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October 2016 • SMT Magazine 57 pean customers who felt the negotiation behav- ior of German customers was too aggressive, and she was very uncomfortable. The optimum so- lution was reassigning her to manage Asian cus- tomers while assigning a member of the team who was more comfortable with aggressive ne- gotiating styles to the European accounts. Communications and Cultural Conflict Another area where cultural conflict can arise is in communications. For example, in technical discussions, language differences of- ten drive the biggest communications mis- takes. In many cases, it isn't a pure lack of sec- ond language competency. Instead, it is a com- bination of use of unfamiliar jargon and fear of embarrassment. In countries other than the U.S., fluency in multiple languages is consid- ered the norm. People viewed as not being flu- ent are perceived as less competent than peers with better language skills. But even individu- als who are highly fluent in multiple languages may not be fluent in localized idioms, compa- ny-specific acronyms or jargon. The tie between fluency and competency discourages questions on points which aren't entirely clear. As a re- sult, an individual who speaks English as a sec- ond language may agree to what he thinks you said rather than ask the questions necessary to fully understand a project objective. Good com- munications practices include: • Team training and discussion on the value of clarifying questions in complex projects to create a comfort zone relative to asking questions • A focus on avoiding idioms, jargon and acronyms that may not be globally relevant • A pattern of written communications followed by phone discussions to make it easier for key points to be understood • Slowing down conversations and repeating key points several times to give people who are mentally translating time to process information or catch up after brief lapses in attention • Verbally testing comprehension by asking other team members to restate key points and commitments. Communications style is important. Many high-context cultures value politeness. For ex- ample, in Mexico it is very customary to start conversations by discussing family or other per- sonal things rather than jumping straight to business. Being short with someone in Mexico can have consequences. Years ago I came out of a meeting with a long and time-sensitive ac- tion item list and my secretary met me at my office door with a stack of phone messages. I looked at her and said briskly, "Not now, Veron- ica." The minute I said it I could see the look of hurt on her face. We had previously had a great working relationship, but took me months of being exceptionally polite to repair the damage I'd done by not stopping to talk with her polite- ly because she was really insulted by my lack of what she perceived as good manners. Time sense and focus in communications can also be an issue. In another example in Mexico, it became necessary to reassign a pro- gram manager who wouldn't change his style to fit the style of his customer. The program manager got things done, but he wasn't a de- tailed communicator. The customer wanted de- tailed meeting minutes and frequent updates. Moving the account to a program manager ca- pable of meeting those expectations solved the problem. Time sense also plays a role in meeting suc- cess. In some cultures, starting a meeting on time is critical. In other cultures, meeting start times are very fluid. For example, in some parts of Malaysia, a meeting scheduled for 8 a.m. that BUILDING BRIDGES WITH CROSS-CULTURAL TEAMS " Many high-context cultures value politeness. For example, in Mexico it is very customary to start conversations by discussing family or other personal things rather than jumping straight to business. "