Virtual Global Communications

Despite many cultural differences, global leaders must be able to communicate with employees, customers and the world through a new lens, social media.

Social media allows for creative ways to send messages out to the world; whether a tweet signifying a  success of a recent product launch or a Snapchat encouraging our youth to get involved at a college; social media is very effective in getting messages across.

In my own role as Chief Communications Officer, I am finding that if I refer to tweets or Instagram postings in a positive way, my staff feels motivated to do more.   Social media managers are very creative and take pride in their work.  Recognition of employee success and hard work is something that we Americans use to motivate our employees.  We have to be careful, however, as a global leader, Russian employees are expected to do a good job and do not expect nor receive recognition for it. That is their culture.

In addition to Twitter and Snapchat, YouTube is a great recruiting tool for potential students.  Take a look:

This is more impactful than an email sent directly to the student telling them how wonderful Molloy College is.  This video would motivate me to apply to Molloy College.

Body Language

What does body language say about you?  A lot!  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, body language is "the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others.

I have two examples of body language that I would like to share:

1.  Recently, while in a search committee meeting that I was chairing for the hiring of a new position in my office, I sat across the table from the director of Human Resources.  While I pride myself in running efficient and all-inclusive meetings, the director of Human Resources spent the entire meeting looking at me with this look of disdain.  It was rude and interrupted my flow but I forged ahead and completed the tasks that were on the agenda.  However, she distracted me during the meeting and I have now learned that I will not sit across the table from her in meetings.

2.  A second example I would like to share is that I host team meetings every week with our digital communications team.  One of the individuals is from India and I try to appreciate his culture but his lack of appreciating our culture comes out sometimes.  When he speaks to make a point, he bombards the conversation for too long.  I try to gently open up opportunities for others to speak but he is a master of the "pause" and only takes a slight breath between sentences.  However, I have learned to find a way to open up the doors of conversation by timing his pauses since my body language is not read properly by him.  It is my intent through body language that I want him to slow down and listen to what others have to say.  This may be a skill that he needs to master.

Here are some articles on body language for you to read:

Body Language Mistakes

References:

Body Language Image

Body Language Definition

10 Commandments: Communicating with Persons with Disabilities

I have the pleasure of working in an academic environment that fully supports the interaction of communicating with  people with disabilities.  The groups of people range from being:

• my niece (cerebral palsy)
• elderly 
• physically challenged
• autistic 
• sight challenged

These individuals are either:

• students
• faculty
• fellow employees
• high school students from a local "Abilities" chapter who work in the mail room

By being exposed to these types of disabilities or challenges as I like to call them, I find I am fortunate in my experiences with everyone of them I come in contact with.  I appreciate the 10 commandments, some of which I had already known and others I will consider while communicating with others who have disabilities.  

The first of the 10 Commandments for Communicating with Persons with Disabilities are outlined in the following humorous video:

As outlined in Canas and Sondak (2013), the full list of commandments is as follows:

1. When talking with a person with a disability, speak directly to that person rather than through a companion or sign-language interpreter who may be present. I will now practice this.
2. When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands.  People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands. (Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting).  I currently practice this. 
3. When meeting a person with a visual impairment, always identify yourself and others who may be with you.  When conversing in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking.  I will now practice this. 
4. If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted.  Then listen to or ask instructions.  I currently practice this. 
5. Treat adults as adults.  Address people who have disabilities by their first names only when extending that same familiarity to all others present. (Never patronize people who use a wheelchair by patting them on the head or shoulders.  I currently practice this. 
6. Leaning or hanging on a person's wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person and is generally considered annoying.  The chair is part of the personal body space of the person who uses this.  I don't always practice this but will try to remember to do this.
7. Listen attentively when you are talking with a person who has difficulty speaking.  Be patient and wait for the person to finish, rather than correcting or speaking for that person.  If necessary, ask short questions that require short answers, a nod, or a shake of the head.  Never pretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so.  Instead, repeat what you have understood and allow the person to respond.  The response will clue you in and guide your understanding.  I don't always practice this but will try and remember to do this. 
8. When speaking with a person in a wheelchair or a person who uses crutches, place yourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation.  I currently practice this. 
9. To get the attention of a person who is hearing impaired, tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand.  Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips.  Not all people with a hearing impairment can lip-read.  For those who do lip-read, be sensitive to their needs by placing yourself facing the light source and keeping such objects as hands, cigarettes, and food away from your mouth when speaking.  I will now practice this. 
10. Relax.  Don't be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted, common expressions that seem to relate to the person's disability, such as "see you later" or "did you hear about this?" I will now practice this. 

References

Canas, K. and Sondak, H. (2013).  Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity:  Theory, cases and exercises, (3rd edition), pp. 292-293.

What Diversity Means to Me

The Concept of Diversity for me is to respect each other's differences but also to embrace our commonalities.  I believe I am more similar to others in some respects and different in other respects.  For example, I love hip hop but that is not a genre that I was familiar with as a child nor was it a part of my culture.

Race, gender, age and nationality are the most common dimensions of diversity that are pretty obvious to most of us.  However, the hidden diversities of each of us need to be drawn out at times so we can learn more about those we come in contact with.  All of these dimensions are important to me because I am a curious person who loves to learn about others, their backgrounds and what makes them shine.  As a team leader, I always ask the group to identify ourselves but also find a way to bring out the special strengths of each individual; those things that are not inherently obvious.  

We had our company BBQ yesterday, and we not only celebrated our diversity by gathering as one unit, we also embraced each other's differences by our interactions.  We played a trivia game with 300 people; all of whom participated as separate tables who acted as teams.  These teams were formed by those who were familiar with each other, whether by department or common interests but the friendships formed among the teams and the entire group are memories to be shared forever.  We also watched several talented acts perform to our delight, and we celebrated our diversity in that light as well.  I am very fortunate to work in an environment that supports inclusion of our diverse ages, races, thoughts, etc.

Here are a couple of clips from the "WINNING" performance at yesterday's "Back to the 80's" BBQ:

Yes, we have performances every year.  This year we had 3 wonderful and highly competitive performances.  We had to vote twice to get the winner!

My Cultural Identity

• My Cultural Identity

I define my culture as common but unique.  I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family, wearing thrift shop clothes and uniforms until I graduated from high school.  My parents pushed me to be independent but controlled everything, from who my friends were to where I was allowed to go to College; I was only able to go to a community college, not Vermont, where my heart was.  I wanted to ski and become a teacher.  My parents did not support skiing as a career, I understand that.  However, being a teacher was not something I was able to articulate when I was young.  I was very quiet and unsure of myself.  My parents did not know I wanted to be a teacher.  I ended up in secretarial school after I dropped out of college, which is something I had to do because my sister did it.  I needed to get a job - not a career.  My brothers were encouraged and allowed to go to college.  My dad wanted to pay for their college educations and me and my sister's weddings.  That's just the way it was; my parents did not know any better.  This is what they knew and what they wanted to provide for us.In support of my parents, however, they did what was best for me and my siblings and worked very hard to provide for us.  I will be eternally grateful for all of their hard work and dedication to our family.  My parents taught me that family is important and that our Irish family heritage is forever.  I have made several trips to Ireland and absolutely adore the Irish people.  The Irish people are warm, welcoming and hard workers.  Irish music and dance are at the heart of our culture.   

Growing up in this environment did allow me to become very fond of my Irish roots, however, we were constantly exposed to our Irish heritage, traditions, culture (Irish music and dance), stories - oh the Irish are great storytellers.  This upbringing did not, however, allow me to fully discover myself until I began working in an academic institution 21 years ago.  I always LOVED school.  It is ironic that I have been blessed to work in higher education. Through this journey, my identity has been transformed into something I am very proud of.  I have had the opportunities to become well-versed and indoctrinated into many cultures of the world.  However, I am still unsure of myself when I speak.

At work, I hold a very important position so I am serious but sometimes funny.  I have learned and am still learning how to articulate what I want to say.  This has been a struggle for me my whole life.  While I am smart, I have trouble saying what I mean and getting my point across.  People at work might think I am a pushover, since I speak only when I am certain and sometimes speak when I should not just to include myself in a conversation.  People identify me as a hard worker and someone who can get the job done and done well.  I do need to slow down somehow so I can plan more, which is critical in my new role as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Digital and Internal Communications.

When I am with friends, I am casual and fun, but because I work so much, I have little to contribute with friends who don't work or have much more money than me.  This is very common.  However, my friends are Jewish, Catholic, Irish, Italian, gay, black, etc.  We do embrace each other's differences.

Celebrating cultural diversity at work should be considered a cautious exercise.  Cultural diversity should be embraced and be a part of a formal diversity training program.  I think you can joke around with friends who are culturally diverse but at work, that would not be acceptable.  We must be sensitive to others' cultures and acceptable norms.

Global Diversity Experiences

I have been very fortunate to work in an academic institution where the chances of working with people from diverse cultural, religious and global backgrounds are possible.  However, Diversity in this day and age is more than the color of our skin, our heritage, our customs, and our religious beliefs.  Diversity now encompasses gender, thought, age, etc.  And because we live in the United States, our individualistic way of doing business could be seen as quite confusing for those who work with us from different countries, religions and cultures.

I have a gentleman who is from India who works for me and is trying his best to assimilate to the western way of doing business.  I have been lucky enough to have been trained in diversity training and exposed to different schools of thought prior to this individual working for me.  I have learned to accept, listen and then react when people speak with me from disparate cultures and ages.  We truly live in a diverse world and being open to everyone's thoughts is becoming more the norm in our individualistic style.  While we all (Americans) strive to be our best selves, we are also learning how to be our best groups, i.e., like the Japanese.  Well, at least I am.  Perhaps I am lucky enough to have learned and lived the Japanese culture, which has truly enabled me to marry my western culture with the ancient culture of the Japanese. I treat everything I do with "thought" before I make a decision.

If there is one thing I know about the Japanese, they want to be the best at everything they do.  Anything another culture can do, the Japanese can do better.  Why? Because they insist on being perfect.  The way in which the Japanese present their business cards is strictly enforced and highly encouraged from visitors.

Japanese Business Etiquette

"In Japan, the ability to perfectly imitate - and even improve upon - the cocktails, cuisine and couture of foreign cultures isn't limited to American products; there are spectacular French chefs and masterful Neapolitan pizzailoi who are actually Japanese.  There's something about he perspective of the Japanese that allows them to hone in on the essential elements of foreign cultures and then perfectly recreate them at home.  What we see in Japan, in a wide range of pursuits, is a focus on mastery."

Reflection Blog Post

I am happy to say that working with the teams I was assigned during this course have been filled with learning experiences.

The Conflict Style team matched me with an individual who shared my conflict style and we breezed through our survival exercise by listening, accommodating and collaborating.



The Final Group project team was a bit more challenging.  One of our team members went into the hospital and was quite sick but somehow managed to pre-load our presentation to start us off before he got sick.  I then came into the picture and chose the leadership challenge and attempted to communicate with the third teammate.  He was quite aloof but at the 11th hour, literally, he pulled through. However it took a lot of prodding and coaching on my part to make it happen.  I sent him many files to do research on the topic and he was unable to comprehend or report on the theme again, until the 11th hour but by then it was too little, too late. He most certainly "avoided" the project.

Playing in the leadership role throughout the course had become a priority. I am happy to step up to be a leader but also happy to take a back seat and let someone else lead.  During this last group exercise I needed to take the leadership role because the project would not have been completed had I not stepped up to the plate.

One thing I have learned about group projects is that some things do not change; there is usually a natural leader and usually individuals who take a lesser role for whatever reason.  Another area of knowledge that I have acquired during group project exercises as a result of this course is to listen, learn and coach the other individuals rather than complain about their lack of input.  I have gained a more positive tone in my approach as a result.