Nico SchusterManagig Director / CEO| Tecpal Ltd. Hong KongFrankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Hi all,
I was wondering what you perceive / experience as typical pros and cons of working with German or Chinese project member?
To give an example:
Germans:
Pro: Typically (try hard to) stick to the schedule;
Cons: Too straightforward sometimes
Chinese:
Pro: Hard working; eager to find a solution
Con: Language barrier makes it hard to communicate clearly what is expected to the (e.g. It's ok to communicate to a local PM in China, but it gets tricky when trying to address a developer directly).
I would be curious what your experiences are and also how to navigate around those things.
I'm not sure "too straightforward" is a con. We probably need a lot more of it. I would definitely put that as a pro, but that's the pragmatist in me. Language barrier is a difficult one. There;s no real way around it other than having a translator buffer in the project. Whenever I have done projects that involve distributed teams with varying languages, even though we have some form of cultural onboarding, we draw the line at language lessons, save a few key words and terms.
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1 reply by Nico Schuster
Jul 27, 2018 3:47 PM
Nico Schuster
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Thanks Sante, that's exactly the funny point. I used to work in very multicultural settings and one time my 360 feedback had two absolutely opposite comments: I am too straight forward and I should be more straight forward, I was even called too polite... Reasons probably is feedback came from Finnish and Chinese colleagues :) So you are right. This might not be a con per second but might be considered one from folks with a different background.
I have a lot of inputs here with tough experience and later one I lectured that experience. I will reply after my working hours and I am sure I can add some good points.
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1 reply by Nico Schuster
Jul 27, 2018 3:41 PM
Nico Schuster
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Dear Kevin, thanks for your comment. Looking forward to learning more of your experience.
Nico, I won't ask you if you speak Chinese but do you speak Deutsch. If you do then you have no problem working with German people not all of them are so serious like you mentioned but surely they don't like the sycophant flatter like the British does and protocol Bla bla bla
The issue I found with the Chinese they slip a lot the safety requirements in the workplace so you really need to emphasis on worker's safety and convince business owner with the necessity of providing PPE
However, in any case of different cultural team you need to study and be familiar with their culture / rituals and public action meaning to avoid misunderstanding Saving Changes...
Nico SchusterManagig Director / CEO| Tecpal Ltd. Hong KongFrankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Jul 26, 2018 9:33 PM
Replying to Kevin Drake
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I have a lot of inputs here with tough experience and later one I lectured that experience. I will reply after my working hours and I am sure I can add some good points.
Dear Kevin, thanks for your comment. Looking forward to learning more of your experience. Saving Changes...
Nico SchusterManagig Director / CEO| Tecpal Ltd. Hong KongFrankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Jul 26, 2018 5:43 PM
Replying to Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Hi Nico,
I'm not sure "too straightforward" is a con. We probably need a lot more of it. I would definitely put that as a pro, but that's the pragmatist in me. Language barrier is a difficult one. There;s no real way around it other than having a translator buffer in the project. Whenever I have done projects that involve distributed teams with varying languages, even though we have some form of cultural onboarding, we draw the line at language lessons, save a few key words and terms.
Thanks Sante, that's exactly the funny point. I used to work in very multicultural settings and one time my 360 feedback had two absolutely opposite comments: I am too straight forward and I should be more straight forward, I was even called too polite... Reasons probably is feedback came from Finnish and Chinese colleagues :) So you are right. This might not be a con per second but might be considered one from folks with a different background.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Jul 28, 2018 3:20 AM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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I agree Nico. I ran projects in the Philippines for years, which involved teams from the Philippines, China and Japan. Quite often "yes" meant "no" and (constructive) confrontation or direct speech was not looked upon favorably.
Thanks Sante, that's exactly the funny point. I used to work in very multicultural settings and one time my 360 feedback had two absolutely opposite comments: I am too straight forward and I should be more straight forward, I was even called too polite... Reasons probably is feedback came from Finnish and Chinese colleagues :) So you are right. This might not be a con per second but might be considered one from folks with a different background.
I agree Nico. I ran projects in the Philippines for years, which involved teams from the Philippines, China and Japan. Quite often "yes" meant "no" and (constructive) confrontation or direct speech was not looked upon favorably. Saving Changes...
