Developing Cultural Competence in Teams

Abstract

This chapter explores the value of cultural competence in high-performing teams. We define cultural competency as the capacity to engage appropriately with other people from different cultural backgrounds (Muzychenko, 2008). We provide working definitions of identity, social identity, diversity, stereotypes, and discrimination, emphasizing why understanding these definitions is critical for effective team leaders.

Building cultural competence can be fundamental toward success in this context. We describe four key pillars of cultural competence that includes being aware of other cultures, possessing a positive attitude, seeking knowledge of other cultures, and developing relationship-building skills to connect across cultures (Bennett, 1986). This developmental stage model can help increase your self-awareness and awareness of others’ capacity for cultural competence. Representing progressive advancement, these six stages include: (1) denial of difference, (2) defense against difference, (3) minimization of difference, (4) acceptance of difference, (5) adaptation to difference, and (6) integration of difference.