English | EN 
It’s getting more and more common to work in international teams, which gives rise to new challenges with communication issues that are easy to overlook. In this blog, I will talk about three insights from working in international teams.
Language barrier
Languages are structured differently, and depending on your mother tongue, you’ll make different types of mistakes. This is, of course, quite obvious when you think about it. But it’s easy to miss its consequences…
When I’m talking to another Swede speaking English, it’s easy to understand even if the other person makes mistakes. This is because I know the underlying language structure from their mother tongue. Swedes make similar mistakes.
If I’m talking to a person whose mother tongue has a vastly different structure, it’s harder to understand the mistakes. For instance, in Swedish we change verbs depending on the tense. If your mother tongue instead uses the base version of the verb and shows tense with additional words, it’s really hard to get the verb correct. Because it’s not a common mistake for Swedes, I have a harder time understanding.
It gets easier if you’re aware that people whose mother tongue is different from your own, make other types of mistakes, but the most efficient way is to learn other languages. The more languages you know, the easier it gets to understand what types of mistakes other people make.
Cultural differences
Cultural differences affect our communication and our worldview. In an international team, the cultural differences between the team members lead to misunderstandings. Those can be minor, but they can also be big. In the book “The Culture Map” by Erin Meyer, she describes eight scales where different cultures vary along a spectrum from one extreme to its opposite. The eight scales are:
- Communicating: Low-context vs High-context
- Evaluating: Direct negative feedback vs indirect negative feedback
- Persuading: Principles-first vs Applications-first
- Leading: Egalitarian vs Hierarchical
- Deciding: Consensual vs Top-down
- Trusting: Task-based vs Relationship-based
- Disagreeing: Confrontational vs Avoids confrontation
- Scheduling: Linear-time vs Flexible-time
Misunderstandings occur when you’re from cultures that are not in the same position on the scale. Even if your cultures are close, it’s easy to misunderstand each other.
It’s important to note that cultural differences are not just between people from different countries. There are cultural differences between different parts of a country, different groups, and different companies.
Another important note is that there’s no sinister reason for our misunderstandings. We are so ingrained in our own culture that it’s difficult to grasp that other people don’t know our intention. Much of our culture is so ingrained in us that we don’t even see it.
So, be aware that it’s easy to misunderstand when you’re from different cultures. Try to resolve the issue before jumping to conclusions. If you’re not sure you’ve understood correctly, ask and clarify. Learn about different ways of looking at each scale above, and strategies to deal with the differences. I can recommend Erin Meyer’s book as an excellent source for this.
Your way is NOT the only right way
We all see the world through our own special glasses. That influences how we see the world, and what we deem as the right way of doing things. But your way is NOT the only right way. If we consider everybody’s viewpoints, the solution to problems will be more efficient. But it’s not only about getting a team which delivers the best solution as quickly as possible. It’s about being human and recognizing that we all have a right to exist and act according to our beliefs—as long as we don’t harm others.
A lot of frustration in international teams comes from individuals trying to get everyone else to think and act like them. Not only is this unfeasible—it’s counterproductive. Your way is NOT the only way, and it may not even be the best way. Listen to each other and be open-minded. It will be a much nicer work climate, and your solutions will be better.
Summary
International teams pose new challenges with communication challenges that are easy to overlook. In my work in international teams, I’ve gained three insights that have made my work easier.
- Language barrier
- Languages are structured differently, and depending on your mother tongue, you’ll make different types of mistakes. Learn other languages. The more languages you know, the easier it gets to understand what kinds of mistakes other people make.
- Cultural differences
- It’s easy to misunderstand when you’re from different cultures. Try to resolve the issue before jumping to conclusions. If you’re not sure you’ve understood correctly, ask and clarify. Learn about different ways of looking at each scale above, and strategies to deal with the differences. I can recommend Erin Meyer’s book “The Culture Map” as an excellent source for this.
- Your way is NOT the only right way
- A lot of frustration in international teams comes from individuals trying to get everyone else to think and act like them. This is not only unfeasible. It is counterproductive. Listen to each other and be open-minded. It will be a much nicer work climate, and your solutions will be better.
International teams are here to stay, and we need to learn strategies to improve cooperation and communication. I’ve shared some of my insights above. Of course, there are more. Let’s talk about it and learn from each other.
What do you think? Do you have additional strategies you want to share? Please comment. I’d love to have your feedback.