Global Collaboration
Global Collaboration
Even if they have to face new challenges, it is very important and vital for managers and businesses to be able to collaborate across cultures and geographies.
Doing business across borders
Global collaboration is required as businesses collaborate more and more with companies from other regions and other countries. In today’s business environment, managers at all organizational levels need to be skillful global collaborators.
Global collaboration challenges
Business globalization and geographical interconnection have become more common, and sometimes, when managers interact and collaborate across cultures, they may encounter the following challenges:
- Cultural misunderstandings
- Lack of trust
- Mishandled negotiations
- Language barriers
- Physical distance
- Team alignment
Boost your cultural intelligence
Global communication and collaboration may highlight cultural differences, and for this reason learning to understand these differences and respond appropriately in new settings is important to ensure a successful global collaboration.
Understanding culture
A culture is a shared system of values, ideas, interests and thoughts that defines and guides a group’s perceptions and understanding of the world and that, to an extent, shape’s the behavior of the members of the group. A shared culture can be a country, a nation, an ethnic group, a religion, as well as a business and a corporate organization.
In order for a company, its managers and its teams to collaborate globally with success, they need to be able to properly handle challenges that may emerge from cultural differences. To communicate and collaborate with other national and corporate cultures, one should try to understand the general characteristics and elements that define those cultures.
Cultural intelligence is the ability to:
- Assess and understand the way people in different countries and cultures commonly interact and communicate
- Identify and understand the characteristics and elements that make interactions and communication among cultures different
- Participate effectively in interactions and communications with people from other countries and other cultures
- Manage successfully potential challenging situations that may emerge as a result of any cultural differences
Develop and maintain a solid cultural intelligence by following these steps:
- Focus on success and on making the collaboration work
- Observe characteristics and learn differences
- Modify behavior and adapt communication
Trust and global collaboration
Trust plays a major role in every collaboration and certainly in the case of a global one. Cultivating trust among global businesses, managers and teams is key to ensure a successful business relationship.
Trust and confidence mean that all parties involved in a collaboration:
- Are honest and sincere
- Are committed to their promises and their word
- Remain focused on making the business relationship work
- Possess the skillset needed to achieve defined goals
- Care genuinely about the well-being of all involved
When there is trust, businesses, managers and teams can:
- Negotiate better, more efficiently and more effectively
- Overpass any cultural barriers or potential misunderstandings caused by cultural differences and language barriers
- Overcome potential problems caused by physical distance
- Remain focused on the goals and benefits of the collaboration