The Hindu Business Line : Citius, Altius, Fortius

In the year of the most feted of sports events, that of the Olympics, to be held later in the year in Beijing, it is tempting for me to take a close look at the Olympic slogan of ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ that urges sportspersons of every nationality, creed and colour to come together in the spirit of excellence and true competition, and to see whether it is of any relevance to our world today.

The ‘Gymnasium’ where the ancient Greek athletes of Olympia trained was a sanctified area where the Gods reigned. Training was about achieving excellence in body and mind and it was in this spirit that athletes measured their strength against each other.

It is interesting to note that the decline of the Olympic games came about with the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 B.C. The Romans advocated sport as a show and played to the galleries! The ‘fall’ of the track queen Marion Jones, the ugly stand-offs in recent cricket, to name two of the sports events that have hogged the limelight, have sadly demonstrated the gross distortion of this noble ideal in the realm of sport today.

As a cross-cultural trainer, it is tempting for me to pursue the sports analogy and consider the training space as a gymnasium or a sort of sports arena and a group of young professionals seated in front of me as athletes (or IT warriors?) on an extremely competitive track. The ideal race in our globalised world would be the relay with global teams passing the baton swiftly and with ease to the finishing line. The running in tandem of the athletes, with one stretching back to release the baton and the other stretching forward to grasp it, is an enviable image of speed and team work. The team that wins is the one that has ‘transferred’ well and smoothly. But unfortunately this is not how it often happens in the global work environment.

Technically competent graduates from management, engineering, commerce and other institutions, in big and small cities, find themselves at a loss when having to deal with clients and customers from across the globe, while running the race.

Jobs are moving faster than they expected and previously defined parameters too are fast changing. Understandably, a lack of familiarity with the English language is one of the main reasons for this, and this deficiency is being addressed on a war footing through intensive language orientation classes and voice and accent neutralisation classes. But acquiring a British or an American accent is not the only solution.

Local talent has to run a global race and cross-cultural awareness and competence is now a necessity. There are no handicaps. “Cross-cultural training” or “cross-cultural awareness” programmes as they were previously known is now passé. Cross-cultural competence to effectively deal with varied cultural contexts that differ from one’s own, without necessarily having to step out of one’s own work environment, is the challenge faced by most young professionals from Thiruvananthapuram to Gurgaon. It’s a virtual world out there and the majority of these professionals have to train their cultural antennae to pick up signals for cultural synergy or play down likely areas of conflict. The modern workplace in India today is in a state of cultural flux with state boundaries having been easily crossed. Our IT cities are a noticeable mix of professionals from across India and most now are looking to recruit young foreign professionals to shore up their research and development capacities. The intercultural challenge is obvious and managing this diversity a reality.

Cross-cultural competence or lack of it can positively or adversely affect the bottom line. The quick fix to this has been cultural stereotyping. While the “French are like this” and the “Germans are like that” does provide some guidelines to the people dealing with these countries, it inhibits positive opportunity for genuine cultural interaction and understanding. On the contrary, the “us” and “they” positions can become quickly confrontational and detrimental in a global work environment. Who said sledging takes place only on a cricket pitch?

Cultural sensitivities have to be managed, and while training can provide one with landmarks on an otherwise interminable learning curve, we try to do it at Global Adjustments with post-lesson contacts through the www.globalindian.com portal. The daily vitamin which we research and provide for aspiring global Indians together with the free cultural magazine in www.globaladjustments.com add to the continued growth we hope. We believe that developing a genuine curiosity and reaching out towards other cultures, is the best competence that any young professional can be armed with today. Cross-cultural competence is not about a list of do’s and don’t’s. It is a frame of mind. Let us not miss this opportunity to knowingly open our windows to other cultures, rather than have to do so unwillingly; let us welcome the breeze but let us also prepare for the draught and let the Olympic spirit prevail as we pit our strength against those of others – Citius, Altius, Fortius.

(The writer is Senior Manager, Cross-Cultural Services of Global Adjustments, a company that offers integrated India destination services and cross-cultural education delivered through the portal www.globalindian.com)

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