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The “Secret Handshake” of the Canadian Workplace
By: Nava Israel, PhD
Founder and President
Facts
Baby boomers on their way out…
… while babies aren’t on their way in
Recent generations aren’t keen about
high-demand professions
Growth will exceed current supply of existing/local talent
Facts
War for talent or not, immigrant professionals still struggle to gain meaningful
jobs.
Facts
Language, communication and soft skills are highly culture-driven
Employers report these to be one of the major barriers to professional employmentRealistic?Perceived?
The “Fit factor” is a powerful decision maker in the Canadian labour market
Employers tend to hire in their own image
Facts
As international professionals, we have little awareness of our language and cultural competency gaps
Facts
Can you share examples of
Canadian peculiarities (strange behaviours)?
Question:
The Universe and I
Diversity Variations
Equality-Driven
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité”
(Liberty, equality, brotherhood)
Hierarchy-Driven
“Know your place”
What “Equality” think of → “Hierarchy”
• Employee = problematic: doesn’t discuss or consult, shows no initiative, a poor critical thinker, unprofessional, unethical, unable to explain and justify recommendations
• Manager = nightmare: arrogant, micromanages, ordering around, offensive, unprofessional, unethical, unable to motivate, unable to explain and justify decisions
What “Hierarchy” think of → “Equality”
• Employee = problematic: disrespectful to superiors, doesn’t know own place, argumentative, a poor critical thinker, unprofessional, risky
• Manager = nightmare: doesn’t know what needs to be done; undermines own authority; suspiciously “too nice”; wasting time explaining and justifying decisions; unprofessional, risky
“Hierarchy” “Equality”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Individualist
“The sky is the limit; it is up to me to get there and let everyone know I did it”
Collectivist
“The whole of the collective is greater than the sum of its
individuals”
and “There is no ‘I’ in the collective”
Diversity Variations
What “individualists” think of → “collectivists”
• Never speak of own achievements and strengths = a very poor performer
• No interest in self development = stagnant, outdated• Needs to be micromanaged, no initiative • Poor team member: either waits to be given
responsibilities or oversteps boundaries • Unable to ask critical questions; poor critical thinker• Can’t excite about own ideas, can’t persuade • Either makes no attempts at building relationships or
oversteps personal boundaries
• No modesty, behaves like a rude child, showing-off• Openly admits to own shortcomings, poor critical thinker• Takes liberties with things that wasn’t asked to do; puts
everyone at risks• Terrible team member; works in isolation, unhelpful to
others• Takes credit without acknowledging the team• Disruptive to relationships and harmony• Tries to persuade using logic instead of relationships;
won’t get anywhere
What “collectivists” think of → “individualists”
“Individualist” “Collectivists”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Client-Driven
“The customer is always right” and “Convince me”
Expert-Driven
“The expert knows best”
Diversity Variations
What “client driven” think of → “expert driven”
• Never speak of own achievements and strengths = a very poor performer
• No interest in self development = stagnant, outdated• Needs to be micromanaged, no initiative • Poor team member: either waits to be given
responsibilities or oversteps boundaries • Unable to ask critical questions; poor critical thinker• Can’t excite about own ideas, can’t persuade • Either makes no attempts at building relationships or
oversteps personal boundaries
• Employee = problematic: disrespectful to superiors, doesn’t know own place, argumentative, a poor critical thinker, unprofessional, risky
• Manager = nightmare: doesn’t know what needs to be done; undermines own authority; suspiciously “too nice”; wasting time explaining and justifying decisions; unprofessional, risky
What “expert driven” think of → “client driven”
“Individualist” “Collectivists”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Confrontation-Driven
“Talk to me” and
“Better out then in”
Avoidance-Driven
“Let sleeping dogs lie” and “Conflict is inevitable, but
combat is unwise”
Diversity Variations
“Confrontation” “Avoidance”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Feedback-Hungry
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions”
Feedback-Averse
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at
all”
Diversity Variations
“Feedback” “No feedback”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Informal
“talk 2 U later”
Formal
“Respectfully yours”
Diversity Variations
“Informal” “Formal”
Where is the Canadian workplace along this scale?
Building Your Cultural Intelligence
Step 1: See the need and recognize benefits
Building Your Cultural Intelligence
Step 2: Let go of ethno/self-centric thinking
Building Your Cultural Intelligence
Step 3: Look around, listen and learn
Building Your Cultural Intelligence
Step 4: Try new behaviours
Building Your Cultural Intelligence
Step 5: Seek guidance and feedback
One thing I would like to improve…One thing I could do to improve my…