Embrace

Within relatively small teams we often see that working together does not occur naturally. Good communication is essential for being able to work well together. This means that people need to understand each other. It is often mistakenly thought that the content of the conversation is a sufficient bridge to fill the gap between people, teams and even organisations.

The reality is different. It is not the content but rather the relationship between people, which is of primary importance for good communication, and it is vital to continuously work on this relationship to ensure successful teamwork. We can all see this happening around us.

Working within intercultural teams goes a step further. It involves communicating between people of different cultures with their own norms, values and history. Sometimes huge differences can occur between small distances. Even within a community large differences can occur between sub-cultures due to their own unique history. It is important to be aware of these differences and to understand and respect their values and norms.