Written by Although the saying, “opposites attract,” may be true in some cases, most of the friends you have probably have similar traits or interests to yourself.
A similar background.
Similar values.
The same language.
The same culture.
Because we like “sameness” in our friendships, expats and international managers might find it difficult to forge hearty relationships with those of other cultures.
In fact, they may fall into one of the three categories of expats who stick to themselves.
Our preference for sameness is due to our favoring the familiar over the unfamiliar, the known over the unknown, and comfort over discomfort.
We tend toward sameness because it reduces potential friction or conflict.
Initiating a friendship with someone from a different cultural background, therefore, can seem like a hurdle. And maintaining one looks more like an obstacle course.
However, in a cross-cultural environment, as an expat or foreign manager, one must be able to bridge the divide, overriding these initial levels of discomfort in order to build and maintain friendships with people of other cultures.
CEO Hans
Let’s revisit our favorite German CEO, Hans.
Hans relocated to Switzerland to become the CEO of a major Swiss company that belonged to a German group.
Only, Hans fell short: he had no interest in integration.
Not only did he not wish to culturally integrate, but he had no desire to become part of the local business community either.
His goal was to build his career in Germany.
His disinterest in getting to know people and detachment from the culture was blindingly apparent to his Swiss employees.
Instead of coming together cohesively, the company unraveled.
Cut to a few years later. It became apparent that Hans was floundering in Switzerland. So the German group acted accordingly.
Enter, Karl.
CEO Karl
Karl was sent to take Hans’ place.
This German CEO immediately set out to make local friends in Zurich. He demonstrated a true interest in Swiss culture and cultivated a local network of business contacts and personal friends.
As a result, the environment of the company shifted dramatically. The atmosphere was no longer terse or tense, and the employees felt more engaged with each other, their boss, and their work.
Karl understood that in order for businesses to succeed, a common business culture must be built.
And that started with him.
He had to lay the foundation upon which to build, and he did this by taking action, encouraging demonstrations of respect and understanding across cultures – and throughout the company.
Mid-level and senior management worked together much more fluidly – all because Karl chose to take this fairly simple step of showing his openness to the new culture and to new friendships.
While not everyone is a people-person like Karl, fortunately, there are strategies to help you build and maintain cross-cultural friendships, no matter your personality type.
We’ll discuss these strategies in the coming weeks.
Success Across Cultures 