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Homepage > Business > The Culture Map – introduction
April 10, 2016 In Business

The Culture Map – introduction

culture-map

I would like to recommend another amazing book to you – The Culture Map by Erin Meyer. Why is it amazing? Well, it talks about the basics of cultural dimensions in a way that is very relatable to people in business, enriching the theoretical ideas with some interesting real-life stories.

It has an additional personal value for me as every other page I had an “A-ha!” moment, suddenly starting to understand the communication difficulties I have been encountering after moving from Poland to the UK. Cross-cultural differences are something I have become really passionate about over the last years. With this post series I’d like to start sharing my passion with you and go deeper into my perspective on the ideas described in Meyer’s book.

As a starting point I used a Culture Map Dimensions on Meyer’s website. I chose my own preferences on each of the eight dimensions and then compared them with preferences generally showed by Polish and UK nationals. You can find my results below.

*At the time of writing this article, the tool was free to access. It seems that now there is a small subscription fee you need to incur to use it, but I’d say it is very affordable and it’s definitely worth doing this exercise for yourself at least once.*

Cultural profile_MZ_UK_PL

There are 8 scales which are further described in the below articles:

Communicating, Evaluating, Leading, Deciding, Trusting, Disagreeing, Scheduling, Persuading.

When is it useful to do a cultural mapping exercise?

It is essential to understand your position on each of the dimensions and compare it to other cultures especially when:

  • you are moving abroad and will be faced with cultural differences every day from now on
  • you work closely with people raised in different cultures  and need to communicate with them often

 Why is it useful to do a cultural mapping exercise?

Firstly – why not? 😉

  • You will get to know yourself more, gain more self-awareness
  • You will better understand the reasons behind people’s behaviours
  • You will start to think about how to communicate more efficiently with people from other cultures
  • You will become a better leader or manager for the people you work with the deeper you get with this topic
  • You will enjoy cross-cultural interactions more

 

Recommended reads:

Why learn about cross-cultural communications?

How to adapt your presentation across cultures?

Tips for native English speakers in the international environment

adaptation business communication dimensions knowledge leadership
Previous StoryStereotypes – a negative attitude or the way our brains work?
Next StoryThe Culture Map – Communication: Low and High context cultures

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Author

Marta Zielińska

Hi, my name is Marta. I am combining my psychological, business and intercultural experience to offer advice on successful living and working across cultures. I believe that everything is possible for such an ambitious and talented person as yourself! With some exercises, self-reflection and new knowledge, you can grow your cultural intelligence and build a successful international career, mind and life.

Learn more

Recent Posts

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  • 5 easy ways to overcome self-doubt after moving abroad
  • Want to be a great global leader?
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Sometimes we have a toolkit full of tools already - those that we learned through experience, different courses or articles, that someone shared with us. ⁠
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Meeting with a coach can support you in choosing the best tools, reminding you how to use them, or show you a different way to use the existing resources. ⁠
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Do you feel like you technically should know how to deal with X, but you just don't know where to start? ⁠
Maybe that's your cue to reach out to me to learn more about how coaching can be helfpul 😊 ⁠
DM me the word 'COACH' and let's chat! ⁠
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Sometimes we have a toolkit full of tools already - those that we learned through experience, different courses or articles, that someone shared with us. ⁠ ⁠ But - we may not be sure how to use them in practice! Or get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and how to make sense of it, put it all together.⁠ ⁠ Meeting with a coach can support you in choosing the best tools, reminding you how to use them, or show you a different way to use the existing resources. ⁠ ⁠ Do you feel like you technically should know how to deal with X, but you just don't know where to start? ⁠ Maybe that's your cue to reach out to me to learn more about how coaching can be helfpul 😊 ⁠ DM me the word 'COACH' and let's chat! ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Do you sometimes catch yourself saying or doing things that feel ‘out of character’? That may happen as a result of the internal process that’s happening between the situation occurring and that result taking place.

Good news is: you can have insight into the ‘in-between’!

This S-PACE-R tool can help you analyse how your thoughts, actions, feelings and body reactions all impact each other to produce a certain result. 

Let’s look at an example.
👉Situation: you scroll through IG and notice a post from an expat who is at a party, laughing with friends.
👉Physical reaction: you feel a constraint in the stomach and notice your eyes watering.
👉Action: you go into the person’s profile and watch more of their posts.
👉Emotion: you feel sad because you don’t seem to be having such a rich social life abroad so far
👉Thoughts: “I’m a failure, I can’t find myself any friends here”, “This move wasn’t worth it” 
(These influences can go either way and can start at any point in the circle, by the way! Often, they also go on in circles and augment each other too!)
👉Result: You stay at home, soaking in your sadness, not going out, not putting yourself out there, not making friends - and proving your initial thought. 
You see the potential downward spiral effect here?

Of course - it doesn’t need to be that way, or even as dramatic! But you’d be surprised how quickly we can notice these little interrelations in many situations in our lives. 

Having the self-awareness about these though can help you regain control and reframe thoughts where needed to facilitate more supportive behaviours and in turn gain better results! 

It can be difficult to work through these by yourself at first. As a coach, I can provide you with support and accountability in this process. You in? 😊 DM me.
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Do you sometimes catch yourself saying or doing things that feel ‘out of character’? That may happen as a result of the internal process that’s happening between the situation occurring and that result taking place. Good news is: you can have insight into the ‘in-between’! This S-PACE-R tool can help you analyse how your thoughts, actions, feelings and body reactions all impact each other to produce a certain result. Let’s look at an example. 👉Situation: you scroll through IG and notice a post from an expat who is at a party, laughing with friends. 👉Physical reaction: you feel a constraint in the stomach and notice your eyes watering. 👉Action: you go into the person’s profile and watch more of their posts. 👉Emotion: you feel sad because you don’t seem to be having such a rich social life abroad so far 👉Thoughts: “I’m a failure, I can’t find myself any friends here”, “This move wasn’t worth it” (These influences can go either way and can start at any point in the circle, by the way! Often, they also go on in circles and augment each other too!) 👉Result: You stay at home, soaking in your sadness, not going out, not putting yourself out there, not making friends - and proving your initial thought. You see the potential downward spiral effect here? Of course - it doesn’t need to be that way, or even as dramatic! But you’d be surprised how quickly we can notice these little interrelations in many situations in our lives. Having the self-awareness about these though can help you regain control and reframe thoughts where needed to facilitate more supportive behaviours and in turn gain better results! It can be difficult to work through these by yourself at first. As a coach, I can provide you with support and accountability in this process. You in? 😊 DM me.
6 days ago
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Ever wondered how your cultural background impacts your working preferences? 🧐⁠
⁠
You hear me talk about cultural dimensions quite a bit here. I believe that understanding the drivers of our behaviour in that international context is super important to buildling confidence in working in another culture (so a slightly different focus than your MBTIs or Enneagrams etc). ⁠
⁠
And it's not just theory and what-ifs! ⁠
⁠
We've got a reliable tool which helps you get more insights into where you stand on ten cultural dimensions and how does it compare to the cross-cultural studies which have been conducted over the years. ⁠
⁠
👉️If you'd like to stop wondering and get more concrete - DM me the word 'CULTURE' and I'll share more details with you on how the assessment and your personalised report review with me work. ⁠
⁠
The insight doesn't end just on doing the assessment and viewing results. In fact, my packages don't include just the assessment, they always come with a report review and consultation to give you the space to reflect on the results and how you can implement the insights to improve your intercultural communication at work or in personal life. ⁠
⁠
You can read more details on the website in the 'Offer' Tab (link in bio) 😊⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Ever wondered how your cultural background impacts your working preferences? 🧐⁠ ⁠ You hear me talk about cultural dimensions quite a bit here. I believe that understanding the drivers of our behaviour in that international context is super important to buildling confidence in working in another culture (so a slightly different focus than your MBTIs or Enneagrams etc). ⁠ ⁠ And it's not just theory and what-ifs! ⁠ ⁠ We've got a reliable tool which helps you get more insights into where you stand on ten cultural dimensions and how does it compare to the cross-cultural studies which have been conducted over the years. ⁠ ⁠ 👉️If you'd like to stop wondering and get more concrete - DM me the word 'CULTURE' and I'll share more details with you on how the assessment and your personalised report review with me work. ⁠ ⁠ The insight doesn't end just on doing the assessment and viewing results. In fact, my packages don't include just the assessment, they always come with a report review and consultation to give you the space to reflect on the results and how you can implement the insights to improve your intercultural communication at work or in personal life. ⁠ ⁠ You can read more details on the website in the 'Offer' Tab (link in bio) 😊⁠ ⁠ #expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Intercultural communication is mostly about YOU, not them. ⁠
There, I said it! ☝️⁠
⁠
Why is it about you? ⁠
⁠
Well, it's not about 'them' behaving a certain way, doing things differently or weird or being hard to work with. ⁠
⁠
You can't change 'them'. BUT - - you can understand yourself in relation to the other people's way of working, and decide if you want to do something about it. ⁠
⁠
Your options are: ⁠
1️⃣ Do nothing. Keep the frustration, delay the results and progress, deepen the gap between us and them. ⁠
⁠
2️⃣ Communicate to the other person directly to say that clearly something is not working and you find a way to work effectively together towards that same goal. ⁠
⁠
3️⃣ And better yet - C) actually go beyond just that and build your cultural awareness before that conversation, and continue with that development going forward - to understand your own values, your own cultural influences, how they relate to the challenging situation you faced. ⁠
And finally - expand your repertoire of communication strategies, so that perhaps you can adapt and increase efficiency in your work without confronting the other person at all 😉⁠
⁠
How does that sound for you? 🤔⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Intercultural communication is mostly about YOU, not them. ⁠ There, I said it! ☝️⁠ ⁠ Why is it about you? ⁠ ⁠ Well, it's not about 'them' behaving a certain way, doing things differently or weird or being hard to work with. ⁠ ⁠ You can't change 'them'. BUT - - you can understand yourself in relation to the other people's way of working, and decide if you want to do something about it. ⁠ ⁠ Your options are: ⁠ 1️⃣ Do nothing. Keep the frustration, delay the results and progress, deepen the gap between us and them. ⁠ ⁠ 2️⃣ Communicate to the other person directly to say that clearly something is not working and you find a way to work effectively together towards that same goal. ⁠ ⁠ 3️⃣ And better yet - C) actually go beyond just that and build your cultural awareness before that conversation, and continue with that development going forward - to understand your own values, your own cultural influences, how they relate to the challenging situation you faced. ⁠ And finally - expand your repertoire of communication strategies, so that perhaps you can adapt and increase efficiency in your work without confronting the other person at all 😉⁠ ⁠ How does that sound for you? 🤔⁠ ⁠ #expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
Which ones are you happy with? ⁠

Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠

Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠
⁠
⁠
#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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Which ones are you happy with? ⁠ Which ones would you like to develop further? ⁠ Any that you'd add to the list as key skills for people who live abroad? ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
4 weeks ago
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It is a bit of everything everywhere all at once, would you agree? 😃😅

#expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
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It is a bit of everything everywhere all at once, would you agree? 😃😅 #expatcoaching #expatlife #livingabroad #expatcoach #workingabroad #lifeabroad #workabroad #careerabroad #internationallife #internationalcareer #globalcareer #globallife #globalleaders #culturalawareness #selfawareness #selfgrowth #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #culturalcompetence #movingabroad #zyciezagranica #zycienaemigracji #pracazagranica #rozwojosobisty #polacyzagranica
4 weeks ago
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8/9
🤷I know what I need to do, but it doesn't feel genuine! 
🤷I know they do that, but it feels so rude, I just can't get myself to do it! 
🤷I know I've got to stop myself from doing that, but it just feels unlike me not to!

The above are quotes from people I worked with. 

The 1st person, let's call her Anna, moved from Poland to the UK, and really struggled with the small talk. It's not like we don't casually chat in Poland, but it doesn't play as big of a role in building connections in professional settings. She knew she needed to engage in the chit chat, but she wasn't used to it happening so many times in a day! It didn't feel genuine or meaningful as people talked to her almost in passing.

The 2nd person, let's call her Hope, moved from Malaysia to Spain. She wasn't used to the loud and dynamic exchanges common among the Spanish. Growing up she was told not to interrupt others when they're talking - it's rude! Silence played a big part in professional conversations, showing consideration and respect to those she was interacting with. In Spain, she found herself unable to fully engage in meetings, labelled as 'the quiet one'. She saw what others were doing, she knew she had to engage differently, but it was just SO hard to get over the initial beliefs! 

The 3rd person had the opposite problem to Hope's. Diego moved from Spain to the UK, and was struggling with the feedback he started receiving, along the lines of 'he's too excitable, he interrupts others as they're talking, he's too casual'. He knew he needed to tone down his communication, be more conscious about the pace of the conversation. He was able to do it, but what he struggled with the most is that it didn't feel like the real HIM anymore. He considered moving back to Spain because of that even though the UK career opportunities were clearly better for him at the time. 

All of them had the ability to shape their behaviour differently, they knew what they needed to do. It was not the lack of knowledge that was stopping them - it was the beliefs. In our coaching meetings we worked to find their origins, untangle them, and start creating beliefs that served them better in their new lives abroad.
•
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🤷I know what I need to do, but it doesn't feel genuine! 🤷I know they do that, but it feels so rude, I just can't get myself to do it! 🤷I know I've got to stop myself from doing that, but it just feels unlike me not to! The above are quotes from people I worked with. The 1st person, let's call her Anna, moved from Poland to the UK, and really struggled with the small talk. It's not like we don't casually chat in Poland, but it doesn't play as big of a role in building connections in professional settings. She knew she needed to engage in the chit chat, but she wasn't used to it happening so many times in a day! It didn't feel genuine or meaningful as people talked to her almost in passing. The 2nd person, let's call her Hope, moved from Malaysia to Spain. She wasn't used to the loud and dynamic exchanges common among the Spanish. Growing up she was told not to interrupt others when they're talking - it's rude! Silence played a big part in professional conversations, showing consideration and respect to those she was interacting with. In Spain, she found herself unable to fully engage in meetings, labelled as 'the quiet one'. She saw what others were doing, she knew she had to engage differently, but it was just SO hard to get over the initial beliefs! The 3rd person had the opposite problem to Hope's. Diego moved from Spain to the UK, and was struggling with the feedback he started receiving, along the lines of 'he's too excitable, he interrupts others as they're talking, he's too casual'. He knew he needed to tone down his communication, be more conscious about the pace of the conversation. He was able to do it, but what he struggled with the most is that it didn't feel like the real HIM anymore. He considered moving back to Spain because of that even though the UK career opportunities were clearly better for him at the time. All of them had the ability to shape their behaviour differently, they knew what they needed to do. It was not the lack of knowledge that was stopping them - it was the beliefs. In our coaching meetings we worked to find their origins, untangle them, and start creating beliefs that served them better in their new lives abroad.
1 month ago
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