Turn Diversity into Strengths: When should you focus on individual cultural preferences?

cultural competence global leaders high-performing teams

Have you ever encountered descriptions of your cultural background and felt disconnected from the national cultural traits presented? You’re not alone. I often run into professionals and leaders who feel they work better in a team of people from another country or in an international setting.

How do we define culture, and at what point does the emphasis shift from broad national characteristics to the nuances of individual cultural preferences?

Geert Hofstede defines national cultures as “the programming of the human mind that distinguishes one group of people from another.”

This perspective views national culture as a collective learning process that profoundly shapes our beliefs, values, behaviours, and interactions in our communities and professional settings.

Looking at averages like the dimensions of national cultures offers an extremely useful tool for businesses to understand what strategies to use in foreign markets or in global customer service, because even if you feel somewhat disconnected from your country’s dominant cultural values, most of us usually conform to social pressure to feel accepted and included.

We’ve introduced a few frameworks to help understand how cultural averages produce great business results.

First, you might look at the Hofstede 6D model, which measures national cultures using cultural dimensions. Understanding the average cultural characteristics of each national culture helps identify and address common challenges in international business and encounters. Essentially, it helps you understand why methods that have worked for you in the past might not be effective in different cultural environments.

Then, you can add an additional layer with the 7 Mental Images of National Cultures model, which maps similar cultures together based on cultural clustering. It shows you how the cultural dimensions interplay in combinations and gives you a helicopter view on cultures to help guide your decisions and strategy in similar countries without considering each country separately.

These tools significantly enhance cultural competence in business. Building on this foundation, we introduce the Culture Compass Tool in this post. The Culture Compass is a specific self-awareness instrument designed to assess individual cultural preferences, offering insights into how individual preferences align with or diverge from broader national cultural norms in a chosen business environment.

Why individual cultural preferences?

At InCultures, our commitment to fostering outstanding global business outcomes is underpinned by a deep focus on cultural competence. We have consistently leveraged the Hofstede 6D model and the 7 Mental Images of National Cultures to great effect in our clients’ practices. These methodologies form the backbone of our approach to culture, enabling us to navigate the complexities of global business environments effectively.

However, assessing individual cultural value preferences is crucial when working with individuals or specific teams, as the national average is not a reliable indicator for individuals. It is instrumental in bridging the gap between general cultural frameworks and the unique cultural identities of individuals.

The rationale behind this approach is clear: while broad cultural frameworks offer essential insights on a larger scale, incorporating individual cultural value preferences allows us to see how each person's specific cultural values impact their effectiveness in terms of work style, communication, and collaboration within varied cultural environments.

The preferences also significantly impact how individuals are likely to feel in different workplace situations and organisational and team cultures, which Professor Hofstede defined as ‘How we relate to each other, our work and the outside world’.

In this context, team culture refers to the collective behaviour, practices and norms within a specific team, while organisational culture encompasses the broader norms and practices of the entire organisation.

Both team and organisational cultures play pivotal roles in shaping work dynamics. While you cannot change human nature, you can increase trust, motivation, and psychological safety through strong organisational and team culture practices.

In the context of a multicultural and diverse team, methods that focus only on assessing personality types without considering the team’s cultural preferences or that apply broad cultural models without acknowledging individual variations may appear incomplete.

Understanding each team member's unique cultural preferences is a brilliant asset. It predicts possible cultural clashes that can be seen as issues in effective leadership, performance, collaboration, and well-being within the team. This deeper understanding allows for proactive measures to mitigate conflicts and enhance team synergy, thus fostering a more cohesive and efficient work environment.

How is the Culture Compass Tool distinct from the other frameworks?

Sometimes you need to map a blueprint of a team’s cultural preferences or understand how to support an individual in a multicultural setting. One of the tools we use at InCultures to hone in on individuals’ cultural preferences is the Culture Compass Tool.

When you intend to offer tailored strategies for specific cultural challenges through team or individual coaching or training, this tool offers an effective way to quantify diversity and gain clarity of cultural value preferences.

Culture Compass serves as a data-driven thermometer for where the most impactful potential for adaptation and advocating for different ways of working exist for individuals. It is also a great tool for in-depth conversations to create psychological safety and increase awareness of the value of diversity within a team.

Strictly adhering to using average national cultures or basic personality assessments would probably lead to useful insights, but diving deep into individual cultural preferences allows you to produce more tailored reports and more impactful action steps.

The Culture Compass is based on the same principles as the Hofstede 6D model, so you do not miss out on the power of the comprehensive framework cultural dimensions offer. The originality here is in understanding and navigating the diverse cultural dimensions in practice as they affect leadership styles, team dynamics, workplace satisfaction, and overall organisational culture.

Benefits of the Cultural Dimensions framework in Culture Compass

What we most like about Culture Compass is how it uses the research-based and data-driven approach introduced in other industry-acclaimed cultural tools to create such a versatile tool for teams and professionals.

The awareness of cultural preferences allows for guiding diverse teams with sensitivity and insight, creating an environment where everyone feels valued and understood.

It helps HR professionals and team leaders support team members’ ability to navigate cultural differences in working styles, leadership, and expectations of how things should be done ‘right’.

The most successful teams can make diversity their strength. However, without the required awareness and cultural competence, diversity creates challenges and decreases team cohesion. Multicultural teams can enhance cohesion, communication, and productivity by recognising and addressing the most prominent differences during the assessments.

Together with the Culture Compass, we also use the Team Scan tool, which is particularly effective in measuring these aspects and provides valuable insights into the prevailing cultural attributes of teams and organisations.

The Key Cultural Dimensions the Culture Compass is based on

If you have ever encountered the Hofstede 6-D Model of National Cultures, you might be familiar with this model’s dimensions. They also make up the foundation of the Culture Compass Tool:

Power Distance: This dimension delves into comfort levels with hierarchical structures, significantly impacting leadership expectations. Team members who prefer low power distance tend towards a democratic leadership style, seeking collaborative decision-making. Conversely, those comfortable with high power distance often look for clear directives and might struggle in egalitarian settings.

Individualism vs. Collectivism: Here, the focus is on personal versus collective goals. Individuals inclined towards individualism prioritise personal achievement, autonomy and self-expression, possibly finding challenges in collectivist cultures that emphasise teamwork, collective results and group interests. On the other hand, those favouring collectivism may find individualist environments isolating and overly focused on personal gains.

MAS (Masculinity vs. Femininity): This dimension explores the preference for competitiveness versus cooperation, significantly impacting satisfaction and retention. Those aligning with high MAS values often seek competitive, achievement-focused environments, creating tension in cultures that value collaboration and work-life balance.

Uncertainty Avoidance: This aspect highlights comfort levels with ambiguity and the desire for predictability. Individuals with high uncertainty avoidance prefer structured, rule-based environments, whereas those comfortable with uncertainty may thrive in more fluid and dynamic settings.

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation: This dimension affects perspectives on decision-making and goal-setting. People with a long-term orientation lean towards strategic planning and patience, possibly finding frustration in cultures prioritising immediate results. In contrast, those with a short-term orientation may excel in fast-paced environments but struggle with long-term projects.

Indulgence vs. Restraint: This dimension reflects preferences for workplace culture, from enjoyment and personal expression to discipline and moderation. Individuals favouring indulgence seek work environments that allow for fun and personal fulfilment, while those preferring restraint value a more disciplined and serious attitude to work.

If you are interested in better understanding some of these areas within your multicultural team, the Culture Compass is a great resource for exploring team dynamics and offering information on the specific situation you are working with.

Are you focusing enough on individual cultural preferences?

To recap a few takeaways of when you should focus more on individual cultural preferences, here are some questions you can use to assess where you can step in as a coach, provide support as an in-house trainer or adapt your current approach as a team leader by using Culture Compass:

Do you understand how your individual team members wish to be led?
Do you know what practices and rituals would best support your team as a whole?
How many team members struggle in the existing management and leadership culture?
Do some team members struggle to operate with clients or business partners in certain countries?
Does your rewarding culture motivate individual team members?
Does everyone feel valued and able to contribute fully to the team’s success?
Are the individuals’ problem-solving strategies effective in the cultures in which they operate?
What are the biggest communication gaps for the team members?
Does your team’s diversity present a unique competitive advantage that's hard to replicate?

I recommend starting with a focused approach by choosing a small number of areas, or even just one, to concentrate on initially. Utilising the Culture Compass to assess individual cultural preferences can unveil a wealth of insights, enabling you to formulate increasingly pertinent questions over time.

In the second part of this article series, we will discuss using Culture Compass in practice. For personalised guidance and access to these tools or to join our Cultural Competence Toolbox training to become a certified practitioner, please contact me at [email protected].

Together, let's transform cultural diversity from a challenge into your team's most significant strength.

About Pia Kähärä and InCultures

Pia is a Systemic Team Coach and Cross-Cultural and DEI Consultant with over 25 years of experience in team multicultural leadership, cultural competence building, and international team growth. She is the founder of InCultures and an insightful speaker and author on topics such as DEI, team culture, cultural intelligence and leadership development.

Wondering if your team is reaching its full potential? Discover key insights with InCultures’ Global Team Success Indicator assessment. This tool offers a comprehensive evaluation of your team's current status, pinpointing areas for improvement to unlock its true potential.

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Here are a few of our other articles you might be interested in:

Understanding Cultural Impacts on Leadership Styles

Cultural Adaptability: The Key to Thriving in a Multicultural Environment