This month, we head to Latin America. But before we take off, with all this discussion around cultural prisms, I want to take a moment to revisit our definition of culture.

Culture is a set of beliefs, values, mindset and practices of a group of people and includes the behavior, pattern and norms of the group along with the rules, assumptions, perceptions and the logical reasoning that are specific to the group. In essence, each of us is raised in a belief system that influences our individual perspectives to such a large degree that we can't always account for, or even comprehend its influence. As members of a culture, we’ve come to share a common idea of what's appropriate and inappropriate; therefore it is very important for a person doing business with a different culture to understand those guiding values and respect these to carry out business in the appropriate manner.

This is the goal of my series on Cultural Prisms - to understand what external barriers, along with the barriers within ourselves, which we need to overcome in order to connect with others.

Each day, we are given the opportunity to establish true human connection. But to do so, we must go beyond the roadblocks which our society’s systems have constructed. We must deepen awareness around the underlying limits, bias and misconceptions we all have consciously or subconsciously constructed, in order to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others.

Understanding this definition, let’s take a look at the cultural prisms and challenges that arise in business, leadership and work culture in Latin America. Once again, I had the great privilege of connecting with women this past month who offered their own deep knowledge and distinct viewpoint on this subject. I’m sharing their backgrounds as well as highlights of our conversation with María José Noguera, Oriana Fuentes, Loren Rosario - Maldonado and Marisol Franco Creed below.

María José Noguera was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family “from the provinces” and after receiving her Argentinian JD, with a Master's in Finance from UCEMA and an EMBA from NYU, she spent more than a decade practicing law in Argentina, both for a top-tier law firm and as an internal senior legal counsel for the UK Bank of Itau BBA, covering Argentina, Peru and Colombia, as well as transactions funded from London. She transitioned to International Fixed Income, moving to NY in 2013 and is currently a SVP, in charge of the structuring of debt transactions out of the LatAm Region and managing ad-hoc teams in different LatAm countries.

María notes that in leading/managing LatAm Teams, "The region is homogeneous, but with meaningful differences between cultures. It is a ‘pater familias’ environment, with uncertainty amongst social gaps. Employees feel a sense of loyalty to companies."

Oriana Fuentes, who was born in Peru and raised in the US, identifies as a TCK (third culture kid). The daughter of a PhD Fulbright scholar and UN diplomat, she grew up exposed to international communities and perspectives. She attended international high school in Peru, then returned to the US for undergrad. She started off as a JP Morgan trader and investment banker, left to obtain a Master's in Computer Science/Machine Learning and co-founded Emptor, a tech company providing automated background checks to Latin America. She has been operating remote-first companies since 2016, with about 65% of employees in LatAm and offering services in 10 LatAm countries, supporting clients in different LatAm countries as well as managing relationships with multicultural investors.

Oriana notes that in leading/managing LatAm Teams, "We have to recognize the diversity within the region, and even within the country. For example, Brazil is a whole other planet, with lots of fascinating complexity. Then there is the ‘independent republic’ of Arequipa.” Oriana notes that “Bilingualism creates a division of society, along with business practices and styles and the only constant is instability.” There is also an “American influence combined with a long tradition of Asian influence, which is often ignored or misunderstood by western business people.” Oriana noted that “Inequality, pedigree and challenges are evident with regards to social class, gender and race, and there is a fear of managers/bosses.”

The daughter of two Dominican immigrants and raised in New York, Loren Rosario-Maldonado struggled to understand her hispanic identity until she was an adult and married to her Dominican-born husband. Through him, she learned about her heritage, along with leading the HR function for Claro, a multinational telecom company where she was introduced to the different flavors of Latin America.

Loren shares that “One of the biggest lessons for me was not to generalize. First of all, there was a very narrow minded view of what Latin America was, influenced by a lot of stereotypical ideals. In Latin America, there is a different persona per country / by region, influenced by socio-political complexities, family history, generational history. This has an impact on how people behave and how they act, especially in business. That being said, there is a very integrated and solid Latino community that is shared, regardless of where you come from. Because of the history that we share, we tend to embrace and can relate to each other.” She also adds that when it comes to politics and soccer, it’s best to keep things neutral!

Marisol Franco Creed was born in Medellín, Colombia and raised culturally as a Colombian. She received her undergraduate in Interior Design with a Masters in International Real Estate & Finance. As the former Director of Design & Project Management for Marriott International in CALA (Caribbean & Latin America), she grew the region from 50 hotels to 250 in 6.5 years. She recently transitioned into a privately owned Real Estate Development company with a private equity fund whose focus market are Latin American Companies and private high value investors.

Marisol notes that “Every country has its own political way of doing things, and similarly in business, each country has its own way of doing business. Overall, there is a hierarchical respect for leaders and personal views are frowned upon, but that is changing. It’s also important to note that depending on the region, meetings can be more relaxed. They often start earlier and take longer, because they are very focused on building relationships, and learning about one’s business. In comparison, in Mexico, the Northern part is more Americanized and punctual.”

To access additional insights and information on cultural prisms in Latin America, check out the Made in Latin America: How Top Leaders in the Region Lead article.

Now that we’ve touched upon cultural prisms in the US, China and Latin America, I’d love to hear from you. Is there a country, region, or area of the world that you’d like to know more about and/or share your insights? Vote on a region you’d like to know more in cultural prisms - Africa, Europe or a specific country - and send it to me! I’ll make sure to do a special dedicated newsletter this fall on the area that receives the most feedback.

To Your Success,

A Discussion On Cultural Prisms In Latin America

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