Culture Clash: Managing Projects with Indian and German Stakeholders

In an increasingly globalized world, project teams tend to be put together across various cultures. However, with each culture comes an individual code of communication and conduct, which can put an additional layer of complexity on the team. In this article I will illuminate the culture clash between Indian and German team members, which can be elegantly resolved by making sure every party unites behind a single concept: the word “no”.

Communication is like traffic: flow emerges once the basic rules are established. (Photo by Arianna Flores Corral on Unsplash)

Managing and leading project teams can be a very complicated and frustrating undertaking. Members must ensure that the goals is sufficiently clear, resources are available and objective milestones defined. Additionally, a basic groundwork of rules has to be agreed upon, so that coordination occurs and no friction emerges. Effective communication is key to leading project teams successfully — and a plethora of project management concepts and theories exist: active listening, purposeful leading, SCRUM, design thinking, etc. One dimension, however, is often neglected, because it adds another layer of complexity with a broad range of different scenarios: different cultural backgrounds of team members and their respective communication conventions. In this article, I will specifically examine managing inter-cultural Indian and German teams. Having been brought up in between exactly those two cultures (born in Germany to Indian parents), I found that one especially powerful word tends to mess things up on both sides: “no”. Let’s take a closer look at both perspectives.

Members from different cultural backgrounds need to understand the other side in order to work together productively. (Photo by Saksham Gangwar on Unsplash)

An admirable trait of the German culture is its direct and rational communication. Opposing someone’s opinion is not a bad thing, because eveyone has been raised to think independently and critically. This is generally widely accepted and even required, and the topic of “respect” is never invoked. This means that opposing someone does not implicate disrespect. Respect does not even appear in the equation, since people generally accept different opinions and won’t take it personally if someone opposes. In short: a “no” is just the opposite of a “yes”.

The Indian art of communication centers around the concept of harmony, which is one of the highest goods in society. It is of such central importance, that the counterpart — the concept of conflict — has not ever really evolved in India. Conflicts tend to be resolved for the sake of harmony, but such a resolution means that everyone involved tries to make do with the status quo and somehow hopes to “forget” the conflict. This usually works as well, but only to a certain extent: if a certain conflict can’t be forgotten, internal pressure builds up, which can burst through at one point and cause lasting damage, putting a strain on relationships. Harmony thus leads to the non-existence of the “no” in Indian communication, and if it is ever uttered, it is an indication that the volcano is about to erupt. In short: a “no” is equal to a “f**k you”.

Every culture has its own way of communication and understanding — and peculiarities. Photo by Daniel Schludi on Unsplash

Knowing these diametrically opposed interpretations of the word “no” is key to effective communication between inter-cultural Indian and German teams. Here are some suggestions for both cultural backgrounds, beginning with the German side:

1. Clearly state that a “no” is not an insult and that you won’t ever think badly of the other side if opinions are not perfectly aligned.
2. Highlight the constructive forces of opposing positions in the creative process and invite team members to challenge assumptions.
3. Admit that humans (and especially you) are not perfect and omniscient and show genuine interest for expanding your own horizons, thereby implying that you are willing to learn from others on your team.
4. Create a safe space, where making mistakes is accepted and even regarded as fundamental building blocks of the team’s success, since making mistakes is the most effective form of learning and improving.

For the Indian side of the team, these suggestions might clarify some things:

1. Separate disagreements from the concept of respect: even bitter rivals can have the highest respect for each other — in fact, I believe that the more effort goes into discussing things to find compromises, the more respect evolves.
2. Ask questions: expressing difficulties understanding the other side is not a sign of low intellectual capability. The other side will think highly of you since you are showing effort and interest trying to follow their thoughts.
3. Keep your promises and your words: if you know beforehand that you cannot keep your word, then a simple “no, I can’t” is more valuable than a hasty “yes, yes, sure, I will try to do it” and then not follow through. Note: if you gave your word and you couldn’t somehow keep your word, no problem — committing mistakes is normal, but learn from it. Next time, evaluate more critically whether you can keep your word.

Inter-cultural communication is a melting pot of different ideas, perspectives and influences. (Photo by Debashis RC Biswas on Unsplash)

An inter-cultural team which does not establish ground rules of communication can be a liability, whereas a functioning team is a great asset. Remember, every person is unique and brings a different set of skills to the table. If a certain code of communication is set, every skill will enforce and complement every other skill. In the end, you will have created a highly efficient decision environment, and it is in this fundament where the seeds of success are planted.

The overall aim is to create an open and liberal safe space of communication. I hope that this essay has delivered some material in building one.