Multi-Cultural

Teamwork and
Conflict
“Effective Intercultural
Communication”
Scott Moreau
  
The following have been identified as the types of roles team leaders play in businesses. See if you can identify people you know who tend to take on these roles in team settings
as well as which role(s) you prefer in those who lead you.

• Animator: Who brings to life passion and images by using member’s language and introducing new
language via media such as poetry.
• Teacher: Who patiently transfers knowledge from experts to members of the team.
• Eccentric: Who takes bold strides away from the center and lets loose.
• Broker: Who overtly (and covertly) connects those who must learn to work together.
• Storyteller: Who weaves myth and mystery into tales and amplification of the truth.
• Change Agent: Who pushes and cajoles to bring forth a new order.
• Theater Director: Who focuses on backstage, onstage, and on the back of the theater before, during, and
after each team session; knows “what’s going on” and what is around her or him.

• 1. Which of these leader roles works well for teams engaged in cross-cultural ministry?
• 2. What cultural values are seen in each of the types of leader roles?
• 3. Imagine you are leading a team of people from collective, large power-distance cultures. Which of
these leader roles might be most successful? Which might be least successful?
CACTUS KIT CHARACTERISTICS
People who are part of a team almost
always want the team to succeed.

• C Coping ability and commitment

• A Appreciation
• C Communication
• T Time together
• U Understanding
• S Structure and spiritual wellness
•

• Committed to goals that they share, tasks that they need to

accomplish, and to one another. They are willing to persevere in
spite of setbacks, though this is not a blind perseverance that
seeks to overcome all opposition.
• Expresses appropriate appreciation for each person.
• Able to communicate well (taking into account such
communication patterns as context and power distance).
• Spend time together.
• Understand one another to the extent that they are able to
overlook weaknesses and know why teammates behave the
way they do. They can distinguish sin from cultural values and
work toward continual growth in their relationships.
• Have appropriate structure, including clear roles for the leaders
and agreed-upon methods for decision making, accountability,
and conflict resolution.
• Spiritually healthy.
 • There is no dipper that never strikes the kettle.
(Chinese)
• Trumpet when in a herd of elephants, crow in
the company of cocks, bleat in a flock of goats.
(Malaysian)
Proverbs • When one doesn’t want, two don’t quarrel.
(Brazilian)
about • A good silence is better than a bad dispute.
conflict (Russian)
• It is best to let an offense repeat itself three
times. The first may be an accident, the second
a mistake, only the third is likely to be
intentional. (Congolese)
 Conflict resolution

”Living and working in unfamiliar contexts in cross-cultural ministry likely increase our
stress in ways that may impede our ability to approach conflict as a potentially positive
catalyst for learning. In cross-cultural settings, conflict is much more likely to occur
because of misattribution, defined as “ascribing meaning or motive to behavior based on
one’s own culture”

”Differences in values and conflict-resolution styles, lack of fluency in a common language

and misinterpretation of nonverbal cues, ambiguous situations, and degree of individual
social competence can all contribute to misunderstandings leading to conflict. Imagine
the challenge of negotiating conflict when you may be unaware that there is a conflict at
all or have no idea that what you have said or done has been interpreted as offensive!”
• “Ironically, a Christian worldview may
intensify the perception of
incompatibility with others because
people of faith often hold so tightly to
their cultural way of being Christian as
a matter of principle. “One of the
major temptations of Christians in
conflict situations is to elevate their
position to a matter of principle. This
artificial production of a value conflict
implies that to change is to
compromise” (Bates 1980, 97). And
compromising principles that are
interpreted as biblical and faith based
can be very uncomfortable for
Christians.”
Approaching conflict differently
Individualist Conflict Lens
Outcome-focused
Content goal-oriented
Doing-centered
Use personal equity norms
Self-face concern
Low context conflict styles
Competitive/dominating behaviors
Conflict effectiveness
Collectivist Conflict Lens
Process-focused
Relational goal-oriented
Being-centered
Use communal norms
Other-face concern
High context conflict styles
Avoiding/obliging behaviors
Conflict appropriateness
A SUMMARY OF BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW-CONTEXT CONFLICT
AND HIGH-CONTEXT CONFLICT
Key Questions Low-Context Conflicts
Why? Analytic, linear logic, goal-oriented,
dichotomy between conflict and
persons involved in conflict
When? Individualistic-oriented, low
collective norm expectations,
violations of individual expectations
create conflict potential
What? Revealing, direct, confrontational
attitude, action/solution-oriented
How? Explicit communication codes,
linear/factual rhetoric, open/direct
strategies
High-Context Conflicts
Synthetic, spiral logic, expressive-
oriented, integration of conflict and
persons involved in conflict
Group-oriented, high collective
norm expectations, violations of
collective expectations create
conflict potential
Concealing, non-confrontational
attitude, face/relationship-oriented
Implicit communication codes,
intuitive-affective rhetoric,
ambiguous/indirect strategies
 Self Reflection
• Take a moment for self-reflection. Do you tend to
be more direct or indirect in your conflict style? Do
you prefer interpersonal communication during
conflict to be less or more emotional? Do any of
these styles make you feel especially
uncomfortable? How do these two aspects of
conflict style intersect in your personal conflict
style? What are positive qualities of other
approaches to conflict resolution? Can you imagine
scenarios where each style might be the better
approach?
Let’s think about guidelines to help with team
conflicts:
Sports teams, music orchestras, choirs, and emergency
responders all practice together in order to gain
proficiency as a team.
For multi-cultural teams, practice sessions through case
studies and role play develops a team’s potential and
allows for space to learn how to respond in culturally
appropriate ways. These “practice sessions” foster
grace and empathy among the team members.
• Multi-Cultural Team Case Study 1
• David Wilson, the American field director for Central Asia, is visiting one of his
multinational teams. He knows that some of the Koreans on the team do not
yet speak English very well, although they are making a heroic effort to learn.
During his individual interviews with all the team members, he asks if there are
any personal problems of which he should be aware. He is particularly
impressed with how cheerful and pleasant Soo Jung, a new-comer, is, and he
comments on this to the team leader. Later, the team leader writes to David. As
it turns out, Soo had smiled but actually had hardly understood a word that
David had said. In reality, she was facing a personal crisis related to the illness
of her non-Christian father back home in Korea. “But how was I to know?”
protests David to himself. “I asked her, and she did not tell me anything!” What
could David do differently in the future? Any advice for Soo Jung or the team
leader?
• Multi-Cultural Team Case Study 2
• Jeremias Silva has worked for nearly 10 years in Africa, far from his
native São Paulo, Brazilian home. Sometimes, he wonders if he would
prefer to go back to earlier years, when he and his wife worked alone
rather than on a team. The Smiths (Americans) and the Kims
(Koreans), each with school-age children, joined the Silvas two years
ago. Both couples were highly committed when they came, but now
disunity has settled into the team. Dave Smith believes strongly that
community development work—drilling water wells and conducting
primary health care classes—should play an equal role with direct
witness in the team’s ministry. Won Ho Kim, though, considers such
development activities to be second best. Both men use arguments
from Scripture to support their position. Jeremias wonders if there
are not under-lying cultural issues involved that are separating his co-
workers. What might some multicultural teams of these issues be?
How could Jeremias help resolve any issues?
The Cross and the Towel? (Duane Elmer)
• 1. Ask whether this is worthy of attention or should be let go.
• 2. Make your approach one of concern for the person and for preservation of the relationship.
• 3. Seek understanding through inquiry before forming judgments and making accusations (blaming).
• 4. Separate facts from rumor, partial information, feelings, and interpretation.
• 5. Consider how much stress the relationship can bear; this will help you to determine how much time
and sensitivity will be required to address the conflict.
• 6. Put yourself in the other person’s place and try to appreciate his or her perspective on the matter.
• 7. Address behaviors rather than motivations.
• 8. When you detect tense emotions or defensiveness, back up and give assurances of friendship and
your desire to understand.
• 9. Frequently acknowledge and summarize what the other person has said to assure accuracy of
understanding for both parties.
• 10. Believe a win-win resolution is possible if both parties can remain calm, understand each other’s
interests, and negotiate with integrity and fairness.
Content taken from:

• Moreau, A. Scott. Effective Intercultural Communication

(Encountering Mission) Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.