Diverse / multicultural teams in which the individual team members are not integrated properly and which do not have mutual trust are less successful than homogeneous teams. Simply put because their advantages of having different experiencies does not come into play. However, if the Leader manages to built up trust (in himself and between the team members) and manages to create an inclusive environment in which everyone dares to contribute and share their experiences / perspectives, then the team has an enormous advantage over homogeneously composed teams:
What are diverse / multicultural teams?
In diverse (multicultural or heterogeneous) teams, people work together who have different genders, ages, nationalities, interests, experiences, values, etc.
As a leader, how do you create trust in a diverse / multicultural team?
In order to built up trust a leader has to be empathic, professional in his job and authentic. The following focuses on the aspect of Authenticity.
Authenticity means to refrain from being false in the workplace, but instead being more credible (being your best self). If the team senses that the leader is hiding something, they will not open up. But having the team to open up is a prerequisite for successful leadership.
Do not define authenticity too rigidly as a leader.
When being authentic (being more credible), it is not always about:
"Staying true to yourself". This would request to ask the question: "Which self?". Depending on the situation and context, everybody assumes different identities (roles). A leader will always have a different self while being among friends, family, sports clubs, etc. With every experience made every individual will develop its personality further, therefore how and to which self a leader would have to stay true to?
"Saying and doing exactly what suits your own feelings". A leader who always reveals his inner self runs the risk of quickly losing respect and credibility. Especially if he has not yet proven himself in a new role.
"Making decisions based on your own values". The higher a leader climbs the corporate ladder, the more likely it is that old values developed from past experiences will mislead him.
It is therefore recommended to question one's self-image again and again and to adapt it to the situation / career level. Furthermore, it is recommended to constantly develop the own personality in order to grow beyond the limits of one's own ego.
How to lead multicultural teams succesfully?
In summary, it is basically about creating trust through authentic (credible) behavior. Following methods can be applied:
Appearance: As superficial as this bullet point may sounds, unfortunately it is often the case that there is a difference between the "world out there" and the "world as we would like it to be". Example: Someone really wants to work in a law firm or a bank, but doesn't like wearing a shirt, suit and dress shoes at all. This person has to ask himself whether he is willing to change his style of clothing to pursue his goal and to look authentic, whether he could find an employer accepting his dress code or whether this conflicts that strongly with his self (self-image) that he needs to pursue a new profession (if possible at all).
Imitation of experienced role models: Most learning processes usually begin with imitation. It can therefore be helpful to look for different experienced leaders as role models and observe how they manage multicultural teams. It's not about exactly imitating the behavior of just one leader, but rather cherry-picking different styles from various role models.
Mentoring: Leadership of multicultural teams can also be successful if you have one or more experienced role models as mentors, especially as a young inexperienced manager. The mentors can be asked for advice in difficult situations.
Openness and curiosity: A leader should consider a multicultural team as a blessing rather then a burden. He should be open and curious about new ideas. He should also be ready to adapt his own leadership style if needed.
Intercultural coaching: According to the definition "help for sustainable self-help", a coach can support a leader in finding his own resources / strenghts. In addition he can accompany the coachee in reflecting his own communication style in order to communicate more authentically/inclusively, to change perspectives, to deal with stress and much more.
Flexibility in leadership style: An authentic (credible) behavior also depends on how you deal with different situations as a leader. Depending on the topic, urgency, etc., a good leader is able to adapt his style to the situation. More on that however in another future blog post.
Conclusion
In order to built up trust a leader has to be empathic, professional in his job and authentic. It is the responsibility of the leader to create an inclusive environment, in which everybody does not fear to express his experience / perspective. This blog post focusses on the aspect of authenticity and gives first impulses on how to successfully create an inclusive environment through apperance, imitating experienced role models, asking for advice from a Mentor, through openness and curiosity, the support of a Coach and applying a leadership style appropriate to the situation.
Sources:
Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, Harvard Business Manager Edition 4 / 2020, p. 24 ff. (see also: https://hbr.org/2020/05/begin-with-trust)
Herminia Ibarra, Harvard Business Manager Edition 4 / 2020, p. 17 ff. (see also: https:/ /hbr.org/2015/01/the-authenticity-paradox)
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