A month ago, a group of Dutch Senior Managers doing a management development programme visited Chennai as part of the program to understand how a different culture can teach them lessons for life and thereby management. After all, management at work is a part of managing life!
The group used what is called an Open Space Meeting where a group of people from our office along with the Dutch group discussed various topics related to how we can learn from different cultures. Very interesting and varied ideas came out from this discussion and it was in a way an eye opener to many of us. For me though, it got me thinking about something that I haven’t given much thought to before.
Being part of a global company, I get to work and mingle socially with people from all over the world. I share stories about my country and hear stories of theirs and we exchange notes about dos and donts of our respective cultures. But somewhere, these lines do blur and we are all just conversing as friends and I have made some really good friends from other parts of the world. And when I think a little about what makes this happen; how do people from completely different backgrounds (cultural, social, familial and more) feel more at home with each other, sometimes even more than with their own ilk, one answer keeps coming back to me. People at the end of the day have basic character sets driven by values and experiences and this is what helps us connect with each other. And this, personality as we often call it, is influenced by a lot of different things, like education, social background, childhood experiences, parents, friends and culture (and many more!). However, the culture thing seems to get a lot of focus. People feel there are lot of differences based on culture. Agreed there are, but aren’t all cultures trying to espouse similar things, like leading a happy life, finding peace and harmony, being nice to each other, making the world a better place, etc.? The differences to me are in ways of doing things, depending on the circumstances in which we are, rather than what we stand for.
You may be wondering why and how I ended up thinking so much about (and even writing about) such a thing. Let me try (note, I’m only trying!) to explain. During this open space meeting, the Dutch group was trying to understand how things are different in the Indian culture. And there I was, sometimes completely in tangent with what some of my Indian colleagues were saying. Sometimes so much so that I was wondering if I’ve become this person who doesn’t belong here anymore. I’ve heard people say many times that I’m just very different. I have never been able to fathom who am I different from or what exactly is different about me. Over the years, I’ve started to understand my country and culture more than I cared to do when I was younger. So, when I hear some people say I have a different perspective from my fellow countrymen, I worry if I am being cast aside from where I belong. And though I feel more like someone in the opposite end of the world, I am not part of that country either and may never be, even if (let’s say) I move there. Unless, of course, I become like Barack Obama may be! So, where do I really belong then? Or is this what we mean by a Global citizen? Someone who feels completely lost no matter which part of the world one is in?
Oh yeah, I know I have, as always, completely confused myself and the rest of you. But hey, don’t blame me. I’m just trying to navigate through my mazed mind!
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