Reaching across cultures

This week seems to have been a week for conversations centered around dealing with people across culture and diversity and inclusion issues.

From conversation with a friend about why it is important for leaders to understand the issue diversity and inclusion initiates seeks to address, to a seminar at work that stressed how understanding others interests, strength and weakness helps with leading and motivating them, to a talk on cross-cultural management from the CEO of a global company to a radio show that spoke about how important it is to accept others as they present themselves to us.

These ideas brought about from these conversation echoes my approach to dealing with others and reminded me that I should continue to strive to make them a staple to use when dealing with those that I know and don’t know.

Practicing the following tenets will help me better engage with others, build rewarding relationships and accomplished shared goals more productively:

·       Getting to know people and their cultures and customs

·       Importance of building authentic relationships

·       Having empathy

·       Being confidence to step out of your comfort zone to meet others yet staying authentic

·       Because someone looks like you do, does not mean they are the same as you.