Over the last year, I have held a variety of valuable discussions, both one-on-one with clients and in groups, about what it means to work globally. Together, we have tackled a range of topics, such as cultural biases, cultural norms, social nuances, multiculturalism, and more. This month, I’m interested in having a conversation not just about working globally but how to lead and manage globally.

A number of questions came up during our discussion including: What does it mean to level up your mindset and skills in order to lead and operate across borders and cultures? What are some of the most important elements to take into account when managing a global team? What lessons can we learn from one another?

How can global teams effectively manage boundaries and collaboration amidst cultural, time zone, and language differences? What strategies bridge cultural gaps and foster a productive global work environment while respecting team boundaries? In the context of managing global diverse teams, how do you balance the need for flexibility and adaptability with the importance of setting clear expectations and boundaries to maintain team cohesion and performance? How can leaders in multinational organizations promote a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect while fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose across diverse global teams, all while respecting and upholding individual and team boundaries?

The conversation was led by Peilin Corbanese, VP, Analytics at EXL Service, and other international women business leaders joined in to share their experiences. Together, we talked about how to foster trust and respect amongst colleagues, the importance of understanding business cultural norms, and the significance of cultural differences, amongst many other topics.

Peilin noted that three of the most important elements that global leaders must take into consideration include:

Cultural differences
Language differences (English is not always the same from country to country)
Time zone differences. These are the hardest to overcome

As the conversation evolved, we noted as a group how different business cultural norms and cultural differences can be initial roadblocks. Peilin shared an experience of culture shock, for example when one works within a culture that requires politeness and guesswork vs one that operates with open communication styles including instructions, goals, etc. She noted how US business culture usually has a clear and direct communication style but on the flip side, some can find this type of directness to be rude. Here, she notes that it’s helpful for global leaders to have a deeper understanding on what the culture is about and understand how they can fit well into it. Another member of the group, Rihab, noted that it’s also important to avoid making judgments based on cultural and personal differences. By fostering trust and respect, teams will open up more, especially once individuals start to feel seen.

Another important point Peilin shared was that hierarchy is very different globally and we need to be sensitive as to how we position ourselves with titles. This then led to a discussion about language barriers, including language bias and accent bias. For example, British English is strikingly different from American English. These language barriers plus a “guessing”/non-direct culture can lead to one spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to best communicate. There are some tech solutions that can help. For example during a video call, some of these communication difficulties can be alleviated by using captions.

The group also discussed how working across timezones can be very challenging due to the scheduling and some have found themselves working around the clock to accommodate all schedules. It’s important to allow your team to be productive across time zones and identify any bias that is showing up as you try to navigate through.

Overall, taking a look at one’s experience can be very helpful, as Cindy shared in the discussion. I also suggested to the group that it was important to have a conversation about overcoming bias and biases intersecting, the ability to talk about this helps to keep our view clear. Lamiaa noted that in her work she saw that “some people were curious and came with a willingness to learn and ask questions, and others were all business (just getting to the meetings, etc). When building a team you can talk about the norms you want to have for the company. Saying ‘I prefer to work…’ understanding time zones to make work streams more efficient.” Kelly also shared “Don’t bring yourself home to work. We all have personas - work self, home self, personal self etc. You don’t need to bring your whole self to work, to be validated.” Finally, Nikki noted that a “strong sense of identity with corporate values - redirects to the company values and not the values of the individual. Making conflict less about personal identity and moving to what the company values” and operationalizing them can be helpful.

Now I’d like to hear from you - are you a global leader managing an international team? What are some of the challenges you have faced? What important lessons can you share with your fellow leaders? Drop me a line, I’m always curious to learn more.

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