Bridging Cultural Differences

A workshop led by Kathy Hartmann-Campbell

Geert Hofstede, a pioneer of intercultural research, called culture “the software of the mind”. As humans, with hardwired needs and drives, we have the same “hardware”, but we run on different operating systems, apps, etc., determined by our personality, life experiences and the culture we grew up in.

The essence of culture is not just what is visible on the surface, but the shared ways in which groups of people understand and interpret the world. Our cultural programming directly shapes how we see the world and how we behave, e.g., how we interact socially and communicate.

Each culture’s values and norms reflect basic assumptions and absolute beliefs about life. Because these are largely unconscious, they form an unquestioned reality. This leads us to assume that our way of operating is universal, optimal, and normal and that everyone sees things the way we do. That’s why we may experience culture shock when we encounter a different operating system.

The default human reaction to difference is a stress response, often followed by negative judgment, labelling, excluding or attacking. Today, we sadly witness this behaviour on the international political stage.

In our globalised and increasingly divisive world, we urgently need skills to effectively bridge differences and increase mutual understanding. In this workshop, you will get a better understanding of how you and others operate through experiential exercises that are both fun and eye-opening.

This workshop will help you:

• understand how culture influences perceptions and behaviour
• be more conscious of your own cultural “programs”, i.e., your own assumptions and expectations about how people “should” think and act

• increase your ability to bridge cultural differences