By Virtual Keynote Speaker, Jamie Mason Cohen
1. Before meeting with a team, learn as much about individual team members and their cultures beforehand. It may be time-consuming at the outset but it will reap relationship capital in the long run.
2. Don’t put people on the spot to speak up in front of their boss or their peers. In certain cultures, saving face or maintaining their dignity and respect of their CEO or manager is their most pressing consideration at that moment.
3. Create a safe, psychological space by defining expectations and meeting frameworks upfront.
4. Consider putting people in small groups to discuss problems that the meeting addresses instead of large group discussions only.
5. Be like a chess master anticipating how different people on your team will react. Adjust your communication style accordingly. (Coursera)
6. Take cultural norms into account. This approach is not putting all people from one culture into a box; it’s empathizing with their needs to ensure that they are being set up for success in the environment that you create.
7. Dialogue not dictate. Speak 50%, listen 50%.
