Seven myths about cultural awareness

How important is cultural awareness to you? At face value, it’s one of the top priorities for workplaces as they work hard to deliver an inclusive and welcoming environment for staff and consumers alike. But with these seven myths and stereotypes still lingering, is the right progress being made? Read on to find out if these misconceptions could be holding your workplace back.

Training is all you need to become culturally competent

How easy would it be if a training course was truly all you needed to be culturally competent? Now, we love education and training at Hello Leaders. If you or your team want to learn more about cultural awareness, do it! It’s one of the best ways to learn invaluable information that boosts your cultural intelligence and awareness.

But there’s much more to learn and you cannot rely on any single course. Make sure you invest in ongoing learning opportunities, whether it’s personal research, engaging in conversations with your colleagues, or signing up for different short courses that offer unique perspectives on various cultures. Just make sure you don’t stop learning after one course, no matter how good it is.

Exposure equals knowledge

In a similar vein to our first point, you cannot rely on exposure alone. Regardless of how far you’ve travelled, how diverse your workplace is, or even the make-up of your friendship groups, you can never assume to know everything. Cultural competency has incredible depth to it, therefore, simply travelling to and experiencing a new country of culture isn’t enough.

That said, use your experience to start conversations! Travel stories are a great way to engage with culturally diverse colleagues who can offer more insight and knowledge. But it is important to remember your experience with another culture is unique, so you should never expect others to view things in the same way.

You can paint minorities with the same brush

When you have a strong representation of culture, race or ethnicity within the workplace it’s easy to think everyone fits neatly under one specific label. If you brush everyone with the same paint, you’re ignoring the individuals and their unique expertise. 

Your knowledge should cover all the bases and recognise the importance of depth and diversity within any single cultural background.

Cultural awareness is only important when diversity is visible

Acknowledging cultural diversity means recognising far more than just skin colour or the way someone dresses; diversity encompasses race, religion, culture, ethnicity and more. So just because you cannot see what makes someone different, it doesn’t mean you should forget to be culturally aware. 

Enter any new situation without stereotyping or making assumptions and give yourself time to learn. This will help you start on a level playing field where you can openly interact with a colleague or consumer without prejudice. 

Individuals are responsible for educating others

No single person should carry the cultural load for their peers. Why? Well, they may not want to be responsible for educating others or being the focal point during a cultural event. So avoid relying on an individual for specific cultural events, and instead, hold open discussions with your colleagues to gauge their interest in being involved. 

You might find it’s better to source outside expertise regarding cultural celebrations, or your own independent research could be a better starting point to recognise and celebrate others. 

It’s okay to be “colourblind” to support equality

Some people do take the approach of “not seeing colour” and treating everyone equally. While this may come with the best intentions, it does invalidate cultural differences and experiences. 

While it is great to remove bias and stereotypes, it is still essential to recognise differences. There are cultural differences that have to be recognised in the workplace and you should never ignore them for the sake of equality.

It’s too hard to enforce cultural awareness

Have you ever met someone who said it’s too hard to enforce cultural awareness, or worse, have said it’s too hard to keep up with “politically correct” (PC) culture? There are individuals resistant to change who like to fall back on stereotypes and blanket statements when personal growth is required. But just like everything else, it’s actually not that hard to learn or strengthen cultural competence. 

How? With all of the tips mentioned above. Invest in education and training, start conversations with colleagues, engage with different cultures and be willing to learn. Every small step counts and it will break down what seems like a daunting task.