The Critical Exercise of Cultural Fluency

As promised in our June 15th post, we want to begin a deep dive into the 7 Cs defined by Michael Moe of GSV as essential for you to succeed in the global digital economy, including critical thinking, creativity, civic engagement, character, collaboration, communication, and today’s focus, cultural fluency.

Cultural fluency is about much more than not being racist or learning the do’s and don’ts of specific cultures, like how to shake hands (or not in the post-COVID world!), make eye-contact or address a customer. It requires us to shift the way we think and act. In fact, cross-cultural awareness builds trust, leads to increased creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, and according to the Harvard Business Review, has actually been repeatedly linked to financial performance. Cultural fluency, says HBR, “is an essential ingredient for driving productivity and innovation while also staving off the kind of uniformity that can lead to “groupthink” (which can limit a company’s ability to reach a global customer base).”

So, how do you get started? It might be some time since you took social studies. Popular media isn’t a reliable teacher of culture. Set yourself a course of self-education and awareness-building:

Look for connections and similarities. Start with religion. Wars are fought and people die for religion. No type of dogma is more tightly woven into many individuals’ belief systems. Yet, the major religions of the world developed continents apart over thousands of years and almost all recognize a higher power for the greater good. Suggested reading: 12 Major World Religions: The Beliefs, Rituals, and Traditions of Humanity's Most Influential Faiths, by Jason Boyett.

Learn cultural courtesies. You can offend your new Chinese client by sending white flowers as a welcome gift. To her, white represents death and ghosts. Through your uninformed Western lens, white symbolizes purity. This is just one example of an unwitting yet insensitive blunder that could easily be avoided by researching the cultures and traditions of those you interact with. Do a Google simple search on “traditions and customs” to learn how to act politely within another’s cultural frame.

Broaden your circle of acquaintances. All citizens of the earth have evolved from tribal peoples. We have a natural tendency to gravitate toward people who look like us. Does your closest network look mostly like you? Find ways to get to know more and different types of people. Introduce yourself to people at work who are part of that “other” group (whatever it is). Join a LinkedIn group that’s outside your frame of reference to connect with people who have other perspectives. Diversity of opinion leads to open-mindedness which leads to comfort with cultural differences. Voila.

Become mindful of your unconscious biases. Take a test to uncover them. Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition: thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet. Here’s their test for unconscious bias.

Abandon your comfort zone. Don’t just step out of your comfort zone. Kick it to the curb. Hundreds of millions of people preferring to stay in their comfort zones is a perfect prescription for perpetual global misunderstanding and strife. Individuals who are willing to change can change the world. It starts with cultural fluency.

And finally, act with intent, and give yourself room. Cultural fluency is a muscle that can be strengthened, but not built overnight. As beloved author and activist Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, do better.”

While we focus on the workplace and know cultural fluency can drive your career success, such awareness and open mindedness promises to deliver rewards in all aspects of your life!