Navigating Global Dynamics: How People & Culture is key

Rebecca, Enterprise Agile Coach, ICAgile Agile in HR certified, reflects on her experience of the importance of People & Culture to support teams and leaders in navigating cultural dimensions, when working globally.

In the realm of giving feedback within diverse cultural settings, Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, suggests a nuanced approach: 

"Be friendlier. Work harder to remove blame. Be careful to frame the feedback as a suggestion, not an order. Add a relationship-based touch like a smiling emoji."

Netflix, known for its culture of freedom and responsibility, embraced this philosophy as it expanded internationally in 2010. Their journey of 'internationalisation' involved exporting their corporate culture to new locations while adapting it as per local nuances. 

Erin Meyer's 'The Culture Map' served as a guiding tool for Netflix leaders, helping them navigate cultural differences across eight dimensions:

1. Communicating: Low context (Explicit) vs High-Context (Implicit)

2. Evaluating: Direct negative feedback vs Indirect negative feedback

3. Leading: Egalitarian vs Hierarchical

4. Deciding: Consensual vs Top-down

5. Trusting: Task-based vs Relationship-based

6. Disagreeing: Confrontational vs Avoids confrontation

7. Scheduling: Linear time (Structured) vs Flexible time

8. Persuading 

People & Culture Are Key

Reflecting on my personal experience, the transition from a British-centric workplace to a multinational environment highlighted the significance of adapting communication styles. 

My first ‘proper’ job was with the Swedish-Danish company, Arla Foods.  When they merged with a UK dairy institution founded in 1864, towards the end of my 3 year tenure, the differences in culture between the egalitarian, laid back Scandi company and the traditional UK company was stark, and I had difficulty adjusting.  

As I’d climbed the ranks at Arla Foods, two out of three of my line managers were women.  The CEO and VPs of our Marketing & Innovation teams were women, and an ethos of innovation and creativity prevailed.  This was driven by a strong HR team, promoting a culture based on diversity and inclusivity.  

We had clear career development pathways, we regularly undertook positive team building workshops, days and even weekends away, we worked cross-functionally and we had Learning & Development (L&D) support to grow essential professional skills.  To have this support at the start of my career was invaluable.

However, with the merger we saw an army of blue suited businessmen join the company, intently focused on the bottom line, with revenue becoming the ultimate focus above all else.  Our team building and L&D support disappeared.

This culture shift wasn’t for me, and after six months I left and joined a creative agency. 

I’ve held a Senior Leadership position for a tech consultancy in London, with peers and team members from South Africa, South American and across Europe. However, it wasn’t until I worked in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with offices and clients in Riyadh and Singapore, that I realised how much harder I needed to work on my communication style.  And, how much support as a Leader, I needed to provide my teams.

Thankfully I had the benefit of an amazing mentor, our Chief of People & Culture (P&C).  This support ensured that agile ways of working I’d implemented and coached as a discipline lead in Agile Delivery, were embedded into our HR processes.

As a leader in a global company responsible for a multinational team working in different countries having agility across talent acquisition and retention, L&D and many other aspects of what traditionally might be called Human Capital Management, is vital to success.  Without a strong P&C function leaders cannot build adaptability to navigate the different dimensions of culture.

Working Harder

In the case of Netflix, for whom business agility and P&C operations are embedded into their DNA, Hastings and Meyer highlight in their book ‘No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention’ a very tricky element to tackle, when going global.  This relates to candour, i.e. Evaluating.

As an American company Netflix’ leadership team would sit in the ‘direct negative feedback’ side of the ‘Evaluating' scale.  Having had many American clients in the past, I have first-hand experience of the popular ‘give three positives with every negative’ rule when they’re providing feedback.  

Evaluating - Direct negative feedback vs. Indirect negative feedback

At Netflix, utilising tools like 'The Culture Map' became imperative in addressing breakdowns in communication and trust among multinational teams. By dissecting issues and employing cultural mapping exercises, teams gained insights into interpreting actions and behaviours in different cultural contexts.

Acknowledging feedback from British colleagues working in the UAE and KSA regarding communication styles reinforced the importance to me of adaptability. While British communication tends to be task-focused and direct, understanding cultural nuances is crucial for effective cross-cultural communication.  This is why ‘The Culture Book’ and Meyer’s other tools are always my go-to when I need to adapt my style.

In conclusion:

While individual differences transcend nationality, understanding cultural disparities can significantly impact business interactions. Embracing adaptability and leveraging resources like 'The Culture Map' are vital for navigating the complexities of global communication and fostering collaboration across diverse teams.  

Without the support of a strong People & Culture team, one that goes beyond the traditional realms of Human Resources, embedding adaptability will be difficult to achieve for companies who are ‘going global’.