Intercultural Integration can be defined as a form of cultural exchange. It happens when one person or group adapts to the practices and beliefs of another group without sacrificing their own but at the same time respecting the culture of others. When several cultures integrate into one another there is intercultural integration. This allows for:
High degree of respect and trust in the workplace or community
Innovative ideas from varying perspectives
Ability to reach audiences across varied cultures
My experience managing teams across Africa, Asia and Latin America, while implementing with USG funding, is that you need to take the time to build intercultural integration within the execution team to ensure success. This means spending more time developing a common vision understood not by words necessarily but by meaning. It means defining a process that works for all cultures to build consensus, and protocols for communication everyone agrees to follow for collaborative efforts.
What have you found to be the most important leadership skill when working towards intercultural integration?
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