Cultural Competence is a Top Skill of the Future
Technology bridges the gaps between global teams and with the recent shift to remote working practices, it’s only become easier to close the divide. This is driving a growing demand for cultural competence which makes all the difference in working with diverse stakeholders.
Cultural competence is the ability to recognize that people have different experiences than you, understand the social, economic, or political reasons why those experiences are different, and use that understanding to effectively empathize or build stronger relationships with people from those backgrounds.
While 'culture' has traditionally referred to where a person is from regionally in the world, today the word has evolved to encompass the many different subcultures and intersections that have come with globalization and access to the internet. Culture now includes identities that span multiple geographies. Some examples are age, sexuality, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.
Why is this important?
“In a world where we rely increasingly more on machines to augment our jobs, cultural competence will be a key differentiator for professionals working with diverse stakeholders. Whether you’re a marketer, salesperson, designer, or other person-facing professional, the ability to understand and navigate cultural nuances will set you apart from your peers.”
Over the past two decades, the workforce continues to diversify. Diversity, equity and inclusion has also become an integral part of the workplace. What makes cultural competence a top skill today is how it helps you:
Have stronger working relationships across global and distributed teams
Create products and campaigns that succeed with diverse consumers
Cultural competence gives you the tools to understand cultural nuances that enrich cross-cultural conversations. It also lets you personalize your products and services to meet the needs of a diverse target audience.
How to develop your cultural competence skills
Whether you’re in marketing, product design, sales, customer success or something else, building cultural competence can make all the difference in your role. Here’s how to develop it:
1. Diversify your information sources
These days, many of us rely on social media and curated news to inform us of the world. But did you know that these feeds are rife with bias? The more you use them, the more they adapt to show you the things you like. While this can make for a rich entertainment experience, it’s not always the best way to get a balanced view of the world. To combat this, make an effort to diversify your feeds by following accounts that represent different perspectives.
Here are some of the accounts we follow on Instagram that have great content on diverse cultural nuances:
2. Lean in to difference and seek to understand it
Seek to understand why others’ experiences are different from your own. This area often includes an understanding of historical, economic, political, or other social factors that result in inequity.
For example, to truly understand some of the challenges and experiences that many African-Americans face today, an individual needs to understand the economic and social history of slavery in America and how the inequities created in the past transitioned and evolved over time.
Here are some ways to learn about someone else’s culture, identity and lived experience in a respectful way:
Make the conversation a two-way street. A personal anecdote can go a long way. Share something about your own culture/experiences and then use that as a stepping stone to ask about someone else’s. Mutual sharing makes it more of a conversation and less of an interrogation.
Ask about others’ experiences. Before you ask someone about their identity or culture, try to get to know them a bit beyond surface level. It’s best to know them a bit before launching into questions that can feel personal. You can these tips to spark fruitful conversations:
Give chances for people to open up if they would like to. Open-ended questions like “What was your high school experience like?” can help with this.
“I grew up in ____, we were pretty far away from the nearest grocery store. What about you?”
“In my family, we [explain personal tradition] each December. Do you have any winter traditions that you take part in each year?”
“Are there any differences in cultural norms between ___ and ___ that you noticed?”
“Are there any common misconceptions about your culture?”
From there, you can go on to ask for clarifications or more specific questions that are comfortable to answer for the person being asked.
Avoid assumptions and questions like: “Where are you actually from?” or “What are you?”. These can imply that someone doesn’t belong and be uncomfortable to answer.
Take the initiative to find reliable resources. NPR'S podcasts and shows are one example of a great external resource with diverse stories. You can also try new cultural experiences like going with friends to try new cuisine. The Instagram accounts above also frequently share extra resources to learn from on your own time.
Look for validity in the media. When viewing media that showcases a different place, culture or identity, ask yourself about its reliability. Is this portraying any stereotypes? Is it being presented with perspectives from someone that isn’t from that culture/group?
Overall, practice being open to diverse perspectives. When interacting with or consuming cultural information, accept and embrace the new differences.
3. Apply your understanding of other people’s experiences to effectively empathize with them.
Learning is a continuous process, but you can still apply your new knowledge of cultural norms, identities and lived experiences to strengthen working relationships with empathy. For example, as a manager, you can use your knowledge of a coworker’s cultural grieving practices for extended family to accommodate their bereavement leave. You could start a collaborative company-wide calendar for cultural events. You can even take it further by creating more opportunities for cross-cultural exchange, such as by starting an ERG and creating more opportunities to network.
You can reflect this in your product and campaigns too. Some examples of individuals and organizations who have done this effectively are:
Matt Lambert who is known for his work in the LGBTQ+ community designed Sephora's "We Belong to Something Beautiful Campaign".
Nike with their "Dream Crazy" campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick which boosted sales and brand loyalty with Gen Z and Millennials (to the tune of 6 Billion Dollars).
Unilever with their Dove Men+Care campaign and understanding the changing concepts of gender norms inside and outside the workplace.
Your new learnings and understandings can be used to personalize your interactions and enhance the work you do in your role with empathy. You can also make your work and personal environments safer for others to explore cultures as well.
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Working towards building an inclusive and diverse space should be at the forefront of every business and individual’s priorities. By building cultural competence into your efforts, you're sure to succeed by bringing people together.
Want to build cultural competence into the fabric of your company culture? Crescendo’s DEI Learning Suite integrates micro lessons into the flow of work to help cultivate inclusion and belonging. See it in action today.