that was being built in rural India. The land purchased had major problems (there were disputed deeds, the land was prone to floods, etc.). While trying to fix the problem with government officials or logistical solutions like fill-dirt, my friends barely had energy to explain things to donors who probably just wanted the problem fixed anyway. More important, communications about meetings with authorities were likely to set off more questions, especially from Europeans worried about financial accountability or Americans trying to transfer solutions.
But at the end of the day, there are some simple principles in effective partnerships.
- Mutual respect which includes letting the nationals hold most of the power and implement their vision. This requires hard work by Westerners to prove they really trust/value views of the nationals and giving nationals the fora to speak freely. (Note: This usually does NOT mean a Westerner asking an opinion of a national leader in a group meeting or expecting email answers!)
- Common vision (not just goals) is crucial along with long-term commitments. Or, in certain cases, a series of short-term commitments to test and evaluate different approaches while moving forward together.
- Awareness of complementary strengths/weaknesses are important. If both partners have the same strengths or don't recognize the strengths of the other, the partnership might work but will be inefficient.
- Excellent communications -- and clear expectations about frequency and type of communications -- are essential.
- Perhaps most important is mutual vulnerability. It is a type of accountability but more relational-based and very rare.
I've found the recently articulated concept of "collective impact" as discussed in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (original article and more pragmatic follow-up) to be helpful...however, it doesn't specifically address intercultural partnerships. Isolated pieces in the Harvard Business Review touch on culture (e.g. usually in context of virtual teams), but don't propose an overall methodology. And an overarching strategy is crucial since it is the key to many development and aid failures, missionary groups who damaged societies, or corporates that destroyed cultures.
After closely watching many types of international partnerships and reading widely, I've learned a lot. Although I certainly have more questions than answers, these are my thoughts at this point. I'm sure I'll blog on this again in the future and may even change my opinions, but the bottom line for me is clear. As Westerners, we must make sure our motives are not of a white savior. And we must also acknowledge it isn't as simple as a memo of understanding or finding people who want to change the world in the same way we do. But we should not make intercultural collaboration so complex that we're paralyzed by fear.
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