The Linguist

The Linguist 62-2 Summer 2023

The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology

Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/1502343

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 20 of 35

@CIOL_Linguists SUMMER 2023 The Linguist 21 FEATURES This sort of holistic view can help us to gain the flexibility and agility needed to deal with diversity, sudden changes, uncertainty and complexity – all key features of the modern business environment. This reflects positively on the way we interact with others, regardless of their culture. It also leads us to put more value on two-way exchanges that can foster collaboration, innovation and creativity. Developing a multicultural mindset A few simple things can help us to develop a multicultural mindset: 1 Adopt a continuous learning approach. This is second nature to most linguists, as we understand that cultures are continuously changing, and that knowledge can quickly become obsolete or insufficient. 2 Question what you know and how you acquire your knowledge. Always try to find better and different ways to learn and change your perspective on things. 3 Stay curious. Even if you have extensive experience in a particular field, try to look at it with beginner's eyes. 4 Combine different ways to acquire knowledge and understanding. In the digital age it is easy to access a variety of channels, both online and offline, so we can really diversify our sources. 5 Experience it first-hand. As linguists we understand the need to expose ourselves to all of the cultures we work with, but to develop a mindset of understanding and discovery we need regular exposure to other cultures as well. Spend time listening to people, especially those with different ways of thinking and seeing the world. Cross-market cooperation The next step is helping your clients to gain an appreciation of your mindset and way of working. Almost every business, regardless of its size and nature, operates in a multicultural setting and has to overcome obstacles to productivity and achieving goals. Linguistic and intercultural competencies (or a lack of them) can significantly influence many aspects of business, including negotiation, decision making, team management style, employee motivation, relationship with authority, and concepts of respectability/professionalism. An estimated 60-80% of international mergers and acquisitions fail because cultural differences are not taken into consideration. 1 As linguists we are ideally placed to help companies devise more efficient strategies. To do this we need to: • Understand the client well. Every client is different and presents a unique set of characteristics and challenges. So it is important to listen and observe how a client operates, ask questions and try to understand the values and often unspoken norms that characterise the organisation. You can then develop a tailored communication strategy and approach to pass on your knowledge. • Make the benefits clear. It is difficult to quantify the intrinsic value of soft skills, so it is essential to identify key benefits. When diverse ideas and perspectives come together, there are more opportunities to create innovative products and services, reach new markets, and attract and retain top talent. Fostering cultural understanding helps to build long-term trust-based relationships and, as a result, better outcomes in negotiations. It is also important to identify organisation-specific benefits and link them to tangible outputs. • Help your client to reflect on the risks and costs of doing nothing. It is worth reflecting on worst-case scenarios, for example by identifying specific situations in which intercultural knowledge could help to resolve or improve a problem. • Encourage opportunities for dialogue and exchange. In our hyper-connected world, there are many ways to learn about other ways of doing business. Analysing case studies, looking at international benchmarking and organising opportunities to speak with professionals from other cultures can help clients to realise that their perspective is only one of many. The current world of work presents a variety of new opportunities for language professionals. We can leverage our intercultural knowledge to help organisations find new solutions to solve complex problems. Developing a multicultural mindset enables us to adapt our own practice in a conscious way, leading to thinking patterns and behaviours that can respond to the needs of ever-evolving organisations and cultures. We should also help to build an appreciation of what we do among potential clients by educating them about the value of embracing what is different and unknown. Notes 1 Callegarin, M 'Why Developing Intercultural Management Skills is Essential in Today's Complex World; cutt.ly/cuoaspace © PEXELS

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Linguist - The Linguist 62-2 Summer 2023