Looking Through a Different Lens: How Cultural Inclusion Strengthens Teams

Why This Matters

Even within one country, teams are diverse, shaped by regional, generational, and personal cultures and religions. Add cross-border projects and global supply chains into the mix, and the potential for misunderstanding grows, but so does the opportunity for innovation.

Culture influences everything: how we give feedback, how we view deadlines, how formal we are with authority, how quickly we speak up, even how we interpret silence in a meeting. When we assume our way is the “normal” way, we risk frustration, damaged trust, and missed opportunities to learn from each other.

Your Cultural Lens

We all see the world through a cultural lens – a set of learned norms that feels “right” and often invisible to us. It shapes how we queue, how we greet, how we make decisions, how we show respect, and what we think “good communication” looks like.

If your lens says “being on time means arriving five minutes early”, you may see someone who joins exactly on the hour as careless, whereas their lens might say “on time means within a reasonable window and after I’ve finished with the person in front of me”.

Being culturally inclusive starts with Curiosity.

• Pause and ask: “What assumptions am I making about what is normal or polite?”
• Notice differences and ask: “Is this wrong – or just different from what I’m used to?”

Common Cross-Cultural Challenges

A few patterns show up again and again in multicultural teams. Knowing the language for them helps us spot what is going on and choose a better response.

Direct vs indirect (high vs low context)

In some cultures, people expect everything to be said clearly in words – emails and comments are direct, and “no” is said openly if there’s a problem. In others, more is communicated through tone, relationship, and what is not said; people may soften disagreement or say “yes” to maintain harmony while meaning “I’ll try” or “I’m not sure”. This can affect how feedback lands: what feels “honest” to one person can feel “rude” or “cold” to another, while what feels “polite” to one can feel “unclear” or “evasive” to someone else.

Power distance and hierarchy

In some places, it’s normal to challenge your manager in a meeting, call leaders by their first name, and expect a very flat structure. Elsewhere, people show respect by deferring to seniority, using titles, or waiting to be invited to speak. Without awareness, a junior colleague who stays quiet can be misread as disengaged, when they are actually being respectful; a colleague who speaks up freely can be misread as overconfident or disrespectful.

Time orientation (monochronic and polychronic)

Some cultures treat time in a “monochronic” way – doing one thing at a time, valuing detailed schedules, and seeing being late as a sign of disrespect. Others are more “polychronic” – comfortable juggling several things at once, prioritising people and relationships over strict clock time, and seeing plans as flexible. On a shared project, one person may feel stressed if a meeting starts five minutes late, while another feels stressed if the agenda leaves no room for the conversation that needs to happen.

Language and accents

English may be the working language, but that doesn’t mean everyone is equally comfortable using it in high-speed, idiomatic conversation. Native speakers can easily dominate airtime, speak quickly, or use slang and abbreviations that others don’t know. When that happens, valuable perspectives get lost, and colleagues may feel less confident in contributing.

Practical Tips for Everyone

Cultural inclusion is less about knowing every country’s norms and more about building some everyday habits.

Say my name

Make an effort to learn and pronounce colleagues’ names correctly – it’s a simple, powerful sign of respect. If you are unsure, ask them to say it, listen carefully, and repeat it back; most people appreciate the effort. You can also search for common name pronunciations online as a quick check.

Adapt your style

Avoid slang, idioms, and very local references in emails, chats, and meetings, especially with international or mixed-audience groups. Slow your speaking pace slightly, pause between points, and check understanding rather than asking “Does that make sense?” once at the end.

Create space for every voice

In meetings, notice who hasn’t spoken yet and invite them in gently: “Alex, we haven’t heard from you yet – anything you’d like to add?” Consider round-robin check-ins or short “everyone shares once” segments, so quieter colleagues – or those from more deferential cultures – have a natural opening to contribute.

Learn before you assume

Before a new cross-border project or workshop, take five minutes to read up on cultural norms or communication styles in the countries involved, or use reputable cultural comparison tools. Treat what you learn as a starting point for curiosity, not a stereotype or a box to put people in.

Agree team norms up front

As a team, take time to define what “on time” means for your meetings, how you want to give feedback, and how you’ll handle disagreement. For example: do you prefer written feedback in advance or live discussion; is it okay to interrupt with questions; how will you ensure everyone is heard? Explicit norms reduce the chance that people will silently judge each other through their own cultural lens.

Closing thoughts

Culture isn’t a barrier – it’s a bridge. When we move from seeing differences as friction to seeing them as signals and fuel, collaboration becomes far more creative and resilient. By being curious, intentional, and inclusive in how you communicate, cultural diversity becomes a strength that allows you to learn, innovate, and make every colleague feel that they truly belong.