Blog 11:  Why doesn’t everyone respond like me, think like me?  Know yourself, observe yourself.  PART 3:  Your cultural invisible scripts

socrates quote "as for me all I know is that I owe nothing"

Let’s pick up where we left off last week.  i hope the further we have gone in this series the more you’re realizing just how much you don’t know as we have explored the impact of your family on your thinking and how the enneagram revealed the way you and others are driven, and fears you have embedded.  This week we will provide a tool to help you understand the impact of your culture on both your invisible scripts and of those around you.  Watch out – you’re going to realise you know even less than you think you know. 

We’re going to use the Hofestede Cross Cultural Index as a tool to help us to see what we can’t see.  You’ll be surprised how different we really are and how it impacts our communication.  Here’s the problem . . .

cartoon of people from different cultures meeting at an airport highlighting their lack of understanding of each other

We all find ourselves in this kind of picture when we encounter others from a culture different to our own.  We are often so immersed with people who think like us, act like us and speak like us that we think we are the norm.  But what are we actually like?

When your mind is full of assumptions, conclusions and beliefs, it has no penetration.  It just repeats past impressions.

Sadhguru

It’s time to understand the other so i can better understand me.  So i can be more tolerant, respectful and generous. 

The Hofestede Cross -Cultural Index is an excellent tool to help you understand difference between cultures https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/ This country comparison tool enables you to compare multiple countries and discover their thinking differences across six dimensions.  Here’s an example screen shot of a comparison between Australia, China and Brazil:

screenshot of the hofestede cross cultural country comparison

The bar graph indicates a lot of variance between those three countries.  Let me try and provide you a brief and simple explanation of each of the six dimensions:

Power Distance Index: The degree to which inequality or distance between those in charge and the less powerful (subordinates) is accepted.  Do you see your superiors are ‘superior’ beings or do you think supervisors and employees should be considered almost as equals?

Individualism versus Collectivism:  The degree to which action is taken for the benefit of the individual, or the benefit of the group.  Are you task first, relationship second . . . or relationship first, task second?

Masculinity versus Femininity:  The distribution of roles between men and women. Do you live in a culture where the roles of men and women overlap less and gender roles are distinct; or do the roles of men and women overlap?

Uncertainty Avoidance index (UAI):  Describes how well people can cope with anxiety.  A high UAI culture will be more relaxed, open and inclusive while in a low UAI context people attempt to make life as predictable and controllable as possible.

Long versus Short Term Orientation:  This dimension can be defined as the extent to which members of a society are prepared to adapt themselves to reach a desirable future. The comparison is reflected in the extent to which members of a society are prepared to adapt themselves to reach a desirable future, or the extent to which they take their guidance from the past and focus on fulfilling their present needs and desires.

Indulgence versus Restraint: Indulgence reflectsa culture which tends to allow or encourage relatively free gratification of people’s own drives and emotions, such as enjoying life and having fun. In contrast, restraint reflects a greater emphasis on suppressing gratification and more regulation of people’s conduct and behavior, and stricter social norms.

Now this is a very brief flyover of a very beneficial and complex tool.  Dive into it and you’ll learn more (i found it revealed just how set i am in my own cultural norms and how much i don’t know about others). 

If you’re really hungry to learn, you’ll find others to discuss this with.  It is in conversations with others that rich learning emerges.  Ask others how they see the world and if their thinking reflects their country’s norm.  Be curious and open.

This is not just recognizing how others think, but to highlight how you think – how you are a product of your culture.  How do you view power distance, individualism, masculinity etc.  Appreciate and value difference.  Celebrate it.  Be curious and learn from others.  You might find just how much you are shaped by your culture.  And maybe you’ll find you don’t quite know as much as you think you did. 

sometimes you think you know things very deeply only to realise you don't know a damn thing

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