How does culture shape the brain?
‘Consider a monkey, bear and a banana’ – which two go together?
My first thought?
The monkey and the banana.
A research I recall reading, uses this example to illustrate how Westerners would say bear and monkey (think categorically and put the animals together) vs East Asians who think relationally (monkey and the food it needs).
What is astounding is the extent to which cultural differences impact our sensory processing!
On Culture and Making Global teams work.
Diversity of thought helps drive huge competitive advantage.
However, geographically dispersed teams face a big challenge: Physical separation and cultural differences can create social distance, or a lack of emotional connection, that can lead to misunderstandings and mistrust.
To help global team leaders manage effectively, Tsedal Neeley
shares her SPLIT framework for mitigating social distance in HBR
It has five components:
#1Structure. If a team is made up of groups with different views about their relative power, the leader should connect frequently with those who are farthest away and emphasize unity.
#2Process. Meeting processes should allow for informal interactions that build empathy.
#3Language. Everyone, regardless of language fluency, should be empowered to speak up.
#4Identity. Team members must be active cultural learners and teachers to understand one another’s identity and avoid misinterpreting behaviors.
#5Technology. When choosing between videoconferencing, e-mail, and other modes of communication, leaders should ask themselves if real-time conversation is desirable, if their message needs reinforcement, and if they are opting for the technology they want others to use
HBR link – https://hbr.org/2015/10/global-teams-that-work
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