How can cultural diversity be transformed into a lever for collective performance? International teams present unique challenges in terms of communication, leadership perception and priority management. Cultural differences can be both a strength and a weakness. If they are poorly managed, they can be a huge drag. Team coaching, when properly designed, offers practical solutions to overcome these obstacles.
In this article, I'm exploring key success factors for team coaching in these complex teams, showing you how the tools of team coaching can transform multicultural teams and develop their effectiveness and innovation. As usual, with practical examples and mistakes to avoid.
Contents
- The main challenges faced by multicultural teams
- 4 success factors for integrating teams
- The right strategies for improving team cohesion through group coaching
- When shouldn't I do team coaching with an international team?
The main challenges faced by multicultural teams
International collaboration failures to be taken into account
Who hasn't heard cultural stereotypes or remarks bordering on discrimination in a corridor or in a meeting? A multicultural team can quickly become a breeding ground for more or less latent conflicts, resulting in a drop in motivation.
Cultural differences complicate teamwork and good interpersonal communication. Misunderstandings about work practices thought to be universal create tensions, when there is nothing more locally rooted than the relationship to hierarchy or time. For example, I've observed situations where some team members see silence as a sign of agreement, while others see it as a lack of commitment. These implicit conflicts linked to communication style affect cohesion.
Another major challenge for multicultural management is adapting to different leadership styles. For example, a direct style may be appreciated in some cultures, such as the USA or Germany, but perceived as aggressive in others, such as Japan or China. Identifying these obstacles requires heightened sensitivity and advanced interpersonal skills.
Intercultural management challenges require proactive attention and tailored solutions. Ignoring these underlying obstacles can compromise not only productivity but also team morale.
Underestimated or hidden challenges
Multicultural teams face obvious challenges, but some are often underestimated or hidden, having a profound influence on the team's effectiveness.
- Unconscious biases linked to culture
In a multicultural team, each member brings values and perceptions shaped by their culture. These biases, which are often implicit, can affect the multicultural collaborative environment. In the past, I worked on a project where one of the members, a Pole, openly criticised a proposal that he thought would stimulate innovation through debate. Unfortunately for him, his Korean colleagues interpreted this as a lack of respect. As a result, an emotional rift quickly developed...
- Differences in the interpretation of responsibilities
Some cultures value a clear division of labour, while others favour flexibility and autonomy. In the United States, for example, Americans can feel frustrated by what they see as a lack of initiative on the part of their European counterparts, who are more inclined to wait for a plan to be drawn up and validated jointly before taking action. This is a source of misunderstanding that inevitably slows down decision-making and overall performance... until clear, shared rules for collaboration are put in place!
- Silent conflicts
Finally, misunderstandings can remain unspoken, slowly eroding trust. In a European and Indian team working in the banking sector, I observed frustrations over deadlines and priorities that remained buried for months. It was only through individual coaching sessions that these tensions were able to emerge and be worked through, revealing the importance of creating a calmer space for discussion in order to take account of the cultural dimensions of these conflicts.
4 success factors for integrating teams
The success of global teams depends on a regular and renewed commitment by international HR to fostering mutual understanding, collective intelligence and a collaborative environment. This requires a number of factors, which the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss summed up perfectly: "The important thing is not to open others up to reason, but to open oneself up to the reason of others".
1. Breaking down cultural barriers through trust
Multicultural teams are often held back by misunderstandings. I recently worked with a team in a multinational based in the UK. The employees, from different European countries, had different perceptions of leadership and responsibilities. Team coaching helped them to define common values in this new environment, using cultural storytelling exercises. By creating an open space in which to talk to each other, this form of professional coaching helped to harmonise collective dynamics while respecting the diversity of each employee.
2. Clarify common objectives
Clarity is key, especially in a multicultural environment. When several cultures work together, work objectives can be understood differently on different continents: some teams may find it easier to focus on the quality of the work, while others will focus primarily on levers of action such as speed of execution. It is therefore crucial to clarify objectives to avoid diversity becoming confusion.
3. Adapting in-company coaching methods to local sensitivities
There is no one-size-fits-all solution in global coaching. I worked with a team based in Dubai, with employees from Europe, South Asia and the Middle East. The tools and methods of communication were ineffective because they were too focused on Western models. I suggested that they work on respecting local cultural sensitivities. To achieve this, it was important to teach them how to decode local culture, as well as subcultures, with a finer vision of variations at national, professional, generational and corporate levels.
4. Measuring results to sustain success
Finally, no coaching programme is complete without qualitative evaluation. During a project with a French team working in Europe and the United States, we introduced a multicultural scorecard. It focused on key elements: team satisfaction, reducing the number of conflicts between colleagues in this new environment, and achieving common objectives. This process made it possible to visualise progress and to motivate the teams to go further. One member of the team told me during the work session at the end of the group support: "Seeing our successes on paper was a game changer for all of us!"
The right strategies for improving team cohesion through group coaching
Here I share some of the collective intervention strategies that I have tried out and which have helped me to create an environment where diversity becomes a driving force for collective effectiveness. On condition that you forget about universal methods: each multicultural team is unique and each support is tailor-made!
Identifying cultural stereotypes
To strengthen team cohesion, I like to start with activities that help identify explicit and implicit intercultural stereotypes and differences in management styles. If necessary, I use visual communication tools to overcome language barriers and bring about mutual understanding.
Clarifying the rules of the game
Secondly, I like to create a clear framework of shared expectations and rules. For example, with an global company, I asked a team of regional managers to draw up a charter listing the behaviour expected of their teams. They then set up sessions where each team shared its expectations in terms of operating methods. This charter included the issue of feedback: how to talk about it to resolve problems while preserving harmony?
Making the most of cultural metaphors
I like to use metaphors from different cultures to solve complex problems. During a project with an international team in the health sector, a manager shared an African metaphor she knew about working together ("If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together"). This metaphor appealed to the team and helped them redefine their long-term priorities. These tools can be used to communicate universal concepts while reinforcing buy-in. Metaphors and cultural stories create bridges between differences.
Using humour to relieve tension
Humour is an underestimated lever in multicultural coaching because it is difficult to handle. During an intervention with a team of engineers, I used humorous anecdotes from different cultures to illustrate frequent misunderstandings. The atmosphere quickly relaxed, and discussions on the challenges faced by the team became more frank from then on.
Creating rituals
I also like to work on team rituals in intercultural management. This can sometimes be as simple as weekly meetings to share successes and challenges.
Relying on in-house cultural ambassadors
Identifying cultural ambassadors within the team is also an effective practice. In a French company I worked with, an employee of Chinese origin played this role by explaining how local practices could be aligned with global objectives. This accelerated the establishment of a climate of trust, facilitated mutual understanding and avoided unnecessary conflicts.
These original practices show that the success of this form of collective coaching is based on creative solutions, adapted to the specific characteristics of multicultural teams, over and above the classic and well-known advantages of executive coaching. If implemented carefully, these strategies transform diversity into a sustainable competitive advantage.
When shouldn't I do team coaching with an international team?
Although this comprehensive support is a powerful tool, it is not always the ideal solution. Certain contexts or conditions can limit its effectiveness, or even exacerbate problems within global teams. Collective coaching requires a solid foundation for better performance. Before embarking, it is crucial to ensure that the team is ready, that open conflicts have been resolved, and that leadership actively supports the initiative. In some cases, it is preferable to start with other forms of intervention, such as individual coaching or awareness-raising workshops, before considering collective work.
Here are three situations in which it is better to postpone or avoid coaching:
A lack of will or preparation
If the team or management is not ready to commit to a transformation process, team coaching runs the risk of being counter-productive, for example if no manager is really willing to change his or her practices or to devote time to collective coaching sessions. We then run the risk of creating a situation where there is a disconnect between what is said about the intention of coaching and what is actually done, when the managers themselves do not actively support the initiative or reject the critical or divergent ideas of the teams. In such cases, it's in nobody's interest to reach the limit of an atmosphere of mistrust or psychological insecurity for the participants. Professional coaches, move on! Apart from supporting the managers themselves, you won't have any levers for action!
Lack of clear leadership, unclear or contradictory objectives
If the multicultural team lacks coherent leadership, group coaching loses its effectiveness. Without a clear vision or objectives, team coaching lacks direction. I'm thinking, for example, of a team with managers on both sides of the Atlantic who were unable to adopt a common vision. Some wanted to raise the company's profile, while others wanted to increase sales in the short term. The lack of consensus paralysed the process and generated a lot of frustration within the team. As a result, there was zero commitment from employees, and nobody saw the point of getting involved in the collective online workshops.
Unresolved open conflicts
Unresolved open conflicts? It's best to postpone group coaching! Because this type of multicultural coaching cannot resolve deep-seated and persistent conflicts that have not been taken into account until now. Unexpressed grudges can only prevent the group from moving forward. In such cases, prior mediation or individual coaching is probably necessary to clear the situation.
In conclusion
The success of team coaching in multicultural teams is based on building a bond of trust, which is fundamental to authentic and productive exchanges. Clarifying common objectives also helps to ensure that all employees are moving in the same direction, despite their cultural differences. And of course, adapting working methods to local sensitivities encourages better intercultural communication and effective collaboration.
Well-supported multicultural teams don't just overcome their differences; they draw strength from them to innovate, collaborate smoothly and achieve greater efficiency in a globalised environment.
