The more differences you have–from disciplines to cultures to communication, personality, and thinking styles–the more misunderstandings and conflicts can arise. Developing intercultural conflict and communication competence is often overlooked when building diverse teams and organizations.
Won’t people know how to get along? Unfortunately not.
Intercultural conflict and communication skills are much more than knowing how to speak clearly to one another. Numerous invisible dynamics operate in the background, such as power, culture, group norms, us and them, and differing beliefs and worldviews.
By addressing these dynamics, we can more effectively move through conflict.