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Our people need their own multicultural competency if they are to understand the diverse needs of our customers. I call it “cultural dancing.” You don’t have to be Filipino to have that competence. You don’t have to be Indian or Turkish. But you do have to be open-minded to people’s needs and willing to step away from the perspective with which you see the world.
You also have to be willing to look beneath the surface, to look beyond the apparent first meaning of the words someone is using. Because the person speaking may not be using their primary language, it’s up to the listener to actively participate in finding out what the person actually means by what they say. If you’re only used to your home culture, you don’t have to do that. You can take things more at face value. But if you grew up in a multicultural environment, you think to yourself, “Maybe they didn’t mean it exactly like it sounds. Maybe there’s a second thought, a second meaning behind the first one.” That openness is important if you are on my leadership team.
Via David Hain
