Building Professional and Harmonious Relationships with Non-Local Colleagues
The focus of this part of the series is to promote a professional and compatible co-existence between the host country support staff and their foreign colleagues. Having an effective working relationship requires a certain comfort level that only comes with communication. Therefore, the first piece of advice should be premised on establishing a relationship.
#1 Establishing a relationship between colleagues
Making small talk. Small talk is instrumental in building a comfort level between colleagues but engaging in small talk is an ability that derives from cultural practices. For example, in my sixteen years of working and living in China, I observed that the Chinese are rather weak when it comes to making small talk with people whom they do not know well, on the other hand, the westerners are more comfortable with this activity. Small talk is essential to relieving work-related stress and anxiety, and it also allows the parties to relax a little before they discuss a pertinent issue or before they execute a job. This should be inculcated throughout their entire work life especially in an international school. They can talk about mundane topics to sustain small talk such as the weather, traffic, the weekend, etc.
Fostering closer relationships. Knowing a person changes the way we converse and makes it more polite and non-confrontational. In order to foster closer relationships in the environment of an international school, active listening is paramount. A culture of listening to the other person promotes empathy – which is knowing exactly what the other person is feeling before passing a value judgment. Empathy should be expressed in words and in deeds.
#2 Building trust in the workplace
The true spirit of collaboration, teamwork, and diversity can only be harnessed by building trust, and this is the second most important aspect that the support staff of the host country should know. Trust is a pre-requisite for every successful working relationship because the lack of trust enables a toxic environment that is rife with constant suspicion and an uncomfortable feeling that consumes the mind. Building trust is also not a one-time exercise; it requires intentional and consistent effort. It takes time to build trust between colleagues. To build trust in the workplace, the following four elements must be present.
Competence. Employees are hired to do a job and they are expected to do the job well. Trust abounds when people know that their colleagues are able to perform their tasks and jobs effectively. Competence means that one has the capability to do their work well.
Reliability is essential to employee performance and it is a crucial ingredient in building trust with colleagues. It is the quality of being reliable, dependable, and trustworthy. They do what they say they will do. Reliability is when an individual may be counted on to do what is expected. For example, a reliable employee is one who shows up for work on time and is committed to complete the work in a timely manner. It is futile if one has the competence to do the job but is not reliable.
A person of integrity is someone who has a strict moral or ethical code. They are honest. Integrity is the foundation of trust. Being honest and having integrity will help an individual in building a better relationship with his coworkers. The reverse is equally true. For example, if a person who repeatedly makes outright lies, colleagues will more likely presume that they have been lied at as well.
Connectedness is perhaps the most important component in building a productive and efficient workplace. In fact, it is the basis of building trust among employees. It gets you in the door. It is similar to building rapport and building relationships with the other employees. However, it is more than making people feel like one big happy family. Connection includes relating to someone’s perspectives and ideas. Connected teams drive collaboration, nurture healthy working relationships, and promote knowledge-sharing.
Next week, Henry will outline three additional characteristics of local employees to effectively work in international schools.
#3 Understanding different cultures
Understanding different cultures is also of paramount importance in an international school environment. In his 1957 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Lester Pearson appropriately said, “How can there be peace without people understanding each other, and how can this be if they don’t know each other?” (Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, 1982: 9) In order to build an environment where there is mutual respect and inclusivity for all cultures, both foreign teachers and the host country employees should understand, respect, and acknowledge cultural differences. From a young age, our primary socialization teaches us to respect guests. The extension of a similar principle applies here. It is necessary for the host country employees to view their foreign colleagues as guests in their country. One of the several ways to achieve this goal is to participate in engaging, fun, and entertaining ice-breaking sessions such as short presentations by the employees on the specifics of their cultural holidays, food, traditions, and other important aspects. For example, in the Chinese context, foreign teachers should learn about the dragon boat festival or mid-autumn festival. Similarly, the Chinese staff should know about western holidays such as the Anzac Day, Boxing Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Thanksgiving to name a few.
#4 Speak and write better English
It is astonishing to learn that some host country employees, especially those positions that require constant communication with foreign colleagues, do not speak English proficiently. Foreign teachers who intend to live in the host country for a long period of time should make efforts to learn the native language. In the same way, host country employees who would like to remain employed in an international school for an extended period of time should strive to improve their English proficiency so that they can confidently speak and write better English. “Learn more. Do better’’ this simple life philosophy can be revolutionary for host country employees and can potentially fast track their language learning efforts and career developments. Communication is the key. Host country employees should not shy away from asking for clarification in the supervisor or foreign teacher’s instructions. Slowly, as they will build command over the English language, they will be able to establish a firm footing in the international school as they gain the confidence to engage in meaningful mutual discussions.
#5 Do an excellent job
The role of non-teaching support staff is mainly to support and serve their “customers” – internal and/or external. It is my belief that the internal customers are our number one customer while our external clients are number two customers. When supporting and serving their customers, they ought to do an excellent job, especially for their foreign colleagues. It is not because they deserve better than their local colleagues or the external customers. It is because they have left their country, family, and friends to work and live in a place where the environment is alien to them. It is very daunting when they do not speak the language and the culture, customs, and traditions seem so foreign to them. Foreigners can find it very difficult to navigate through day-to-day conversations such as talking to the landlord or doing grocery shopping. Being unable to explain to the property manager about a problem with the apartment or not being able to understand an emergency alert message in the local language on the cell phone, for example, can all make the foreign colleagues feel very frustrated and helpless.
Doing an excellent job means exceeding expectations, taking the initiative, being proactive, going the extra mile, delivering over-the-top service, providing personalized service, and offering legendary customer service. It is all of the above. In other words, anticipate the needs and concerns of the parties being supported and served before they are even aware of their own needs and concerns. Honestly speaking, it is almost impossible to meet this standard of excellence if there is no rapport or relationship between colleagues if there’s no certain level of English proficiency if there’s no respect or understanding of the other person’s culture and if there’s no trust in the work relationships.
First, non-teaching support staff must do a superb job within their job scope. That’s a given. They should remember that they are support staff and ought to be supportive – passionately, proactively, promptly, and professionally. Next, the host country support staff should attempt to help their foreign colleagues beyond work-related matters. I get some push-back on this one. Here is my case for this admonition. By nature, most westerners like to be independent. It is an awful feeling to rely on someone for daily chores. Hence, if it is not a language issue, patiently showing them how they themselves can resolve the problems will be greatly appreciated and should suffice. In this situation, both parties win; they help each other become accustomed to the language, culture, and conversation patterns. It is essential to build a workplace environment that is conducive to the success of people of all cultures.
In his series on navigating through intercultural environments, Henry will talk about what host country support staff can do to blend more easily in their international school micro-culture.
Check out other articles from this series:
