Short vs. long-term orientation

We’ve previously looked at monochronic vs. polychronic concepts of time which focus on how people get things done (one task at a time vs. a more flexible approach). This dimension, however, focuses on a different angle. Time itself is a rather abstract concept (does it even exist?) and your perception of time depends largely on your cultural imprint.

Geert Hofstede explains his research: “This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritise these two existential goals differently. Normative societies, which score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.”

Examples: Translated into business, short-term oriented values include: freedom, rights, achievement, and thinking for oneself. People will focus on the profit of the current year, save and invest less, value meritocracy, vary personal loyalties with business needs, prioritize abstract rationality and analytical thinking.

Business values in a long-term orientated culture include: learning, honesty, adaptiveness, accountability, and self-discipline. People will focus on the market position, take into consideration the profits ten years from now, avoid wide social and economic differences, invest in lifelong personal networks, prioritize common sense and synthetic thinking.

Reflective question: Are you automatically picturing certain countries or people who represent one or the other end of this dimension? What is your own preference?

Let’s not be tempted by our brain wanting to correlate this information with previous experiences and store it in a specific (country) “box”. But being aware of these different perspectives, norms and values will give you a broader understanding of why people from different cultures sometimes have a hard time “being on the same page”. After awareness comes openness for creating synergies and reconciliation. For me, it is the most rewarding part of intercultural training and coaching: to help others develop new personal strategies for effective cross-cultural collaboration.

Uncertainty avoidance

Let’s start with some reflective questions:

• How do you prefer to travel? Spontaneous last minute trips or well-planned itineraries and activities?
• How do you prefer to parent? Loose or strict rules as to what is dirty, dangerous or taboo?
• How do you prefer to work? Change the employer often or not so much? Work hard only when needed or do you have an emotional need to be busy and an inner urge to work hard?
• How much uncertainty are you comfortable with?

In his book “Cultures and Organizations”, Hofstede explains: “The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.”

Hofstede points out that uncertainty is a subjective experience, acquired and learned. The coping strategies (e.g. technology, laws, religion) are reflected in our culture, based on nonrational roots, leading to sometimes incomprehensible patterns of behaviour from an outsider’s perspective.

On a side note, do not confuse uncertainty avoidance with risk avoidance. Risk evaluation is very specific (measurable in probabilities and percentages), uncertainty is rather diffuse.

Example: Team A ranks low on the uncertainty avoidance dimension. People on the team are creative and flexible. They thrive on developing new ideas and innovative products. Team B is more uncertainty avoidant and team members value sense of detail and project planning. These teams, rather than working against each other, have a great potential for creating synergies. The innovative team supplying ideas and the project team developing and implementing them. That’s the theory… Putting it into everyday practice is a whole other story! Intercultural trainers can make a valuable contribution here.

Deciding

In her book “The Culture Map”, Erin Meyer points out two different aspects of leadership. Egalitarian vs. hierarchical leadership is one dimension (see earlier post). Consensual vs. top-down decision-making is the other. Why differentiate?

In most cultures, being egalitarian goes along with consensual decision-making and hierarchical correlates with top-down decision-making. But there are exceptions as you can see on the following picture and these can be consternating:

Meyer explains: “While Americans perceive German organizations as hierarchical because of the fixed nature of the hierarchical structure, the formal distance between the boss and subordinate, and the very formal titles used, Germans consider American companies hierarchical because of their approach to decision making. German culture places a higher value on building consensus as part of the decision-making process, while in the United States, decision making is largely invested in the individual.”

In Germany, more time is spent on coming to a group agreement. But remember, these are rough generalizations and, when talking about dimensions, everything is relative. If you ask around in the Netherlands, they will not perceive Germans as consensual at all.

When working or leading cross-culturally, this dimension bears great potential for conflict. Being aware of the cultural imprint and individual preferences in your team is crucial for success.

Life spheres

This may not be a classical dimension, but a very useful model to improve cultural awareness. It originates from Edward T. Hall’s research on proxemics, the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behaviour, communication, and social interaction. As it happens with many of the cultural dimensions, we are often unaware of this hidden component of interpersonal communication. And what makes it so interesting for intercultural encounters: It is strongly influenced by culture.

Hall identified four types of space or interpersonal distances:

Intimate – up to 18 inches (46cm)
Reserved for closer relationship and greater comfort between individuals, for hugging, whispering, or touching.

Personal – 1.5 to 4 feet (46-122cm)
For people who are family members or close friends. The closer people can comfortably stand, the higher the level of the intimacy.

Social – 4 to 12 feet (1.20m-3.70m)
For individuals who are acquaintances. With someone you know fairly well, such as a co-worker you see several times a week, you might feel more comfortable interacting at a closer distance. In cases where you do not know the other person well, such as a postal delivery driver you only see once a month, a distance of 10 to 12 feet may feel more comfortable.

Public – 12 to 25 feet+ (3.70-7.60m+)
For public speaking situations. Talking in front of a class full of students or giving a presentation at work are good examples of such situations.

Interesting that he defined exact distances in inches and feet. Is it really that universal? I assume that within that range, cultures and personal preferences differ significantly. Here in Germany, people value their personal space a lot and it influences many areas of social and public life. Silence waggons on trains, distant handshakes, approach to service in shops, … just to name a few. If you come from the other end of the range and are not consciously aware of the differences, this can result in rather painful experiences of exclusion, rejection, unfriendliness. Again, my advice for both sides is to not take things too personal. Usually it’s not about you, its about the other person’s own preference of interpersonal distance.

Sharing our personal stories and learning from each other is the most powerful way to find inspiration, community and growth. Gain a fresh perspective and expand your horizon!

(versión original en español más abajo)

Nancy, tell us where you are from and what motivated you to emigrate to Germany.

I am Mexican, born in Mexico City. Although my husband is German, I must confess that emigrating to Germany was not in my plans at first. My husband worked in Mexico for three years, three wonderful years we spent together in Mexico. He loved the country, he adapted very much to the Mexican culture, he speaks Spanish fluently, he loved the weather, the food and, for those and other reasons, I thought that the possibility of staying forever in Mexico was quite large. But at the time when my husband wanted to grow professionally, he did not find opportunities in my country and that was when the idea of ​​trying our luck in Germany began to take shape.

So I can say that there are two things that motivated me to emigrate to Germany: the first is love, and the other is what normally motivates me in all the decisions that are important in my life:

The fear of „what if“. I don’t like the idea of ​​asking myself one day what would have happened if I had done this or that.

I don’t like the idea of ​​asking myself one day what would have happened if I had done this or that.

In addition to that, I thought it was important and above all fair, to get to know what life is like in my partner’s country, to give his culture a chance, to understand it and to learn from it as he did with mine. After all, he had also left everything and everyone behind to be with me. And I believe that sharing that experience – with everything that is enjoyed and suffered – has brought us together more, has made us understand each other better.

What do you value most about your bicultural marriage?

Respect.

I greatly appreciate the way in which we have been able to maintain respect for our cultures and reach agreements without making the other renounce their beliefs and customs.

What were the biggest challenges?

I think we have had two major challenges.

People who leave their country of origin – for whatever reason – go through migratory grief and that is very difficult to understand if you have not lived it. That was one of the biggest challenges.

Nostalgia appears, the feeling of loneliness and an exaggerated idealization of our country of origin.

I remember that at first it seemed to me that everything, absolutely everything, was better in my country, comparisons were the order of the day and that, for our partner, can be something very difficult to understand and can even become very exhausting . The person who did not leave his country can start taking everything personally, ends up isolating himself and the first big problems appear.

Also, a lack of identity appears in the migrant. In time I realized that not only did I miss my country and everything I knew, I also missed myself, the one I was. I was again like a little girl who needed to be taught from the language, how to move around the city, to translate the labels of the products in the super market, a girl who depended on others, and especially her partner, to do many things. Let’s not even begin talking about undergoing the paperwork and revalidation of studies or career. Suddenly I was not the same, suddenly I was nothing. This is somewhat heavy. That’s why I say that I believe that the fact that we both went through the same experience made us understand each other much better, we were more patient and knew that it is a process.

The second big challenge came when we became parents. The arrival of our daughters was another shake. There is an unconscious (and sometimes conscious) tendency to impose one’s own point of view, customs and beliefs when it comes to the education of children.

A bicultural couple needs to agree on the beliefs and way of life that they want to convey to their children and for this it is necessary to have a broad, respectful and sincere communication channel.

And it is not simple. And if we start to think that ours (Mexican woman and German man living in Germany) is one of many constellations that exist, we don’t finish. We can also have a French woman with a Spanish man living in England, or a Mexican woman with a Greek man living in Greece etc., and when there are children involved, the matter gets even more interesting.

How did you overcome them?

The first challenge, the one of the migratory grief, was with time and with support, understanding and empathy of my husband. It was a very long process. Another thing that really helped me to “get there”, to really feel that I was already where I had to be, was the arrival of my first daughter. When this whole matter stopped being about me, my nostalgia, my identity, my grief, when there was now a daughter involved, I could see that not everything was as I thought. Not everything was better in Mexico, especially in the aspect of motherhood and social security, unfortunately, which makes me very sad.

But I could see things differently and by changing my perspective, it changed my life.

The second challenge, the education of our daughters, I consider as overcome and here are three aspects that have contributed to this:

1. The principles and values ​​of my husband and mine are the same, and I believe that when that is the case, you are already on the other side. The other „details“, we have arranged with a lot of communication and openness. My husband has always been very respectful of my beliefs, of the Mexican culture, I respect and admire the German culture too and that helps a lot to reach agreements.
2. My husband and I speak the same language, that is, I speak German and he speaks Spanish and, amazingly enough, this is something that can make a big difference when it comes to reaching agreements, expressing and understanding feelings, ideas, wishes and also when it comes to educating children. I have heard cases of people who feel isolated from the education of their children when the spouse speaks to the children in a language he or she does not understand.
3. The support of our families. We have the great fortune of having families that respect our decisions regarding the bicultural education of our daughters, and not only respect them, but also admire the other culture. I am lucky to have in-laws and other family members that are proud to have granddaughters, nieces, great-grandchildren whith a different cultural education, who are growing up with two languages, who live within two worlds. My in-laws and my sister-in-law say that it is the greatest treasure I can pass on to them. And my family completely agrees. When the two families get together, there is a very nice atmosphere of affection, openness, respect and interest in each other, of ways of thinking, of living, and this facilitates and enriches my daughters‘ bicultural education. Now they even translate the conversations between the Mexican and German families!

What advice would you give to a compatriot (or „your younger self“?) who just arrived in Germany?

I would tell them that what they are living is a process, that they should allow their feelings to flow, that the do not fight against it, that they should not be reluctant, that they should not pay attention to what people will say, that they listen to their heart, that they get informed, and above all, that it is ok to ask for help, also professional help.

Something I would have liked at that time was to be able to find a psychologist or therapist who spoke Spanish. When I arrived in Germany, I did not speak German well so you can imagine how difficult it was for me to encourage myself to go to therapy in a language I did not master. Now there are more resources, for example, there are even therapists in Mexico giving remote consultation via Skype. I feel that now there is much more information and the work that you carry out with Chameleon, Wiebke, is a great help for expat in their adaptation process and for their emotional health.

Thank you so much, Nancy, for sharing your valuable experience with us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nancy comparte 3 secretos del matrimonio bicultural y una gran historia de amor

Compartir nuestras historias personales y aprender unos de otros es la forma más poderosa de encontrar inspiración, comunidad y crecimiento. ¡Adquiere una nueva perspectiva y expande tu horizonte!

Nancy, cuéntanos de dónde eres y qué te motivó a emigrar a Alemania.

Soy Mexicana, nacida en la Ciudad de México. Aunque mi esposo es Alemán, debo confesar que el emigrar a Alemania no estaba en mis planes en un principio. Mi esposo trabajó en México durante tres años, tres maravillosos años que pasamos juntos en México. A él le encantaba el país, se adaptó mucho a la cultura Mexicana, habla fluidamente el Español, le encantaba el clima, la comida y, por ésas y otras razones, yo pensaba que la posibilidad de quedarnos para siempre en México era bastante grande. Pero en el momento en que mi esposo quiso crecer profesionalmente, no encontró las oportunidades en mi país y fue entonces cuando la idea de probar suerte en Alemania comenzó a tomar forma. Así que puedo decir que son dos cosas las que me motivaron a emigrar a Alemania: la primera es el amor, y la otra es lo que normalmente me motiva en todas las decisiones que son importantes en mi vida:

El miedo al “hubiera”. No me agrada la idea de preguntarme un día qué hubiera pasado si hubiera hecho tal o cual cosa.

Además de éso, creí importante y sobre todo justo, el conocer la vida en el país de mi pareja, darle una oportunidad a su cultura, conocerla y aprender de ella como él lo hizo con la mía. Después de todo, él también había dejado a todo y a todos para estar conmigo. Y creo que el compartir esa experiencia -con todo lo que se disfruta y se sufre- nos ha unido más, nos ha hecho entendernos mejor.

Qué es lo que más valoras de tu matrimonio bicultural?

El respeto.

Valoro mucho la forma en la que hemos podido mantener el respeto a nuestras culturas y llegar a acuerdos sin hacer que el otro renuncie a sus creencias y costumbres.

Cuales fueron los mayores retos?

Me parece que hemos tenido dos grandes retos.

Las personas que abandonan su país de origen -por la razón que sea – pasan por un duelo migratorio y eso es algo muy difícil de entender si no lo has vivido. Ése fue uno de los más grandes retos.

Aparece la nostalgia, la sensación de soledad y una idealización exagerada de nuestro país de origen.

Yo recuerdo que al principio a mí me parecía que todo, absolutamente todo, era mejor en mi país, las comparaciones estaban al orden del día y éso, para nuestra pareja, puede ser algo muy difícil de comprender e incluso puede llegar a ser muy desgastante. La persona que no dejó su país puede tomarse todo personal, termina aislándose y aparecen los primeros grandes problemas.

Aparece también una falta de identidad en el migrante. Con el tiempo me di cuenta que no sólo extrañaba a mi país y todo lo que conocía, también me extrañaba a mí, la que yo era. Volví a ser como una niña pequeña que necesitaba que le enseñaran desde el idioma, hasta cómo moverse por la ciudad, que le tradujeran las etiquetas de los productos en el super mercado, una niña que dependía de los demás , y sobre todo de su pareja, para hacer muchas cosas. De hacer trámites y revalidación de estudios o de carrera, mejor ni hablamos. De repente no era la misma, de repente no era nada. Éso es algo fuerte. Por éso digo que yo creo que el hecho de que los dos pasamos por esa experiencia, nos hizo comprendernos mucho mejor, tenernos paciencia y saber que se trata de un proceso.

El segundo gran reto vino cuando nos convertimos en padres. La llegada de nuestras hijas fue otra sacudida. Hay una tendencia inconsciente (y a veces consciente) a imponer el propio punto de vista, las propias costumbres y creencias cuando se trata de la educación de los hijos.

Una pareja bicultural necesita ponerse de acuerdo en las creencias y forma de vida que le quiere transmitir a sus hijos y para ello es necesario tener un canal de comunicación amplio, respetuoso y sincero.

Y no es nada sencillo. Y si nos ponemos a pensar que la nuestra (mujer mexicana y hombre alemán viviendo en Alemania) es una de muchas constelaciones que existen, pues no acabamos. También podemos tener a una mujer francesa con un hombre español que viven en Inglaterra, o una mujer mexicana con un hombre griego viviendo en Grecia, etc, etc.  y cuando hay hijos de por medio, ahí se pone interesante el asunto.

Cómo los superaste?

El primer reto, el del duelo migratorio, fue con el tiempo y con el apoyo, la comprensión y la empatía de mi esposo. Fue un proceso muy largo. Otra cosa que me ayudó a realmente “llegar”, a realmente sentir que ya estaba en donde tenía que estar, fue la llegada de mi primera hija. Cuando todo este asunto dejó de tratarse de mí, de mi nostalgia, de mi identidad, de mi duelo, cuando ya había una hija de por medio, pude ver que no todo era como yo creía. No todo era mejor en México, sobre todo en el aspecto de la maternidad y seguridad social, desgraciadamente, cosa que me pone muy triste.

Pero pude ver las cosas de diferente manera y al cambiar mi perspectiva, cambió mi vida.

El segundo reto, el de la educación de nuestras hijas, lo considero también superado y aquí hay tres aspectos que han contribuido a que así sea:

1. Los principios y valores de mi esposo y los míos son los mismos, y creo que cuando éso es así, ya estás del otro lado. Los otros “detalles”, los hemos arreglado con mucha comunicación y apertura. Mi esposo siempre ha sido muy respetuoso de mis creencias, de la cultura Mexicana, yo respeto y admiro mucho a la cultura Alemana también y éso ayuda muchísimo a llegar a acuerdos.
2. Mi esposo y yo hablamos el mismo idioma, es decir, yo hablo Alemán y él habla Español y, parece mentira, pero es algo que puede marcar una gran diferencia a la hora de llegar acuerdos, de expresar y entender sentimientos, ideas, deseos y también a la hora de educar a los hijos. He escuchado casos de personas que se llegan a sentir aisladas de la educación de sus hijos cuando el cónyugue les habla a los niños en un idioma que él o ella no entiende.
3. El apoyo de nuestras familias. Tenemos la inmensa fortuna de tener familias que respetan nuestras decisiones en cuanto a la educación bicultural de nuestras hijas y no sólo las respetan sino que también admiran a la otra cultura. Tengo la dicha de tener una familia política que siente orgullo de tener a nietas, sobrinas, bisnietas que tienen una educación cultural diferente, que están creciendo con dos idiomas, que conviven con dos mundos. Mis suegros y mi cuñada dicen que es el mayor tesoro que les puedo heredar. Y mi familia es exactamente de la misma opinión. Cuando las dos familias se reúnen, hay un ambiente muy bonito de cariño, apertura, respeto e interés del uno por el otro, de las formas de pensar, de vivir y ésto facilita y enriquece la educación bicultural de mis hijas. ¡Ahora hasta ellas traducen las conversaciones entre la familia Mexicana y la Alemana!

Qué consejo le darías a una compatriota (o “your younger self”?) que recién llegó a Alemania?

Le diría que lo que vive es un proceso, que deje fluir lo que siente, que no luche contra ello, que no se resista, que no ponga atención al qué dirá la gente, que escuche a su corazón, que se informe y, sobre todo, que se vale pedir ayuda, también ayuda profesional.

Fíjate que algo que me hizo falta en aquél tiempo fue el poder encontrar a un psicólogo(a) o terapeuta que hablara Español.  Cuando llegué a Alemania, yo no hablaba bien Alemán entonces te imaginarás lo difícil que era para mí animarme a ir a terapia en un idioma que no dominaba. Ahora ya hay más medios, por ejemplo, hay incluso terapeutas en México dando consulta a distancia por Skype. Siento que ahora hay mucha más información y la labor que tú llevas a cabo con Chameleon, Wiebke, es una gran ayuda para la adaptación de un expat y para su salud emocional.

Muchas gracias, Nancy, por haber compartido tus valiosas experiencias con nosotros.

Where can it be applied?

The value square model can be applied to business contexts as well as personal life. When confronted with another person’s unfamiliar and unpleasant behaviour, we may struggle to see the underlying positive intentions and values. This often leaves us puzzled, offended, hurt and incapable of any reasonable response. With the help of the value square model, we are able to see the other person’s point of view and judge the situation from a more distanced perpective. By reflecting and visualizing these seemingly conflicting values, we can bring them into a dynamic balance, strengthen our capability to change perspective, increase our ambiguity tolerance and operate in a constructive way.

This is how it works

The proposition of the value square is that every value (value A) can only have its full constructive effect while in a sustained tension with a positive countervalue, a „sister value“ (value B). Without this balance, a value degenerates into its devaluating exaggeration (degenerated values A and B). The goal is to refrain from allegations (orange arrows) and to develop a new perspective towards the positive countervalues (green arrows).

Example: Tolerance and commitment               

Paula is very committed to promoting gender equality in her company. At times, she gets a little carried away and doesn’t notice, that she is actually fighting fiercely for women’s rights and unconsciously discriminating against men.

Martina is a very tolerant type, she cannot see much inequality in terms of gender and feels that everyone should be responsible for negotiating their own terms. She cannot comprehend why Paula gest so worked up and militant about gender equlity – such bigotry!

Paula, on the other hand, cannot understand how anyone, especially another woman, can not see the injustice and become active. How can Martina be so indifferent?

Working with the value square would help them see the positive sister values and move away from the devaluating exaggerations. Paula could learn to understand that Martina’s true motivator is tolerance, not indifference. And Martina could learn to understand that commitment is a healthy balance to her tolerance. Both could learn to value the other person’s good intentions and set the course for a fruitful, appreciative collaboration.

Example: Implicit and explicit communication

You can also apply the value square to cultural dimensions. High context cultures (indirect communication) often feel that low context cultures (direct communication) come across as very impolite.

Vice versa, low context cultures cannot understand why high context cultures do not communicate in a transparent way.

Instead of going down the devaluation path, both cultures could see how their sister values are connected and work best when balanced in a healthy tension.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the model and what your experience has been if you already applied it yourself!

You can download this article as a pdf file here. Also please take a look at the other free resources that I have made available.

In July 2019, I shared a selection of what I consider the most insightful cultural dimensions on my Instagram account. I felt that before looking deeper into a specific cross-cultural situation, it is important to learn about the main cultural differences that can be found across the globe. The so-called dimensions are exactly that, dimensions, a range, no absolute figures, no fixed point on a scale. They help us give a general orientation on what we could expect in a cross-cultural encounter and offer us a framework to become more aware of our own cultural imprint and personal preferences.

Dimensions say absolutely nothing about any individual or a specific situation, so be careful when applying them, they are only part of the story. Always make sure to also consider the context and the individual personality of the person involved. Be open, listen, ask questions, learn and then draw your conclusions.

I decided to put all six Instagram posts together in one document and share this with you in the resource section of my website (free download here). It is to give you a first overview on some of the concepts that we work with in intercultural training. If you want to find out more, I recommend you check the literature that I am referring to. Each dimension includes an explanation, an example and a reflective question. You are welcome to use this material wherever it may be helpful, just mention the source. Enjoy the read!

Communication

It’s all about communication, isn‘t it? And it’s the hardest. Look at how we sometimes struggle to communicate in our own culture (thinking of how hard this can be in a partnership!). No need to say that cultural factors make it a lot more complex.

An example: When I offer my Persian friend a cup of tea, in the first attempt she will decline, because that is a sign of good manners in her culture. As someone from a low context culture, I would take her words literally, not pour her any tea and not ask again. She might be shocked, because in her culture, people ask several times and then you say yes. If you are unaware of all this context, you will not get the cues. And that Persian friend will go home thirsty and think what a strange, unfriendly culture this is.

The dimensions “low context” and “high context” were described by the American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher Edward T. Hall in the 1950s. Low context cultures need very little context to communicate. They say explicitly what the mean and they mean what they say. High context cultures give a lot more importance to the context and the actual words can only be interpreted correctly with that context.

Both types have their pro’s and con’s. There is no right or wrong, better or worse. The tricky part is that we are often not aware of these differences and then make the mistake of reading the other person’s communication in the same way that we are used to. We see things from our own cultural perspective, and we tend to think it is the “best” way to do it. This is called ethnocentrism and leads to a lot of – often very painful – cross-cultural misunderstandings.

Reflective question: Which type are you and have you experienced a painful misunderstanding due to these different communication styles?

Concepts of time

As we all learned in school, time is relative! here are many different concepts of time. Edward T. Hall, the American anthropologist I already mentioned yesterday, laid the foundation of how we look at time from an intercultural perspective today. He has observed two different main societal approaches to time: monochronic time cultures and polychronic time cultures. E. T. Hall makes it clear that these two types do not mix, it’s either one or the other. A tough pill to swallow, especially when you are working across cultures and want to build bridges to foster a good collaboration. But I have a nice example how good collaboration can work.

Monochronic cultures, such as Northern Europeans, Americans or Japanese, view time as tangible and concrete. Time is precious and a system that orders life. “We speak of time as being saved, spent, wasted, lost, made up, crawling, killing and running out.” (E. T. Hall). Monochronic time perception is not natural to the human, it is learned, and the industrial revolution is considered to be one of the main drivers. Food for thought!

Polychronic cultures, mainly to be found in Southern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, but also China, take a flexible approach to time, involvement of people, and completion of transactions. They are involved in several different things at the same time (not to be confused with multi-tasking) while the focus lies much more on relationships and reacting to changing circumstances.

Example: A German friend of mine (monochronic type) wants to visit his customer in Venezuela (polychronic type). Instead of sending an email with a formal request, which in the past has led nowhere, he uses his informal network. His local agent will talk to a few people to find out if it is a good time to visit the customer. The German then flies over without having an appointment (this is unthinkable in monochronic terms!) and pays the customer a visit. He is told by the secretary that his customer is not available all day. Instead of giving up, the German comments that that’s no problem and asks if he can stay around for a while and uses the time to work on his laptop. After 2 hours the customer eventually comes out of his office and sees the German supplier. He greets him warmly, invites him to join him for lunch and spends the rest of the afternoon with him discussing business.

The way we see time goes very deep and is the source of a lot of intercultural misunderstandings. People from one type find it very hard to fully understand and embrace that there is a valid other type. Each side is very convinced that their way of dealing with time is the best way. That’s where the intercultural trainer comes in handy!

Reflective questions: Which type are you? If you have worked cross-culturally, what is your strategy for a good collaboration?

Collectivism vs. Individualism

Have you heard this joke? “If everyone thinks about themselves, then everybody is taken care of”.

Collectivism means that the wellbeing of the group comes before individual preferences. The “ingroup” is expected to look after an individual in exchange for loyalty.

Individualism focuses on personal goals and values independence and self-reliance. Belonging to a group comes second.

It is hard to describe this complex dimension with only a few words, so let me just say how important it is to explore it further. It has great influence on how we do business across cultures, it affects negotiations, decision making, motivation and many other areas. Also, on a personal level we can learn a lot about our own preferences and potential inner conflicts that we carry around.

Example: An engineer from a more individualistic society was sent to his company’s production site in a collectivistic society to find out why a certain machine has not been performing well. After analysing everything, he found it to be a human error and could narrow it down to one person who seemed to repeatedly handle the machine in a wrong way. He spoke to that person in front of everyone and explained in calm manner how it should be done right. That person’s team was shocked and she was highly ashamed and unable to improve her work. She tried to continue her work but repeated the same error again. The engineer was gradually losing his patience and became louder as he repeated his instructions. She left work early and it was unclear if she would come back at all. The engineer was puzzled and shocked about what had happened. Fortunately, the next day, the engineer apologized deeply and the matter was handled with more tactfulness. But face and trust were lost.

Reflective question: In which situations do you put the wellbeing of the group before your individual preferences? And when do you put your own interests first?

Leadership

In literature, you will find different ways of describing this dimension, I chose to follow the one used by Erin Meyer in “The Culture Map”, one of my favourite books to refer to when carrying out corporate trainings. It is closely linked to the dimension “Power Distance” coined by Hofstede and the Globe study.

Let’s start by the reflective question today: “What does a good boss look like?” Erin Meyer asks the readers in her book. Close your eyes for a moment and picture that person. Clothes, posture, facial expression, how you address that person, how he/she travels to work, etc. And now check if that person has more traits of an egalitarian or hierarchical culture:

Egalitarian cultures:

–              It’s okay to disagree with the boss openly and in public.

–              People are more likely to move to action without getting the boss’s okay.

–              If meeting with a client or supplier, there is less focus on matching hierarchical levels.

–              It’s okay to e-mail or call people several levels below or above you.

–              With clients or partners you will be seated and spoken to in no specific order.

Hierarchical cultures:

–              An effort is made to defer to the boss’s opinion especially in public

–              People are more likely to get the boss’s approval before moving to action.

–              If you send your boss, they will send their boss.

–              Communication follows the hierarchical chain.

–              With clients or partners you may be seated and spoken to in order of position.

Intercultural misunderstandings arise, when we are not aware of the different expectations that come with different concepts of leadership. An egalitarian manager might be very unsuccessful in a hierarchical culture as he might be perceived as a weak, ineffective and incompetent leader as it seems that he gives all the power to his staff. Vice versa, a hierarchical leader might be shocked by the lack of respect that egalitarian staff is showing him/her and might feel completely ignored. Also, it is crucial to understand that if you are managing people who are used to hierarchical leadership, they expect a lot more detailed instructions on the work that is expected. When you lead in egalitarian cultures, it is important to give people space to develop their own ideas.

Universalism vs. Particularism

This dimension was introduced by Fons Trompenaars, a Dutch organizational theorist and management consultant to describe the challenge of balancing rules and relationships. Or, as he calls it, “reconciling” the two. You will find many examples and strategic tips in his book “Riding the waves of culture”.

Universalism

People place a high importance on laws, rules, values, and obligations. They try to deal fairly with people based on these rules, but rules come before relationships. Typical traits: Consistency, uniform procedures, demanding of clarity, letter of the law

Particularism

People believe that each circumstance and each relationship dictates the rules that they live by. Their response to a situation may change, based on what’s happening in the moment, and who’s involved. Typical traits: flexibility, “It depends”, at ease with ambiguity, spirit of the law

Example (given by Trompenaars): “You are riding in your car driven by a close friend. He hits a pedestrian. You know he was going at least 35 miles per hour in an area of the city where the maximum allowed speed is 20 miles per hour. There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you testify under oath that he was driving only 20 miles per hour, it may save him from serious consequences.”

Reflective question: “What would you do in view of the obligation of a sworn witness and the obligation to your friend?”

The fascinating part of his story is what happened when he confronted different cultures with the results of the others. Both sides of the dimension concluded that the others were corrupt and that they cannot be trusted! “They always help their friends!” versus “They don’t even help their friends!”. If you are curious, watch the full Tedx Talk by Trompenaars on YouTube, it’s very funny and insightful.

Building Trust

The head or the heart? Cognitive or affective trust? This dimension is also taken from Erin Meyers “The culture map” and refers to business contexts. It is always a big topic in my Mexico trainings for Germans and vice versa!

Task-based cultures: Trust is built through business-related activities, accomplishments, skills and reliability.

Relationship-based cultures: Trust is built through sharing meals, evening drinks or visits at the coffee machine. It arises from feelings of emotional closeness, empathy, or friendship.

For a person that is used to working in a task-based culture, it can be very hard to adapt to a relationship-based business partner. A little small talk should be more than enough to get started on the actual business matters, then finish up with a quick working lunch (some sandwiches will do) and then head back to the airport for the next customer. That’s efficient, straight to the point and professional. But extensive conversations about seemingly personal topics, long lunches or dinners, several days of discussions, meetings, dinners, excursions…? That’s way too much!

On the other hand, in a relationship-based culture, the hurried behaviour of a task-based person might come across as impolite, cold and self-serving. Why the rush? First, they need to find out a bit more about this person, their way of thinking, check their ethics and if this is a person they can trust with a long-term business relationship.

To build a bridge between the two, it is recommendable to invest some extra time in a relationship-based approach. Once a good base is established, collaboration will run a lot smoother and task-based work style will be more easily accepted.

Reflective question: Make a quick list of 5 people from different areas of your life that you trust. Then think about what led you to trust them.

The SIETAR Europa Congress was carried out in Leuven, Begium from 27 May to 2 June 2019 and since it was my first, I would like to share my impressions:

Let’s play!

Attending the pre-conference workshop “Gamification” by the well-known George Simons and his wonderfully talented and diverse team was the best way to start my SIETAR Congress experience. Although the group was quite big, we were interacting together for two days and were able to establish valuable new connections in a relaxed, playful way.

I am taking away so many games and inspiration to create new games, that I could never try them all in a lifetime! Just to name a few examples: We played the “Cross-cultural poker face” card game created by Maria Todosiychuk, became quite competitive playing against each other in an intercultural online game developed by Leopold Reif, consultant for SNTL Publishing, and gained some very interesting insights how the diversophy® Migrant Challenges game has been adapted to different countries and how it has made a very positive impact in the communities.

I was hoping for a little more input on online games or an outlook on how virtual reality could be integrated in a blended learning process. When I think of my sons and their way of interacting and learning in the virtual world, I know that this will play a major role in the future. It seems that there is still plenty of room for developing new online games which motivated me to keep developing the game I currently have in mind.

Lifelong learning

Participating in the SIETAR Congress has proven to be a very valuable element in my lifelong learning journey. Even though I had gone through the program weeks before the congress and done my homework, I had trouble deciding where to go first. The wide variety of congress tracks, topics, speakers, facilitators and formats was overwhelming.

You could choose from different tracks: Business & Organizational Challenges, Socio-political Concerns, Migration, Education and Intercultural Professions, Academic Track and the Film Festival. The different kinds of formats kept the sessions interesting and varied: There were keynote speeches, workshops, TED style talks, panel discussions, paper discussions, poster sessions, open space and campfire sessions.

I tried to take the stress out and let myself float through the congress and be open for spontaneous decisions as well. In total, I am very satisfied with the choices I made and have 20 pages of notes with take-aways, follow-ups, inspiration, tipps, links, quotes and insights which will keep me busy for quite a while!

Connecting with the SIETAR tribe

Piece of cake! According to the Whova app, which by the way was a great tool to organize and connect before, during and after the congress, we were a total of 556 attendees! This number is a bit high because some of the facilitators were featured twice, so I would estimate a little over 400 participants.

I started off knowing around 10 people personally and now it feels like I have networked with around a 100 more! The SIETAR tribe is wonderfully open, diverse, inclusive, curious and tolerant, which made it easy to network and meet new people. They truly practice what they preach!

I met so many amazing and kind people who shared their stories and projects. Standing in line for dinner I chatted with a professor from the Sorbonne about the shared Third Culture Kid experience. I explained the Syrian finger food at the welcome reception to a team of Japanese professors working on an intercultural program for the olympic games in Tokyo. I had coffee with a business coach specialized in equicoaching (combining coaching and horses). I was humbled by the courage of Aminata Cairo who shared her story of speaking up against racism. I was speechless when someone shared their travel and ayahuasca experiences. I was inspired by the opening speech of the Mayor of Leuven, Mohamed Ridouani, the first Belgian mayor ever with a migrant background. And so many more.

It was also an honor to meet some of the famous names in the intercultural field and learn from their wisdom in a campfire session: Marie Therese Claes, Milton J. Bennett, Richard D. Lewis, George Simons.

SIETAR is made up of dedicated researchers, brilliant minds, authors, business specialists, idealists, social workers, political influencers, third culture kids, lifelong learners and people from all continents, not only Europe. We worked, sang, laughed, cried, ate, drank and danced together. Everyone contributed with their unique personality and field of expertise, all united by their passion for interculturalism.

It would all not have been possible without the selfless dedication of all the SIETAR volunteers who spent countless hours organizing the event. A huge thank you to all of them! And thank you to everyone I met who has been so kind and welcoming to the SIETAR tribe.

Where are we going?

My hope for the future is that SIETAR will grow to have a deeper and broader impact on ecucation and politics to pave the way for more tolerant and peaceful societies than we have at the moment. The world is more interconnected than ever and we need to include the experience and knowledge of interculturalists to tackle the great sociopolitical challenges of today.

Here in Germany, you can join the traditional clubs (called “Vereine”) very easily and at a very low annual fee. These “Vereine” play an import role in the German society as the trainers work on a mainly voluntary basis, thus making sports accessible to everyone. Additionally, there are also many other types of clubs for whichever hobby you can think of.

Our own particular interests are so-called “identity anchors” that remain constant throughout our lives, even if we move frequently and our environment changes. Look for a club that allows you to feel comfortable and in tune with your anchors and build a “tribe” of like-minded people as it plays a major role in fulfilling our basic human need to belong.

Personally, I am very happy to have found IWAH, the Internationals Women’s Association Hannover. It’s actually a one-in-all club as there is a huge variety of interest groups, activities and nationalities. I especially appreciate the international crowd and being able to speak different languages, connect to different parts of my personality, learn about the other women’s fascinating life stories as well as share memories of the countries I’ve been to.

Last week it was my turn to give a talk about an interesting topic from my professional area as an intercultural trainer. I shared some insights on unconscious bias and why this matters to us. The audience was very participant and engaged in my various exercises with great enthusiasm and openness. It wasn’t easy for me to step out of my comfort zone and get on the “stage”, but I felt in touch with my anchors and hopefully could provide some interesting impulses for the fellow IWAH ladies.

I would like to close with one of my favourite quotes by Brené Brown: “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”

I consider myself a cultural chameleon because I grew up in several different countries until the age of 18, all of which are not my passport country Germany. Each culture, each move and the people I met have considerably shaped my personality, my world view and the way I navigate life. As for many with this type of international upbringing – a tribe also known as “Third Culture Kids“ – it has been one of my survival strategies to flexibly cope with change and quickly adapt to the new surroundings.

As a consequence, transition is the state in which I feel most comfortable. I consider standstill and routines as dreadful. Just like the chameleon, I feel that I am constantly growing out of my old skin. The need to keep evolving manifests itself in many different ways: a move to a new country, a new job, a new travel adventure, a new sport or basically re-inventing myself all over again. I am extremely fortunate to have a wonderful family that provides and demands consistency as well as amazing friends who support me. Together, they keep me grounded and rooted.

The pace at which I ‘shed my skin’ has slowed down as I get older, but it still irritates some people around me and I get it. Just when they thought they had figured me out and can finally put me in a mental box, the next change is around the corner. But that is what makes a chameleon a chameleon: its ability to transform. Feeling comfortable with change, transition and growth are actually my superpowers and I find it very fulfilling to encourage others on their journey across cultures.