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TOsucceed in today’s global economy, more and more firms are relying on geographically dispersed workforces. Companies thus build teams that offer the best expertise from around the world, combined with deep, local knowledge of the markets. They draw on the benefits of

international diversity, bringing together people from different cultures with varied work experiences and different perspectives on strategic challenges. All of this helps multinational companies compete.

Sadly, it isn’t always that easy. Creating successful teams is hard enough when everyone comes from the same place. But when team members come from different countries and backgrounds and are working in different locations, communication can rapidly deteriorate, misunderstanding can follow, and cooperation can degenerate into distrust, and ultimately company failure.

In a multinational firm, it is inevitable that misunderstandings will happen. If your British manager tells you something is “interesting,” does he really mean that? Why do your Dutch colleagues feel so comfortable talking back to the boss?

Erin Meyer helps companies navigate these subtle cultural cues. In her book, The Culture Map: decoding how people think, lead, and get things done across cultures (Public Affairs, 2014), Meyer looks at the ways people from different cultures operate at work. It all starts with communication, Meyer says: being open about a colleague’s behaviours when they are different from your own, talking about those differences, and sharing that knowledge with other colleagues.

According to Meyer, the people firms hire for global positions need to be flexible. They need to understand, for example, that in Denmark it motivates people when the boss acts like an equal, but in Russia and Japan, people respond better when the boss is clearly the boss. Likewise, timeliness is given a high importance in Germanic and Japanese cultures, but less so in Indian and Chinese ones. Neither is necessarily ‘correct’: instead, each culture is just different. Effective global leaders thus are able to adapt to different team members’ cultural norms and can set a strong team culture to override those norms and bring everyone together.

Global teamwork has big rewards, but it also requires a big

Working with multinational teamsDifferences in culture can make communication difficult between groups of staff in different countries, so it’s important that everyone feels part of the project

investment. The bank HSBC, for instance, has invested heavily in its global/local approach, exemplified by its mission statement as ‘the World’s local bank’.

Ways of building multinational teams

A Common Company CultureIn a firm where the workforce may be scattered around the globe, perhaps the single most important need is for a single unifying positive company culture. Younger people especially no longer just go to work to be paid: positive fulfilment and a good work culture actively matter too. The values of a firm must align with the values of its employees. Developing a strong overall culture will also ensure your diverse, multinational pool of employees can develop a sense of belonging to the firm, rather than being separated by cultural divides.

Differing PerceptionsGlobal teams work best when members appreciate where their colleagues are coming from. This isn’t always easy as people define themselves in terms of age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and many other factors. Although behaviour can be revealing, particular behaviours may mean different things depending on the individual’s culture. For example, someone in North America who looks straight at you may be seen at home as confident and honest, but in other parts of the world, as rude or threatening. Misunderstandings such as these are a major source of distrust, and global team leaders have to raise everyone’s awareness of them to succeed.

Employee Relationship ManagementSimple logistical problems, such as time zones and inefficient tools, can sometimes get in the way of effective communications.

S T E V E F O W L E R

Steve Fowler is managing director of Amarreurs Consulting Ltd and a specialist in risk management, strategy and governance. steve@amarreurs.com @steverjfowler or linkedin.com/in/srjfowler

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The perception of power can also be an issue. If most team members are located in the USA, for instance, with two or three in the UK and UAE, there may be a sense that the American members have more power. People in the larger group may feel resentment toward the minority group, believing they are contributing less. Meanwhile, those in the smaller groups may believe that the majority is taking away what little power they have.

This can be exacerbated when the leader is based in the country with the most people: team members there may ignore the needs and contributions of their colleagues elsewhere.

To help overcome this, information must be centralised and easy to access. Thus ‘employee relationship management’ is now just as important as CRM (or customer) systems always have been. Combined with other new tools for working online, they allow employees to collaborate with ease, even across international borders.

Team members located far from the boss may also require more frequent contact with him

or her. A brief phone call or e-mail can make all the difference.

Foreign Language TrainingAdjusting to different cultures can also require local language skills. Increased globalisation has led to language skills being a ‘must have’ for businesses as part of their overall strategy.

In meetings, strong local language speakers should slow down when they speak and use fewer slang terms and local cultural references when addressing non-local language speakers. They should also actively seek confirmation that they’ve been understood.

The contribution of team members who are less proficient in the local language must always be kept under review to confirm that they have properly understood the business being covered, as well as the ‘tone’ of the meeting.

Ways of workingMembers of global teams may accidentally send the wrong signals with their everyday activities. If staff in Europe only check and respond to e-mails

first thing in the morning, will they necessarily realise that this leads to an overnight delay in correspondence with their American colleagues – leading to mistrust. Leaders of global teams must actively seek out this sort of practice and thus help teams build awareness of how others see them.

RecruitmentOne problem that can arise is when a firm may have a strong culture based on that of its parent country. So, for instance, an American firm recruiting in Japan may inadvertently hire “Americanised” Japanese employees. Internally, that certainly initially makes things easier. However, it may also make it more difficult for these firms to be close to their customers.

In addition, the advantage of having people from a range of cultures in a team is that you may actually improve innovation and creativity, as well as building closeness to local markets. The disadvantage is that multinational teamwork is invariably slower than single culture teamwork.

Allowing time to disagree.Leaders should actively encourage disagreement in order to elicit responses when working in some cultures. In parts of Asia, for instance, it can be common for people to keep quiet rather than express a contrary opinion to the team manager. A project team member might have very good reasons to oppose a decision, but he might not want to damage his own position or offend his boss. However, later in the project, the team might hit the very problems that the individual had seen coming.

Learning from one another.In America, “I can do this” is likely to mean exactly what it says. In India, though, the same statement may simply signal that the person wants to try, not that they necessarily can. Before drawing conclusions, therefore, ask a lot of questions. For instance, you might probe to see if the team member anticipates any challenges or needs additional resources.

If a leader regularly solicits input, they empower others, leading them to participate more willingly and effectively. A non-Japanese speaker in Japan thus might learn to rely on local staff during meetings with clients in order to better understand their needs, as well as perceptions of his own behaviour.

Should communication be instant?Teleconferencing and videoconferencing enable real-time conversations. E-mail, by contrast, requires users to wait for the other party to respond.

Choosing between instant and delayed forms of communication can be especially challenging for global teams, especially when a team spans multiple time zones. Phone calls may not be convenient for everyone. Thus using methods of communication appropriately can go a long way to building good teamwork and a common shared culture.