Saturday, February 20, 2010
Adapt to different culture while remain authentic to oneself
I find this concept challenging especially when I see the result from my last survey. The feedback suggests that people who can adapt to different culture and still be consistent to one’s self-identity are the people who will become effective global leaders. I never recognized that adapting too much to other cultures can be seen as insincere and untrustworthy. Come to think of it, now I see why doing so will have a negative result down the road. People from the host culture will think that I am gullible since it is so easy for me to adapt someone else’s practice/belief. I personally would not want to be lead by such a leader. So, remaining authentic to oneself is an ideal. I assume this will come with time and practice, lots of practice.
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Yes, I think I am still confused about the differences between being respectful of another culture, and being consistent with my own values. This makes me wonder if some of the things that I think may be appropriate behaviors, such as being more respectful or self effacing in certain situations to try to encourage participation from team member or co workers with a different cultural background are really appropriate or come across as false.
ReplyDeleteYes, what you say is very true Orawan. I think deciding the best course of action is often through practice. I remember our professor too sharing some of her past experiences with us - the one where she took ideas from her colleagues individually and finally called in a meeting and told them the course of action.
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