Who Should Adapt to The Other Culture

I was doing cultural intelligence training with a multicultural team, after we have covered the 10 cultural values orientations one participant asked me an interesting question that raised everyone attention. The question was: WHO SHOULD ADAPT TO THE OTHER CULTURE? 
Before I say what my answer to the question was and still is, I would want to mention that there is no worse or better culture. The fact that the culture is different from what you are familiar with does not make it inferior nor bad.

So, who should leave their normal ways of doing things and adapt to a different culture? My answer is it depends. I believe people should not adapt just to make the other person life easy.  Before adapting think about these questions. What is it that you want to achieve? Is adapting the best way of doing it? What are you sacrificing as you adapt to the other culture? Are you compromising your core values? Are you able to adapt? What cultural value is beneficial for you and the other person in that moment? 

Who should adapt to the other culture in a multicultural organisation? The biggest mistake that a  multicultural organisation would do is forcing people to adapt to one specific culture. This is very dangerous because we are all attached to our way of doing things ( culture) because it is what is familiar to us and we value it. This why it is very important to create organisational culture which everyone believes advances the organisation strategies and is distinct from group cultures. That way people do not feel they are loosing their cultures but they  feel they are adapting to the culture(values) that drives business strategies. 

Key points: 

• Every culture has strengths and weaknesses
• Adapting to a new culture is possible but it takes time
• Do not adapt until you loose who you are
• Do not expect everyone to adapt to your culture, it might not be the best in that moment
• Cultural agility is an important skill in the 21st century

By: Justin Ngoga