Project Management in a Cross Cultural Team

There's a lot to project management, but in my experience it can basically be boiled down to 4 key factors:

• Leadership
• Communication
• Documentation/organization
• Follow-up

However, in cross-cultural teams a 5th dimension emerges which must be considered to get the most out of your team: cultural awareness.

Western business tends to define leaders differently than other cultures. In the US, leaders are usually identified as being innovative, "take charge" type of people that lead teams. We expect leaders to make difficult decisions regardless of how it might affect personal relationships within the team. After all, the point is to conduct business, not to make friends.

In contrast, Eastern cultures would identify a leader as being a "team builder", someone who leads by consensus and who follows protocol. In Asian culture the project is one of many, but the survival of the business depends on the relationships (internal and external) that drive that business.

In my experience with managing cross-cultural projects, I've found that productivity within the team is drastically reduced with Western-style project management and leadership. Where Americans are typically assertive and outspoken, my Chinese and Japanese colleagues weighed their input based on careful reflection of how their input might affect relationships within the team. When pressed to make quick decisions or offer opinions during team meetings, many would simply decline.

Some of my American counterparts saw this behavior as "shyness". But in developing deep, meaningful relationships with my international colleagues I learned that their reluctance to participate was actually symptoms of our Asian team members suffering culture shock.

I believe that it is impossible for a project manager to truly understand another culture. Our culture is our reality and it affects the way we act and the way we perceive everything around us. However, by making an effort to become culturally aware, international team members will become more inclined to participate and take ownership of the project, increasing its likelihood of success.