The 4 Cs ยท 3 of 4
Considerate
Slow down, notice what is really happening, and choose your next move on purpose instead of on autopilot.
What is Considerate?
Considerate is the strategy side of cultural readiness: noticing what is happening in yourself and in the other person, then using that awareness to plan and adjust. It is the link that turns what you know about a culture into something you can actually use.
The one question to ask
What options are available to interact appropriately?
Before you choose how to respond, draw on everything you have: what you have seen, what you have learned, and what the people around you know.
Four ways to find your options
Let in some light
Make room for the other person instead of filling the moment with your own agenda. Stay open to why they are in this relationship too.
Recall what you have seen
Think of how others handled a moment like this one.
Go back to what you learned
Revisit the scenarios you practiced in training and coaching.
Ask the locals
Ask people who know the culture well what would actually work.
Plan, notice, check
1. Plan before
Take a few minutes to think about the people, the topic, and what differences might come up. Do not wing it.
2. Notice during
Watch what is working and what is not, in the spoken and the unspoken. Ask yourself why you feel the way you do.
3. Check after
Did what you expected to happen, happen? Follow up with someone who knows the culture about what you might have missed.
Try it this week
Before your next cross-cultural conversation, write down two options for how you could handle it. Then ask someone who knows the culture which one they would pick, and why.
Centered โข Curious โข Considerate โข Confident
The 4 Cs ยท 3 of 4