Context, time frame, and personal space are all key aspects to consider in cross-cultural business. Today, let me share some of my thoughts on this topic.
Some thoughts on cultural differences between the US, France, and Germany
As some of my readers will remember, I spent the first 20 years of my life in France, the next 20 years in Germany, and the last 6 years in the US (Don’t do the math to try to find my age; you will get it wrong!). As a matter of fact, I had to learn and adapt quickly to different communication styles and time approach.
But even after 20 years in Germany, I was shocked by the first professional email I got in the US. It went something like this:
Catherine,
I need your help on this topic. Please let me know when we can talk.
Regards,
Bob
The topic itself was a few words in the subject line. I think the word panic really describes my feelings at the time: “OMG, what did I do wrong? This guy hates me already after one meeting!”
By the time we met the next day, I had already figured out that I was wrong in my initial impression of the message. Bob had sent a short factual email to his perceived coworker, similar to many others I’d read the same day. Nothing more.
The same request in Germany would have included a long paragraph explaining the hows and whys of the meeting, before making the actual request for a meeting and proposing a tentative deadline.
In France, the message would have included personal words of greeting in the introduction and/or in the closing.
How different from Germany and France!
It’s too simple to reduce these differences to good or poor manners. Of course, education has something to do with the way we communicate, but not in the way that a shocked Catherine thought initially.
American anthropologist Edward T. Hall was the first to introduce the notion of high and low context in cross-cultural research. Without going into all the details, let’s just say that he found out that each culture has different needs in terms of background information.
Some cultures like France or more generally Latin countries have a rich context. How does it show? When French people meet, they talk a lot, exchanging all kinds of information. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the copier or coffee machine, in a meeting, or in the elevator. They just engage in small talk: in other words, they develop relationships with their colleagues or business partners. That said, from the outside, this form of interaction may look futile, particularly if you are from the US or Germany (both of which are defined as low-context cultures).
However, French business people wonder often about the quantity of information needed and exchanged during a meeting. Additionally, a strict agenda often is a source of frustration because they can’t explore spontaneously the ideas that relate to a given topic.
Back to the email above
My American counterpart wanted to meet to discuss a certain subject. For him, the meeting itself was the place to inform me and to gather information. Once in this meeting, the structure was not really that much different from a meeting in Germany. The outcome was less precise than German colleagues would have worked out… in a meeting that would have lasted longer.
After all these years, I’ve learned that Americans prefer to work out the details while simultaneous working on the problem. In this, I always think that they are closer to the French than to the Germans and their preference for detailed planning. On the other hand, sticking to a schedule is more of an Anglo-Saxon trait than a French one, but here differences are also obvious. Germans are working toward a longer time frame than Americans are!
How does this discrepancy impact my work?
I’ve become more flexible (i.e. I’ve put aside my need to plan ahead in great detail). Sometimes I’m not comfortable with this lack of detailed planning, but I’ve come to appreciate the speed with which I can advance in my work.
The fact that in the US failures don’t brandmark someone for a lifetime also helps.
Everything has its shares of pros and cons, and I’m lucky to have spent so many years in different countries. That makes me more appreciative of various cultural differences and my ability to navigate them adeptly.
What about you? What is your most vivid memory of a cultural shock at work?
