Making assumptions based on your culture’s communication rules.

"A large, Midwestern nonprofit employing over three hundred people hired a qualified individual who had been raised and educated in Central America. Her job was to facilitate the organization’s communications with local Spanish-speaking communities. One of her tasks was to set up and document several community forums to get input from Latino community members about issues on which the organization worked. After six months, the employee and her supervisor discussed how the job was going. The employee was shocked to learn that her supervisor was unhappy with her performance. She had organized only one forum and had yet to write it up. Also a number of the employee’s colleagues had complained that she continually interrupted them to ask them to review and revise her written communications. They complained that they were doing her work as well as their own.

The supervisor thought the employee showed poor time management skills and a lack of task orientation. From the employee’s perspective, she had made excellent use of her time. She had gotten herself appointed to three task forces in different Latino communities and had made many contacts over the past six months. She was also astonished at her peers’ reactions to her requests that they review her written materials. Her understanding was that this is what professional colleagues do for one another.

Through lengthy discussion, the supervisor and the new employee learned how their cultures influenced their perspectives on the job. The supervisor and the other employees were task oriented. While the new employee was relationship oriented. What peers had viewed as interruptions and avoiding work, the new employee saw as important workplace relationship building and professional interaction. The behavior of all involved stemmed from their cultural perspectives about how to effectively get work done. Together, the supervisor and new employee decided how best to connect the organization with the Latino communities while respecting their different cultural contexts (from Resolving Conflict by Marion Peters Angelica)."

As individuals and groups of diverse backgrounds work together, assumptions are likely to be made that can lead to misunderstandings and conflict, as in the example cited above. Misunderstandings result from value conflicts between individuals or groups who are obeying communication rules based on their culture.

Here are a few tips for minimizing misunderstandings and communicating effectively with individuals of diverse backgrounds:

• Make no assumptions
• Be present in the conversation
• Be curious of the meaning behind communication and behaviors
• Ask often for clarification of messages and
• Practice viewing information from the other person’s perspective.