Tag Archives: cultural differences

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Differences lead to Strengths

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Disagreement can be the hallmark of a strong relationship.  Respectful interactions with others from deep friendships to casual acquaintances do not require agreement to be successful.

In fact, just the opposite.  The ability to use disagreement to reach stronger and higher quality conclusions can be  misunderstood.  Due to the negative emotions often associated with disagreement we do not always see the potential value.

The Power of Diversity

Differences can have a very powerful impact on results.  Adversity is a challenge (for sure) but overcoming it can lead to great rewards.  Both from the satisfaction of resolving conflict and because the result is most likely improved by multi-participation.

A key part of successful collaboration is harnessing the differences to create a unified approach that encompasses the best everyone has to contribute.

Leverage to Agreement

Disagreement only builds a relationship and leads to better results when it is used to develop consensus.  Success does not require all to agree but it does require acceptance and buy-in.

In the best cases, disagreements morph from separate positions to a unique but ultimately better-unified position.  This modifying of perspectives is not only a cornerstone of innovation but also a powerful way towards improvement.

A combination of everyone’s ideas, perspectives, experience, and background will typically lead to a stronger chance of attaining the desired goal.

Embrace Disagreement

In essence, disagreement is not something to be discouraged or treated with dislike.  Rather use the differences as a springboard to results.

Put aside the adversarial aspects of disagreement and leverage the opportunities they can provide.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Dashan

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Literally, the Chinese phrase dashan translates to  “big mountain” , it is also the stage name of Canadian comedian Mark Rowswell.  Mark speaks fluent Mandarin and is said to be the most famous and well-known foreigner in China.

Mark was recently accorded an honorary doctor of letters by the University of Alberta for, among other outstanding life achievements, his role as a cultural ambassador.

Laugh Out Loud

I had the pleasure of attending a “Talk with Dashan”  yesterday.  As you would expect from an entertainer with more than 30 years experience, and still going strong, it was a truly enjoyable session.

Humour is a great way to communicate.  The message can be just as clear or even more striking when couched in humor.

For me, Marks key message reinforced the value of seeing each other as people, focusing on the things that are the same rather than the differences.

Language

I am not fortunate enough to be multi-lingual although I do have some smatterings of French and Japanese.  I am envious of the ease with which Mark became a Chinese speaker as proficient as any native.

He partly explained this by clarifying his approach.  He was not learning a second language but rather his goal was to make Chinese his own language, in owning it he became the practioner of two first languages.

The key take away for me though, was the power of embracing our humanity regardless of geographic, ethnic or language backgrounds, we are all just human.