Anyone who starts a new position is likely to meet a diverse group of employees that mean different nationalities, genders, socio-economic status, religion and more. The possibility of this happening amplifies if the company works remotely. According to a 2018 Culture Wizard survey, a staggering 62% of virtual teams encompassed more than three distinct cultures. This is a compelling reason why a remarkable 90% of top executives from 68 countries consider cross-cultural skills as indispensable for competitive success and business growth. 

In my 16 years of experience, I have collaborated with entrepreneurs, peers, and journalists from various cultures. Currently, my team also works with companies from around the world including the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Nigeria, and others. As a result, I have gained unique insights into multicultural teamwork. 

3 Tips to Embrace Cultural Diversity in Daily Life

I believe that mastering cultural diversity in today’s world is not only about studying cultural specifics or cross-cultural communications as a separate discipline. While reading books can help with this, the reality is that to succeed in a multicultural environment, we need to make cultural diversity an integral part of our daily lives. Here are three strategies to help your employees communicate effectively and build successful relationships with their peers from different backgrounds. 

#1 Exploring the World of National Art 

The transformative potential of art is immense, as it transcends linguistic and societal barriers, forging connections and nurturing empathy; it serves as a reflection of life, a mirror of reality. 

All around the globe, artists from different walks of life have created masterpieces based on the issues that they are dealing with or that have at some point affected the region where they’re from. 

For example, one of the artists that helped me to understand African culture better was Njideka Akunyii Crosby. She is an American artist originally from Nigeria, and through art, she made sense of her experience as an individual adapting to a new homeland while striving to preserve her cultural traditions. 

Another example is Arthur Timothy, a talented artist and architect. He brings forth a captivating body of work that intimately portrays his cherished family members and autobiographical experiences. With a profound focus on African countries like Ghana, his birthplace, and Sierra Leone where he spent his formative years until the age of 9, Timothy’s art is deeply rooted in the powerful realms of personal and political memory.

Therefore, create a plan to immerse your team in art from places that are in alignment with their colleagues’ backgrounds, as this will deepen their understanding of their culture and how this influences the way they work. You could organize educational lectures or interactive webinars with experts, attend art fairs that allow your employees to engage with artists, curators, and other art enthusiasts, or visit artists in their own creative spaces and art galleries. Out-of-office activities can also foster better interpersonal relationships, which we’ll discuss more in the next section.

#2 Getting to Know Colleagues on a Personal Level 

Whenever possible, stimulate your team to spend quality time with their peers who have different cultural backgrounds. Doing sports together, going to concerts or any other activity will give them a wealth of information about how others behave in their everyday life outside work. 

You might organize a movie night to watch a film together and then discuss it. By empowering everyone to share their perspective on the movie, your team members will look at any scenario through a different lens, and this will broaden their horizons. Many of them are indeed based on biases and stereotypes, and it can be hard to know how the reality is. Hence, if you see a stereotypical image of some nationality ask your peers about it. For example, my French friends often get asked about the show “Emily in Paris” and how similar it is to their daily lives. Another case is “Outsourcing,” a film that highlights the cultural differences between the United States and India. But, even though the film takes place in a work setting, is it accurate? It would make for an interesting conversation topic with your colleagues from either of the two countries. 

In addition, you can organize themed corporate events and activities like a quiz about Italian movies or Spanish music, and enlist the support of someone from that background. Announce the topic in advance and share useful resources to allow participants to prepare.

#3 Immersing in the Local Communities Abroad

Travel broadens our perspectives and rejuvenates our mindset, yet not everyone gets the chance to travel abroad frequently. A novel idea to enhance your team’s cross-cultural proficiency is by organizing a group trip to an unfamiliar destination. You could incorporate team-building activities and strategy sessions into these trips. Whenever feasible, select countries that aren’t typical tourist hotspots. For instance, consider visiting Ecuador or Bolivia instead of Peru to immerse in Latin American culture.

Upon reaching your destination, strive to interact with locals as much as possible. Choose family-run hotels and eateries over global chains. Employ local guides for your team and ask them to show you non-touristy places, restaurants and cafes. This approach will help employees gain a deeper understanding of the local culture, and provide valuable insights into how residents from that country see the world, ranging from the economy to interpersonal relationships.

Additionally, if your company has an office in another country, consider allowing employees to visit and interact with their peers in that environment. Why is this important? For instance, if a French manager works in the U.S., their colleagues might not be aware of the tradition of having a glass of wine with lunch. Similarly, without spending time with Italian coworkers in an Italian setting, they may not realize that politics is a popular topic of conversation in Italy.

Final Thoughts

With increased flexibility and blurring borders between countries comes the challenge of understanding different backgrounds and points of view. In this regard, broadening our perspective and taking the time to learn about other cultures can help business leaders not only build more lasting connections, but increase the success of their company’s international endeavors. 
Today, embracing cultural diversity is not only a choice but an obligation to succeed, as otherwise, business efforts abroad are bound to fail. Each culture has a lot to offer, and there is more that can bring us together than keep us apart.