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Virtual Success: Leveraging Cultural Diversity

May 6, 2012

Did you know that an estimated 70% of international ventures fail due to poor cross-cultural interactions?  When individuals from different cultural backgrounds or environments don’t understand each other, it will inevitably lead to failed projects and suboptimal results.  Culture forms the way we think and act – across all spectrums – often causing members of virtual teams to perceive reality very differently across boundaries and borders.

Although cultural diversity has high potential for negative outcomes, it also has enormous potential for growth and renewal that will facilitate extraordinary results. Always keep in the forefront of your mind that your virtual teams likely have more talent and potential than other types of teams by the sheer force of their diversity – the question is, will they be able to leverage that diversity for individual, team and corporate success?

The answer is a resounding YES… if you can leverage that diversity to create synergy. Synergy will create a sense of joint purpose fueled by the knowledge that everyone brings unique experience and perspective to the team that is essential for success. As a leader, it is critical that you have the tools and perseverance to tap into the diversity of your teams to create an environment that facilitates success.

Virtual teams have the capacity to generate significant power for the overall organization. The collective experience and knowledge of a team from various backgrounds and cultures promotes the emergence of new and different ideas and perspectives, enables the rapid development of new products and services, and ensures the balance between local and global… just to name a few of the many benefits. However, in order to actualize the power of virtual teams, you need to invest in cultural integration from 4 critical angles:

1.    Cross-Cultural Assessments

Cross-cultural assessments will provide insight as to how to best interact and leverage specific members of your dispersed team – but more importantly, it will provide each member of the team with insight as to their specific cultural norms and preferences and allow them to better identify other cross-cultural angles. Once individual assessments are done, you may want to consider a team assessment to allow the virtual team to discover how they can best leverage one another for mutual and organizational benefit.

2.    Cross-Cultural Principles and Theories

Cross-cultural principles and theories will provide team members with a mechanism to not only understand that we all see things differently, but also to understand that cultural values have an enormous impact on attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. It is not enough to simply tell your teams about culture, it is critical that they begin to gain a deeper understanding of why they are different from their colleagues.

3.    Cross-Cultural Orientations

Cross-cultural Orientations will provide your team members with a way to understand their own cultural norms and their colleagues’ cultural norms. Once they can begin to understand specific components of culture that they see differently than their colleagues, they will gain the ability to begin building bridges between cultures.

4.    Cross-Cultural Intelligence

Cross-cultural Intelligence will provide your virtual teams with a toolbox that contains a reliable method for evaluating almost any cultural situation – national, functional, or organizational – very quickly. They will obtain a reliable method to prepare for interactions with their colleagues and clients on the spot – or use the same toolbox to prepare in advance for almost any situation that has a cultural context.

One or another of these tools is not enough to equip your teams for their best chance at success. What few realize, is that these tools build upon one another to enable organizational success across boundaries and borders. An assessment may provide insight, but it will not tell you what to do with that insight…cross-cultural principles and theories may provide a foundation from which to go forward, but they will not help your team members begin to understand their colleagues… and while cultural orientations may provide inherent understanding of behaviors and perspectives, they will not provide a proven process from which to interact. Each step is necessary – and each step builds on the last. As you seek to deploy this process, identify a partner that has a very specific skill sets and experience in each of the four areas above in order to enable your teams for virtual success.

Give your virtual teams the advantage – equipped them with the four critical angles of cultural integration.

Has your organization strategically invested in cultural integration?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you achieve cultural integration. Always feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week, when we will discuss how you can manage cultural differences in a way that will allow your virtual teams to benefit from cultural diversity.

Posted in Cross-cultural, Global Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Strategic Planning, Team Building, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Virtual Success: Leading Well

March 29, 2012

In order for virtual teams to succeed, organizational leadership must establish a culture that values teamwork, communication, learning and capitalizing on geographical and functional diversity. The key to developing an organizational culture that supports virtual teams is that everyone across the organization is encouraged and enabled to embrace change and be open to virtual teams right from the start.  This starts with senior leadership support and sponsorship – without it,  virtual teams are DOA (Dead on Arrival). It is critical that virtual teams are positioned at the highest levels as vital, value-add resources that provide sustainable competitive advantage for the corporation.

From an organizational perspective, you need to encourage four aspects of leadership that are known to positively impact virtual team performance:

  1. Facilitating open communications
  2. Establishing clear expectations
  3. Allocating resources
  4. Leveraging cultural diversity

Not so different from co-located teams, but considerably more complex in virtual environments. In order to be successful, you will need to enable virtual leaders with the autonomy to get things done and the authority to impact organizational change.

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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Global Leadership, Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Strategic Planning, Value Creation, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Communicating Brand YOU

March 10, 2012

If you’re not appearing, you’re disappearing…

~ Art Blakey, Legendary Jazz Musician

 In order for you to increase your chances of success, people need to know about you and what you have to offer. They need to meet you, see you… hear from you. If you want people to talk about the remarkable things you do, then you need to give them the opportunity to experience you. This doesn’t need to be a sleazy car salesman pitch (no offense to any reputable car salesmen!), but it does mean you need to get out there and have the capability to produce  clearly choreographed 30, 60, and 90 second “elevator” speeches that will serve as an introduction to Brand YOU.

Once you know how you will introduce your brand, start attending networking meetings (both social and professional) and getting involved in external organizations in your field. However, one of the best (and least recognized) opportunities you have to communicate Brand YOU is to expand your involvement to organizations not in your industry or field of expertise. Some of your best contacts may come from quite unexpected places, but you will never know unless you get out there and share your brand.

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Innovation, Networking, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Defining BrandYOU

February 25, 2012

The word “branding” began simply as a way to tell one rancher’s cattle from another by means of hot iron stamp. The meaning has actually not changed too much at all – while not typically a physical marking, your “brand” identifies you and defines who you are as unique from anyone else…

By taking the time to develop a good brand, you will:

  • Deliver your message clearly
  • Confirm your credibility
  • Connect your audience to you emotionally
  • Motivate your audience to respond
  • Deliver long-term loyalty

A strong brand is invaluable as the marketplace continues to intensify. To succeed in branding yourself, you need to understand the needs and wants of those people you most want to influence – but more importantly, you need to understand yourself. The most important outcome of personal branding should be a clear, deep, and insightful understanding of who you are and what you stand for, just as much as what you want to be known for.

It is not enough to be known for what you do — you must be known for what you do differently, or better, than anyone else. You want people to perceive that you are the ONLY solution…

There are three critical areas you should focus on when creating “BrandYou”:

(1) Developing your brand

(2) Packaging your brand

(3) Communicating your brand

This week we will focus on developing Brand YOU, with subsequent weeks examining what it means to  package and communicate your brand.

The development stage of your brand-building strategy is the most important. This is where you determine who you are and what you stand for. As the CMO of Brand You, you need to ensure that you have the passion, persistence, experience and background to expertly show the world who you are. However, you also need a solid foundation and a strong framework that illustrates your overall identity.

The foundation of every reputable brand is authenticity, consistency, and clarity. These foundational pieces will guide you as you develop your brand. By embarking on a journey of self-discovery throughout this process and working hard to define who you are and what you stand for, your brand will become both authentic and clear – consistency will come from  repeated use of the brand and always presenting yourself in the same light. Brand You will become clear to others because it is the authentic you and will clearly demonstrate who you are. Every good marketer knows that a clear message is a message people can trust.

In order to gain clarity and authenticity, you need to leverage your background and experience to shape a perception that targets your specific audience. If your brand is not built on a solid foundation with a strong framework, no one will understand the value that you bring.

To expand on last week and help you along on your journey of self-discovery, ask yourself some important questions:

  • What are your values?
  • What do you love?
  • What are you insanely great at doing?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What do you most want to be?
  • What is important and valuable to you?
  • What do you most want to be known for?

These may seem like basic, fundamental questions, but often these are the most difficult to answer. However, it is critical to your brand that you do answer them honestly and in depth.

As you formulate your brand, realize that it will serve as the basis for everything that connects people to you – logically and emotionally. Your image is important, but an image is just a reflection of your brand and your core values.

Brand management should aim to build into the minds of your target audience a set of perceptions and attitudes relating to what you want people to perceive, leading to your desired outcomes. To achieve this goal, you must know a great deal about those you wish to influence. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand with the end in mind. After all, your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It is the foundational piece to your marketing communications – and one you do not want to neglect.

Once you are explicitly clear on what your brand is and how it should look, it is your job to ensure your brand resides within the hearts and minds of those you most want to influence. It must become the sum total of their experience and perception of you, molding their thoughts and feelings to determine that YOU have what they are looking for. The power of your brand can only be measured by its effect on those you seek to influence. Your brand should be strong enough to convey a message and a feeling in an instant. And thats where packaging and communication come into play…

How Will You Define Brand YOU?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you will develop your brand. Always feel free to contact me atSheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Innovation, Leadership, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Destinations: Preventing A Wrong Turn – The Seven Sins of Goal Setting

January 9, 2012
Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary,obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.
~Herodotus

Goal setting sounds simple right? Well it is, but it can go downhill very quickly. You have committed to your personal goal-setting journey, but there are some roadblocks to watch out for. The first rule of the road is, “keep on moving!” Despite honoring this mantra, you may still fail to reach your desired destination because you (consciously or unconsciously) take some critical wrong turns that keep you off course:

1.    You just won’t follow the process through because:

  • You can’t think of a good reason to set goals: This is your future we are talking about here – goal setting defines your destination and how you will get there, so that one day your dreams becomes reality. Keep this in mind when you are deciding how to proceed…
  • You are in control of your own destiny: You are where you are now because of the action [or inaction] you have taken in the past. Where you’ll be in the future is determined by the actions you take today. Is there any better reason to start setting goals and having some control over your future?
  • You don’t see how goal setting will help you: Maps help you get where you want to go, right? That’s all goal setting and action planning really are – the roadmap to your future.  Of course it will help.
  • You haven’t got time: Goal setting is about working smarter, not harder. Yes, it will take some of your time and energy, you may even have to make some sacrifices. However, the end results are truly worth the effort. Surely you can set aside a small amount of time each day to move toward your life’s purpose and take the actions necessary to get there?  The sad reality is that many people procrastinate all their life and never achieve what they really want to achieve. Don’t be one of those people. Visualize what life will be like when you arrive at your desired destination and use this vision to give you the motivation and “drive” to get there.
  • You believe it is too hard: Goal setting is simple, but not easy. It takes some time and you need to do some soul searching to determine what it is that you really want out of life – but it is not hard. It may seem overwhelming, however by managing the process with relevant mile-markers, you can continually move in the right direction and ultimately achieve everything you want.  The other thing to remember is that goal setting is a skill. Like all skills, goal setting takes exposure and time to develop.
  • You are afraid of failure: What is fear? False Expectations Appearing Real.  You determine what you are capable of, and more than likely you are your biggest constraint. What is the worst case scenario of not achieving your goals? You may achieve some of your goals or, perhaps, a portion of a goal. You will know that you gave it your best effort and as a result achieved something… Now, what is the most likely outcome of not setting any personal goals? Not going anywhere - far worse, by my estimation.  Fear of failure is real. It is critically important to come to terms with this, as fear of failure can result in a complete lack of action… resulting in failure to achieve anything meaningful. Learn to grow from failure, rather than fear it.
  • You don’t take your goals seriously enough to fully commit: You need to take goal setting seriously if it is going to work for you. You have probably tried New Years resolutions in the past – did you take them seriously? Did you succeed?

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Posted in Personal Goal Setting, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Destinations: Confirming Your Course, Personal Goal Setting Part IV

November 10, 2011

If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals, you lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life’s direction; it also provides a benchmark to determine if you are actually succeeding. After all, having money in the bank is only proof of success if  your goal is to create wealth and all that comes with it. However, if your real goal is make a difference in this world, the money may only be a milestone on the way to your final destination – or may not play into your life goals at all.

As mentioned earlier in the week, goal setting is a process.  While it is both necessary and critical to set SMART goals, it is particularly useless if you cannot operationalize the process and incorporate it into something you will leverage for your own success. Having established the meaning and specifics behind SMART goals, let’s look at a way to operationalize the process:

1.  Take the most efficient route: State each goal in one sentence – make it SMART.

The single sentence guideline forces you to be focused – stating clearly and plainly what you intend to accomplish. This clarity, right at the beginning of the goal setting process, makes it incredibly powerful. It also makes it straight-forward to check that you are meeting ALL SMART criteria within the context of the guideline.

2.  Appreciate the journey: Understand WHY you have chosen specific goals

Goals, as important as they are, need to have a deeper why or they are not sustainable. There must be an engine that drives them – a commitment to something that matters. Failure to address this challenge will almost certainly result in lack of motivation and failure to attain the milestones necessary to achieve your goals.  Answer this question thoroughly in your own mind and you will be motivated to follow the route to your ultimate destination.

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Posted in alignment, Destinations, Development, Education, Establishing Your Route, Goal Setting, Leadership, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Destinations: Planning Your Route, Personal Goal Setting Part III

November 8, 2011

If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. 

~Lawrence J. Peter

Just as when you are traveling to a destination it is helpful to know the best route, in driving toward your goals it is useful to know how to get there in the most expedient way. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends after a lot of tenacity and commitment to accomplish what you set out to do. In between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Following these road signs will allow you to realize your desired destination without taking too many detours.

We have, over the past couple of weeks, focused on why goals are important and preparing for the journey of personal goal setting.  Now that we have prepared, it is time to embark on our journey of personal goal setting. Most of us are familiar with the SMART mnemonic for setting goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Unfortunately, few actually give much time and attention to the model. It is, however, a key difference between goals that are achieved and goals that are not.

S: Be Specific

First and foremost, goals need to be specific, clear and well defined. They should state exactly what you want to do in concrete terms. Vague or ambiguous goals are unhelpful because they won’t provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. This is the fundamental difference between a dream and a goal. Dreams get you nowhere if they do not become actionable, yet you would be surprised at how many leaders fail at this first, critical step. In order to succeed you should:

  • Ask yourself exactly what it is you want to do
  • Understand why you want to do it
  • Ask yourself how you plan to do it
  • Ask yourself who you will need to help you
  • Ask yourself when you would like to achieve the goal

Being specific has a tremendous impact on your mind. Vague, generalized goals are likely to leave you bored and disinterested over time… specific, detailed goals should fuel your mind and energize your actions.

Being specific also means writing your goals down. Writing your goals out in complete detail provides the subconscious mind with a detailed set of instructions to work on – a roadmap for success. The more information you give it, the clearer the final outcome becomes. The more precise the outcome, the more efficient the mind can become. The simple mechanical act of writing makes your goals visible and tangible. Now they are no longer just thoughts – they are commitments!

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Posted in alignment, Destinations, Goal Setting, Leadership, Planning, Planning Your Route, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Global Culture: Did You Know You May Have Hidden Treasure?

September 1, 2011

Globalization and rapidly changing technology continue to sweep the world. Organizations working across international and cultural boundaries face significant challenges as they seek to reach and maintain market leadership – however, inherent in those challenges are often unrealized opportunities. One such opportunity, Multicultural teams, offers a wealth of leverage to the discerning global leader. Our research repeatedly identifies the following advantages when multicultural teams are leveraged effectively:

-       Global economies of scale and scope are realized

-       Effective global learning & knowledge transfer takes place

-       Global strategic capabilities are enhanced

-       More innovative products and services are developed

-       Better understanding of customers across multiple geographies is achieved

-       Strong cultural intelligence fostering competitive advantage is accomplished

In today’s complex global marketplace, success depends on a company’s ability to work effectively across different geographical locations and cultures in order to drive innovation and capture market share. Leaders must go beyond motivating people from very different cultural backgrounds, experiences and leadership styles – they must create an environment that facilitates multicultural teams to collaborate effectively across boundaries and borders. There is simply no better better way to understand and strategically exploit the global marketplace.

The truth is that most organizations under-utilize their multicultural teams as strategic assets. When properly developed, such teams contribute significantly to the growth and success of the organization and to its bottom line. In fact, multicultural teams are one of the most consistent sources of competitive advantage for any organization who deploys them – they are effectively the bridge between the workplace and the marketplace.

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Cross-cultural, Culture, Development, Global, Global Culture Series, Global Leadership, Innovation, International, Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Multinational, Planning, Potential, Resources, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Save The Drama For Your Momma: The Challenge of Change, Part2

March 30, 2011

Last week we looked at some common myths surrounding change management that have the potential to derail the change effort. Organizational change often reminds me of the movie Jumanji that involves a supernatural boardgame that brings its jungle world to life and puts the actual players in jeopardy of being maimed, or perhaps worse yet, caught in the drama forever. Sound familiar? It’s a jungle out there, and if you want to avoid drama that could maim your change effort, not only do you need to dispel myths (last weeks post), but you also need to put solid game rules in place that will keep everyone on the same game board. Here are some suggestions to foster effective change:

1. Acknowledge The 300 Pound Gorilla In The Room

Don’t try and institute change covertly
- silence, denial and mislabeling always make the situation worse.  Call the gorilla, well… a gorilla – let your people know that there are uncomfortable changes taking place. Demonstrate your commitment by asking your opinion leaders for their ideas as to how to go about the change… and actually implement the best contributions. If you want your people to embrace change, they must have a chance to voice concerns and offer input. Effective change management includes listening carefully to concerns and fears – perceived, imagined, or legitimate – that could become barriers. Open communication provides valuable insight, letting you lay the foundations for effective change.

2. Provide Clear, Concise Communications

Even the most dedicated employees want to know how change will affect them personally. It is critical to provide clear and accurate information to the furthest extent possible. Whether they say it or not, people will naturally question:

  • How the change will affect them
  • What they will need to do differently
  • If they will need additional skills to be successful… if so, how will they learn them?
  • How they will know if the change is good for them
  • If the change will affect their position. Will they be moved or eliminated?

Communicate openly. People can more easily accept change if they know what to expect. Managing expectations is tricky, but it’s vital to success.  Make the case for change -  provide a clear and convincing rationale for the change and support it with sound evidence. Let those affected know about the proposed change in advance. Advise everyone of the honest implications for individuals, teams, functions, and organizations.

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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Resources, Strategic Planning, Team Building, The Challenge of Change, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Save The Drama For Your Momma: Change, part 1

March 22, 2011


It is inevitable – change creates drama in most organizations. However, you have a choice as to whether you deal with change effectively or let it spiral out of control  - controlling you and creating unnecessary drama! Leaders need to be able to present a unified vision and convey support if they expect their people to embrace change. Indifference can lead to a rapid demise of the change effort. As a leader invoking change, make sure you provide:

  • A vision for how the change will impact the individual, team, division and organization
  • A firm commitment to change goals, while accepting input on the details
  • Specific, achievable objectives along with plans for achieving them
  • A roadmap for success with realistic timelines, budgets, and owners
  • A communication framework to support change adoption
  • Opportunities for people to give feedback during and after the change

Admittedly, organizational change is complex, but we often make it harder on ourselves than it has to be. Just as in the board game Clue, it is easy to engage in false assumptions that can lead our people down the path of suspicion and drama – away from the truth and the ultimate win. The result? A whole lot of ambiguous thinking regarding the application of structured, human-focused, change within the organization.

Here are just a few examples of how we can easily fall victim to false assumptions over our own realities:

People Resist Change: Actually, not always. People frequently seek out drastic changes in their lives and voluntarily embrace them. People do, however, resist being forced to change.
 How change is presented and managed will impact its success or failure far more than the change itself.  Most of us respond far better to change when we comprehend a valid reason for it – without solid justification, most people are likely to resist anyone who tries to force change upon them… and cause drama along the way.

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Posted in alignment, Change, Communication, Global Leadership, Leadership, Part 1, Potential, Save The Drama Series, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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