The six stages of cultural mastery

All leadership is cultural. And your effectiveness as a leader is tied directly to your ability to connect with your employees in a culturally relevant, meaningful way.

All cultures view and process life differently. And because all people are not the same, they don't respond to others in the same ways. A clear understanding of how to lead from a multicultural standpoint is imperative.

A melting pot

In the roofing industry, there are Spanish-speaking Latino workers from many countries, second-generation Latinos born and raised in the U.S., Eastern Europeans, African-Americans and Caucasians, and it appears soon companies may be deciding whether to hire Syrian refugees.

Life, and business, can be complex, and the better you understand the cultures around you, the more effective you will be as a leader. The reality is your ability to properly understand and work with people of multiple cultures will define your company's future. It is entirely different to lead a group of Mexicans from Oaxaca versus a group of Puerto Ricans from central Florida. The difference between these two groups of people is as great as hiring someone from a small town in Alabama versus someone from Boston. This doesn't make one group better than the other, but the more you understand the nuances of how people best respond to leadership, the more influence you will have on their lives and the better it will be for your company.

Following is what I call the six stages of cultural mastery, which explain the necessary actions and attitudes to become a truly masterful cultural leader.

Stage 1—Education

Through my work consulting and training companies, I am consistently amazed at how little leaders know about the people they employ and lead.

For example, I've met leaders who have 50 or more Mexicans working for them but the leaders don't know the most basic things about Mexico. They don't know how many states are in Mexico; they don't know the name of the Mexican president; they don't know the names of Mexico's top soccer players; they don't even know the top-selling beer in Mexico or the best-selling tequila.

The first stage of cultural mastery is education. You simply must take the time to learn about the people you are leading. Why? Because if you want to connect with people, you have to connect based on things they care about. If you're working with second-generation Hispanics, for example, you may want to learn more about the DREAM Act and why it's important to them.

At the very least, you should learn the names and contributions of top sports figures, popular musical artists, main political figures, etc., of countries represented by the people in your organization. By knowing these names, you always can ask your employees to tell you more about the people, which is a great way to engage them. This will give you a launching pad for having culturally relevant conversations that may more easily endear you to your employees as it shows you respect them enough to care about what they care about.

Stage 2—Engagement

Let's say you conduct some research and educate yourself about your employees, their countries, things they like, etc. What's next? The second stage is engagement.

My background is Puerto Rican, and while growing up, I was exposed to a dislike for Mexicans. I had no reason to dislike Mexicans other than a lot of Puerto Ricans talked poorly about them. At some point, my dad, Pablo, started engaging with a guy we called "Mexican Joe." Yes, he was Mexican. They became good friends, and I was given a different exposure. Suddenly we were listening to Vicente Fernández and Pedro Infante in our home and Mexicans were cool. My dad even started a Mexican restaurant and did so well, he retired when he was 45. As you might imagine, we now love Mexicans!

Engagement is powerful. When I started getting serious about teaching cultural leadership and mastery to companies, I realized I needed to expand and deepen my knowledge and empathy for Mexicans and Central Americans. So I bought a pool table, put it in my living room, practiced pool and got good enough so I could hang out on the weekends in pool halls with Mexicans and Central Americans. I engaged with them until the wee hours of the morning and learned more in that environment than I could have ever learned in a classroom or focus group. If you really want to learn about your employees, you must engage with them.

Stage 3—Empathy

Empathy means you care deeply. We cannot deeply care about people we don't understand. Empathy allows you to put your prejudices and stereotypes aside and frees you to become a leader who understands and acts on the real needs of the people under your influence.

After a conference a few years ago, a business owner approached me and told me about a Latino employee of his who had changed his demeanor. He told me the employee used to be friendly and open but during the past months he had become antagonistic and rude. I asked the business owner whether he could think of anything that had happened, and he said he could not. I probed some more and asked him whether the employee was dealing with personal issues. He said the only thing he could think of was the employee's daughter had been in and out of the hospital with some medical issues.

I then asked whether he had taken the time to go to the hospital to visit with his employee's daughter and give her a gift. He said he had not. I told him this may be the root of the resentment. A few weeks later, the gentleman called me and said: "I can't believe it. That was it. He's back to how he used to be with me." True empathy requires action and shows we really care when people need us.

Stage 4—Excitement

Once you get a clear understanding of your employees, engage with them, and empathize with them and their communities, the most amazing thing happens—you get excited about your opportunities together.

Being excited about your employees puts your business on steroids. It's the juice that makes things happen. The opposite of excitement is lethargy, and that's negative energy.

Unfortunately, you can't turn on excitement like a water spigot. You have to go through the stages of education, engagement and empathy to get there.

A few years ago, I conducted a training conference for business owners in the insulation industry in Dallas. Before I spoke, the association's executive director took me aside and said: "Do you see that guy over there? He's upset you're here. He doesn't like Latinos and thinks they should all go back home or at least learn English and assimilate." I'm not sensitive about such things and did my best to respectfully engage him, a 60-year-old gentleman from North Carolina who seemed set in his ways.

Two years later, I was speaking to another group of business owners in Phoenix, and as I was being introduced, a man in the audience stood up and said: "Before he speaks, I would like to say something." I looked and saw it was the same guy! To my complete amazement he started to cry and said to the group: "The only reason I came today was to ask you to listen to what he's saying. I've learned to love the Latino people, and I'm excited about them being part of my life and company." The excitement this man had for Latinos was contagious, and he set the stage for an amazing meeting that day.

Stage 5—Empowerment

By Stage 5, you are starting to reach the pinnacle of cultural mastery. You will move past excitement to action. In this stage, you will find real and meaningful ways to empower your employees and develop them as leaders. You may invest in their communities or design programs to help their families prosper.

When you empower employees correctly, you turn them loose to accomplish great things with you, not against you.

At a holiday party I attended for Dallas-based KPost Company employees, there were many moving moments. I could sense and see the company's commitment to and admiration for its Latino employees. The most emotional moment was when company leaders handed out U.S. flags to 10 employees they had helped guide through the process of gaining U.S. citizenship. The company committed itself to empowering its valuable Latino employees with the ultimate gift. When we truly care and get excited about people, we find ways to empower them.

Stage 6—Endearment

In this stage, you will move from tolerance to love and true respect. I don't believe in tolerance. Tolerance does not empower organizations. When I tolerate something, I am simply saying I don't really want it but I'll endure it for expediency or because of public pressure. There is no power in tolerance. There is power in love.

The business owner who went to the hospital to visit his employee's daughter not only showed empathy, but he also showed love. The company that helped people get citizenship not only showed empowerment, but it also showed love. The Latino who stays with a company out of loyalty shows love to ownership. Love is the greatest of all human emotions, and when we have it in business, we have the true emotional glue to grow and sustain companies.

A worthy exercise

The process of developing true cultural mastery is an internal and external expedition. Education, engagement and empowerment are all things to do proactively. Empathy, excitement and endearment are internal emotions. As you go through this process, your pre-existing prejudices and premonitions are challenged and adjusted. Externally, as you learn about, engage with and empower others, your lives and businesses are turbo-charged. We may all be at different stages of cultural mastery but as motivational speaker Tony Robbins says: "The secret to real happiness is progress. If we make progress on a regular basis, we feel alive."

Ricardo González is founder and CEO of Bilingual America, Atlanta.