Why Cultural Fluency Now?
Since the publication of our new book, Managing Across Cultures: The Seven Keys to Doing Business with a Global Mindset (McGraw-Hill), we’ve been interviewed by publications ranging from Fortune magazine and Reuters down to podcasts released in Europe. Somewhere during the interview they all ask the same two questions: Why this book? Why now?
Obviously, culture and globalization have been around for a long time. However, developing cultural fluency has become a more urgent, everyday fact-of-life. We believe the answer to these questions fall into three categories:
The first is a workforce shift to knowledge-intensive work. Although globalization has been a force in the world for centuries, the need for cultural dexterity wasn’t as great when the work being managed was related to manufacturing and production. When the work requires the ability to inspire intellectual contribution, however, the manager must be skilled in cultural knowledge.
Secondly, there has been a huge increase in global virtual work and collaboration. Everyone involved in today’s global economy frequently find themselves interacting virtually. The dramatic expansion of collaborative software and the need to use that technology everyday increases the need for cultural awareness and fluency beyond those who manage workers and those who travel internationally to a far greater range of job responsibilities and employee levels.
The third category is the growing talent migration from one country to another. No matter which country you’re working in, you’re likely to have a far greater range of cultures working alongside you in your office. As we point out in Managing Across Cultures, you now need cultural skills for “working over there” as well as for “working over here.”
These reasons may be obvious, but we always need talking points to reinforce why culture is so important when discussing these ideas with people in our organizations.
Mike and Charlene
