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In Sofia Coppola's film Lost In Translation, Bill Murray's character, Bob Harris, has an intriguing rendezvous with Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). While visiting Japan, both victims of jet lag, they meet in the hotel bar, unable to sleep. In our global work, we have observed that many companies are also behind; culture-lagged instead of jet-lagged. Assumptions about the best ways to recruit, hire, manage and retain high quality team members often remain static, as the marketplace changes around them. To help keep you from losing sleep, we'll take a closer look at how basic cross cultural competencies can make a world of difference. The stories you are about to read are true.

Nancy Lane was a non-Spanish speaking director of marketing for a majority Latino team at a TV station in LA. A talented and intelligent leader, she implemented the management style that had always produced success for her in other organizations. As the weeks progressed, she ladled out more and more projects, pleased with her team's ability to take on such a load. The group remained silently diligent, and because no one said anything to her, she thought that everything was great. Eventually, one of the employees came to her office and said, "Nancy, you're killing us. We can't take it." Shocked, Ms. Lane learned that for months, her staff had felt suffocated under an impossibly heavy load. Rather than complain to her, they stayed late every night and even worked weekends, something she never intended them to do. Thanks to trusting relationships, she learned that many Hispanics don't feel comfortable "pushing back" at managers. Latino employees often do not critique or give negative feedback to superiors. To do so would be disrespectful. Ms. Lane adjusted her style and opened communications for her employees. Lane is an excellent example of a leader who acquired cross-cultural skills.

One of Canada's leading international banks recently acquired three banks in Asia. This stalwart institution translated their "Leadership Competencies" into Asian languages and had HR implement them as guidelines. Savvy enough to avoid the American tendency of a forced fit; the Canadians sought cultural competency training for their highest levels of executives. They learned that not all of their competencies translated, culturally. Among these were relationship building, strategic influencing, communication styles, change management and self-awareness and personal development. Asian values such as group harmony and interdependence determine how such practices differ in Asia. Cross-cultural research reveals that Asians have a low tolerance for risk, or a high need for structure. Change management therefore must be implemented in Asian-friendly ways. The bankers avoided imposing culturally biased criterion and ill-fitting expectations, which in all probability would have proven counterproductive. It is not always enough to translate policies or values into other languages. In cases like these, the concepts of what makes a "good leader" must be reevaluated to achieve the best employee buy-in and to fit with the local business structure. Cross-cultural failure is assured by imposing a set of policies or values that are culturally incompatible with the way business is done in a particular region or with diverse people.

The good news: Most cross-cultural management issues, including the ones described here, don't require rocket science to correct. They do require cultural knowledge. Most do not require sweeping changes to policy or procedures, but rather an intelligence about cultural differences. Learning to ask the right questions is the best way to start.

This article is under construction.