World today is a global village,
and IT revolution has made this a predominant to re-emphasis the fact that “All
the world’s a stage”… This means that
there is a vast need to understand the geographic variations, cultural
differences, country-wise legal and government regulations, different laws,
different work ethics, widely varying
business ethics and communication norms,
multiple languages and various traditions leading to different holiday
schedules, time zone differences and
even in the mind set, focus and cultural values and food habits.
‘Unity in Diversity’ had been the strength of
Indian Republic with multi languages and multi cultures meeting us with every
400 kilometers of Indian space. Same
time, this has to be made much more important and understandable when the whole
world becomes our stage for survival as Professionals.
10 Simple but powerful tips that would make you feel at ease when you
work on multi-national projects
1. Flexibility is the most crucial factor. Be flexible to understand the multi-culture
work environment and never be judgmental because of the personal
qualities. Focus as a team
2.
Diversity
awareness is Key. It becomes very important to understand
the various differences in terms of work timing, work patterns and respect each
other’s cultural and religious needs.
3.
Build
teams with Open communication. Global
workforce differs in the way they work. Whereas
some more openly tell their opinions others may not indulge so. So try to establish clear communication
process where everyone can contribute efficiently
4.
No-No
to Generalization. Even in in-house
teams, there is absolutely no fragment for generalization. Each employee differs in the way they work
and in productivity. Skill-sets and
trainings can be common and generalized but only experience can group
individuals with similar attitudes
5.
Absolute
Fairness. What stands out and towards excellence is the
utmost fairness you deal with as part of the team. Be Professional and leadership can be
assigned to people who can balance without being judgmental on race, culture or
origin.
6.
Sensitive
to Other’s Culture. Today work
environments succeed because there is absolute equality and sensitivity to
other’s cultures. Encouraging business
partners to follow their food habits and appreciate their festivals and
celebrations in one way would ease things in professional front.
7.
Adaptability
to Change. Change is the only
constant thing in this world. When
organizations merge, acquire and transcend beyond boundaries, there is a possibility
for resilience and vice versa. Quality
to listen to other’s views and encourage participations will make things work.
8.
Never
impose the set of values. One side
it is important to create an awareness of each other’s mutual trust and ease to
work, same time it is very significant to understand that there is no absolute
need to impose one’s set of values on the other. Processes differ and respect and integrate
them with mutual understanding is very important.
9.
Bridge
communication gaps. Global teams
have the challenges posed by different time zones and different working
hours. So a very adaptable communication
process is important to be laid from the beginning to bridge gaps and create camaraderie,
work flow and mutual friendship that is very important when people work in long
term projects across borders. Improving
the inter-personal skills and encouraging team spirit and feeling of oneness as
a team is important.
.
Inspiration
is important. Treating others they
way you want to be treated, acceptable
body language, focused motives and
objectives of the team with their tasks and accountability and assigned
responsibility inspires the teams to work with clear motivation. Achievable goals and recognition across
globe promotes healthy teams towards projects’ success. Never allow any ethnic jokes or insults to
be in the team. Support people who need
special attention to get the required training and guidance. Though accent neutralization is an additional
advantage, it is never made mandatory and people respect for your work and not
for your accent, culture or race. So
give importance to the Project Needs as a Team and make everything else a
parcel towards a Global Delivery.
What make successful projects are
the teams who understand these vital ingredients and balance their professional
tasks and handling the cultural-multi-work environment’s inbuilt
challenges. Those professionals are the
ones who give in their best beyond their personal calling… It is the teamwork
the makes Global Projects Successful stories.
