HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss

CHAPTER 21

Build Trust on Your Cross-Cultural Team

by Andy Molinsky and Ernest Gundling

One of the most essential characteristics for a high-functioning team—perhaps the single most important characteristic—is trust. Anyone who has worked on a team knows that team members must be able to trust one another to get the job done, and be committed and dedicated to the overall welfare of the group. In any group of individuals, trust is challenging to create and sustain, but in the case of a multicultural team, it can be especially difficult for a variety of different reasons.

First of all, communication styles vary across cultures; so, too, does the extent to which people socialize or get down to business at the start of a meeting. There are differences ...