In teams, managing clashes between personalities comes with the territory. However, when it comes to channelling the energy of a remote team made up of members from different cultural backgrounds, based in different locations around the world, the issues are magnified significantly. In the pharmaceutical industry, where materials and products are sourced and marketed across the globe and projects are required to run to strict timetables, these problems are highlighted further.
The goal is to ensure the diverse workforce of a remote team can work together to meet defined objectives and time-frames and at the same time maximise co-operation between each member of the team.
The first step is to establish a good level of understanding between members. This understanding is based on strong relationships which, in turn, build trust. A good relationship and a high level of trust means that, when the pressure is on, team members will support one another to keep the project on track when it really counts.
The ideal way to start building trust is through face-to-face meetings and informal interaction. This is important to the UK, US and Northern European cultures, but critical to the Southern and Eastern European, the Middle Eastern, Asian and South American cultures. This approach reduces suspicion, encourages openness and results in a better working relationship from the outset.
An initial investment in time when the team is set up is key. Once trust has been established through early face-to-face meetings, members can work together remotely with success.
As well as relationship-building, the early stages spent together should acknowledge that there will be differences in the ways the team members operate. Openness, tolerance and flexibility should be encouraged, as should the need to adapt and elect working practices which suit everyone. A greater willingness to talk directly about differences helps build trust, facilitate decision-making, creates win-win situations and ultimately a better way of working together.
Cultural differences should also be addressed and viewed as what they are; potentially different values, assumptions, expectations and behaviour as a result of differing collective experiences. The way staff handle cultural differences can have a significant impact on how people from various national or ethnic backgrounds approach the day-to-day issues of business and how they conduct themselves in a group or team.
It should be understood that members of a team are not there to represent a 'culture' or particular ethnic group; they do, however, represent themselves, and their cultural background will influence behaviour. An understanding of cultural differences encourages the tolerance and flexibility required for the team to work well together.
By recognising different perspectives as alternative ways of handling particular situations, cultural differences are no longer hazards but opportunities to strengthen the organisation through shared learning, better communication and new viewpoints.
Training in intercultural awareness is important to the success of managing remote teams. It should start at a local level and on a practical basis with an individual or team effort to improve the way people work together or prepare for wider international responsibilities. It should not be fixed in policy or procedure, but driven by business needs and actual situations. Training should be interactive, with participants exchanging impressions, experiences and problems. It must recognise that perceived differences are just as important as "real" ones, for it is our perceptions of others that give rise to our reactions and judgements.
People learning to handle cultural differences find out a great deal about themselves when they become aware of how they are culturally viewed by others. In addition, informative briefings increase people's knowledge of possible differences between cultures. That insight helps them see how 'strange' behaviour has its own cultural logic as the way in which a group of people has solved universal problems. With increased mutual awareness and knowledge, mistrust tends to evaporate and questions of 'dominance' become irrelevant.
The practical benefits of approaching multi-country team management in this way are seen in their effects on management style and on the way a team works together. As a result, cultural differences should now be seen as individual differences arising out of people's backgrounds. These various points of view, openly communicated, represent alternatives and choices available to the group for consideration and negotiation.
So, first, establish a good understanding and level of trust between team members. Second, nurture the skills of tolerance and flexibility among individuals while ensuring all continue to cement working relationships by increasing social and informal interaction as a key part of business. In this way, the inevitable challenges of managing a remote team can be overcome through communication and openness with all team members being as co-operative as possible for the benefit of the project as a whole.
International management development programmes and workshops can provide the knowledge and tools to improve general cross-cultural awareness and understanding and address specific challenges such as cross-cultural communication, negotiation and presentation skills. These may help build better relationships between team members and improve the management skills of those responsible for the team, ensuring key projects get off to a productive start. Once relationships and trust are established, it is easier to maintain them for the duration.
The Author
Philippe Nitzer works at Farnham Castle International Briefing and Conference Centre
To comment on this article, email pme@pmlive.com
