Although, I was an exchange student in college, I never meant to end up in an international career. I really just needed to work and those jobs seemed to fit me best.
For the first 15 years of my professional life, I was lucky enough to work in international exchange with a deep focus on cross-cultural adaptation, a la Peace Corps. My PHD dissertation was on how Americans adjust to cultural change.
A few decades ago, I started working in international development, where everyone just assumes you are culturally competent, and where I realized the work required the highest levels of cross-cultural know-how.
Here are five key lessons I learned from the patient, long-suffering professional USAID Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs) who took pity upon me and showed me the ropes:
1| When you begin work as a technical adviser, your two immediate overriding objectives should be to establish trust and to demonstrate that you can add value.
Seek first to understand by practicing active listening. Their country interests override anything else so try to identify what those interests are. Don’t be afraid to show initiative in learning the full truth. Initially, they may only be telling you what they know you want to hear.
2| Practice humility.
A lack of humility destroys trust. Don’t assume you know more than your host counterpart. You will never know all the answers, so it is the attitude of empathetic awareness and the learner’s heart that allows mistakes to be forgiven. It’s not about you proving yourself with a barrage of data and other-country stories. Don’t try to establish the relationship by showing off your expertise and knowledge, especially by going quickly to the solution. This will result in a quiet “sigh” from your colleagues that you might not even notice in your hurry to fix things. Trust me, you aren’t the first American who has come their way, ready to fix everything, and you probably won’t be the last. Instead, find a way to balance the power and privilege that is reflected in your being an American, with access to American institutions and American resources, with an acute awareness and humility. It is really not OK to assume that a host country can’t aspire to the highest quality health system, for example.
3| Be their champion.
Although complete “country ownership” rarely happens, it has to be an authentic, high priority for you. This means you are coming into the relationship with a focus on a post-“you” environment. . Remember, it’s theircountry, not yours. Decisions will stick only if theytruly own them. In communication about your work, promote the real picture of your host country – it usually differs from international media stories. Be generous about helping your local counterparts make connections with the international community and make available all your “secret” resources and technical knowledge. This is a joint venture with peers, so start it with a sense of mutual respect and a culture of sharing. Value local talent and make the best use of it to make your work more meaningful and sustainable..
4| Respect the culture.
Make efforts to understand local norms, culture, and transitions. Seek to understand how people approach key issues in their daily life. No culture is a monolithic construct, but rather an intricate web of narratives. For example, in most cultures, family importance can’t be overstated, so don’t blow off dinner with your new colleagues so you can send emails. Even though USAID is an American agency, and the FSNs have adapted to that reality, the most important things are happening outsidethe compound. Cultural competence is never a “checklist” and, admittedly, you can never learn everything about the culture, history, politics of the country you are involved in, but honest efforts will be noted and appreciated.
5| Solutions must be contextualized within existing systems and structures.
Don’t assume you have the answer even if you easily see all the things that are wrong. Seek to cause change in slow, measured steps to avoid negative consequences. Don’t offer solutions without understanding host country systems. Remember, not everythinglocal needs to change – there are best practices already in place in your host country. And don’t assume that modern technology will magically fix everything – context and environment matter.