Managers today are expected to meet the needs of a diverse workforce with skill and understanding. The ability to do so effectively, however, requires knowledge and competence, making manager training extremely important.

A manager with responsibility for an international or diverse team needs an understanding of cultural expectations and how different perspectives affect an individual's approach to work. In Clash of the Mindsets: How Indian And Western Engineers View The World Differently, Navi Radjou provides a number of examples that illustrate how “problem solving” and “reasoning” can change depending upon viewpoint. For example, Radjou explains how something as straightforward as the typical age of engineers varies between continents and therefore impacts problem solving approaches.

Managing a team of employees with diverse perspectives requires understanding and the ability to build upon the strengths of each team member. Research -- such as the work done by Aberdeen -- confirms that organizations are concerned about making sure they meet differing needs and understand employees “expectations regarding career development.” The demand for managers who can effectively manage diverse teams is likely to grow, especially in light of statistics such as Manpower findings that 3% of the global population now works in a country other than the one they were born in.

What are some of the experts saying about how we should prepare managers?

-HBS professor Pankaj Ghemawat author of the book Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter writes "the idea is to help businesses cross borders profitably by seeing the world as it really is, rather than in idealized terms."

-Howard M. Guttman – author of When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization – recommends that teams align themselves in three critical areas that include: “1. Strategic and operational goals, 2. Roles and responsibilities, 3. Decision-making protocols.” Agreement in these areas will give a team a platform from which collaboration can grow.

- In an article discussing the many demands being put on managers today, Jim Concelman, vice president of leadership development for Development Dimensions International suggests that increasingly, organizations are finding "they need a common set of leadership expectations and a common set of development processes."

References:

Aberdeen Group Inc. Managing Employee Performance. Aberdeen Group Inc., May 2008.

Ghemawat, Pankaj. “Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat.” Harvard Business School Working Knowledge [http://hbswk.hbs.edu]. October 15, 2007.

Guttman, Howard M. “Are Your Global Team Members Miles Apart?” Harvard Management Update [http://discussionleader.hbsp.com]. February 2007.

Kranz, Garry. “A Higher Standard for Managers.” Workforce Management [www.workforce.com]. June 11, 2007.

Kranz, Garry. “Leadership That’s Made in China.” Workforce Management [www.workforce.com]. July, 2008.

Manpower ®. Talent Shortage Survey 2008 Global Results. Manpower ®, 2008.

Radjou, Navi. “Clash of the Mindsets: How Indian And Western Engineers View The World Differently.” Harvard Business Publishing [http://discussionleader.hbsp.com]. July 2008.