Self Leadership Coaching Blog

Can Culture be taught?
by Yoga Nesadurai

The answer as to whether culture can be taught,  lies not in the new culture but with the individual who is in the new culture. The cross cultural training programmes certainly help in guiding individuals in understanding generic cultural attributes that may differ; such as high context versus low context, direct versus indirect communication styles. However, learning about these differences does not mean that we can change these behaviours and values of that culture. On the contrary, what it actually achieves is to make us aware of our instinctive reactions to these differences. From this awareness, we can begin to learn and potentially then collaborate towards appropriate actions and outcomes.

Culture and universal needs

In most cultures, I believe, there are more similarities than there are differences. Fundamentally, when we deal with other cultures we are referring to a collection of people with certain behaviours, values and beliefs. This becomes the collective context in which the culture operates in, that the outside world ‘sees and experiences’. However, going beyond the collective to the individual level; the context is driven more by personal motivations and values. Sometimes there is a strong correlation between the individual and collective context but at other times there is not.

Which is why when I led cross cultural teams in Europe, I did not worry too much about the cultures of my team members. Instead I spent time understanding who they were and their motivations. In one instance, there was much cultural diversity – with myself, an Asian, leading a mix of continental Europeans (Dutch and Portuguese), British and a New Zealander in Portugal! The team dynamics were certainly interesting. What was common in most of the teams I led was a universal need: a sense of belonging and alignment to the organisation, driven by their personal motivations and values.

Culture in context

A few years back I was with a British friend in a 5 star hotel in Singapore. Repeated requests for service at one of the restaurants went unheeded. As we were pressed for time we did not leave. Eventually we had the supervisor come to serve us and I mentioned my disappointment with the service. Ironically it was my British friend who interjected saying that it was understandable and progressed to ordering our meal. As the supervisor left, my friend told me that the Asian culture does not like to ‘lose face’ and that I should not complain. I was amused. Here was my British friend telling me about the Asian culture.

At the best of times learning theoretically about another culture only reveals the outer layers – traditions and custom (dos and don’ts). This can lead to the tendency to take things literally. To really understand and appreciate a culture, the finer nuances, we need to get to the inner layers or core – values and beliefs, which requires time, effort and is usually experienced when living amongst the culture.

It was my friend’s second business trip to Asia and his feel for the culture was what he had ‘learnt’ and applicable in all contexts. It is only when you get to know a culture better that you are able to appreciate the context in which it works. I was impressed with my friend’s effort to learn about the Asian culture prior to his visit. I was not in disagreement with him. However, the context mattered. To condone poor service, on ‘saving face’, was doing a disservice to the supervisor, restaurant and the branded hotel that it belonged to, especially given Singapore’s pride in its customer service.

Culture beyond collective behaviours

In a past article I mentioned that culture can often be used as a shield and in the process we sideline our own common sense. A form of groupthink, ‘it’s the way it is’, can arise as a means to shrug responsibility, plead ignorance and play victim rather than victor. However, when I decipher a culture, I usually find more individuals who want to be victors rather than victims.

My intermittent years, totaling eighteen, outside Malaysia has taught me that although the globe comprises many cultures, underlying these cultures are a set of individuals with personal motivations and values. To derive these, when working with other cultures, requires us to be open, flexible and empathetic in our approach. These are skills that I would include in cross-cultural training programmes.

In all my experiences with new cultures, I took myself and some key skills which included remaining open, listening and observing. Asking appropriate questions to learn and decipher. As the barriers and shields came down, the authenticity of the people emerged. At this stage we were ‘homogenous’ and had transcended the old collective behaviours.

To go beyond collective behaviours requires energy and a belief in people and their personal motivations and values!

This article was first published in Malaysian Business Magazine, June 16, 2011