The Shadows that Blind Us

4edges [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

"Fascism is cured by reading and racism is cured by traveling."

- Miguel de Unamuno

In his classic The Republic, Plato tells of a group of people, who have spent their whole life in a cave, bound in place so that the only thing they could see is the shadows playing across the wall as those free to move pass between them and the fire behind them.  To these unfortunate prisoners, the shadows are reality.  Only when they are released and can turn around do they begin to understand what is indeed real.  Their discoveries only grow as they leave the cave and experience the outside world.  Plato’s Allegory of the Cave has become a staple of Western philosophy and its truths are more valid today than ever before.

As a fluent Russian speaker and a person who has spent a substantial amount of time there, I am often asked Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.  Most people expect me to repeat what they hear on the news or to defend Putin.  The problem is, while the human mind wants a black or white answer, most often the truth is somewhere in between. 

If you look at the cave wall from the average Russian’s perspective, things look very different than from an American perspective.  NATO is not an alliance opposing oppression and championing human rights, but a coalition organized to oppose Russia and its way of life. To many Russians, NATO has purposely isolated Russia and refused to welcome it into its fold.  To Russia, NATO is a force marching ever closer to its borders, devouring former allies and even former Russian territories.  It is an existential threat to the Russian values and Vladimir Putin is the only one capable opposing it.  

To many Russians, Vladimir Putin is the man who pulled the country from the brink of economic and social collapse in the late 1990s and the only one keeping it from slipping back. He is the only one able to counter Western hegemony and restore Russian pride on the global stage.

The world we see on our cave wall largely depends on our perspective.  This is determined by where we live, whom we associate with, and where we get our information.  While the human psyche tends to cling to these perspectives throughout our lives, we can only change them for a more accurate understanding of our world if we have access to information that brings these views into contrast with others.

Unfortunately, our world is moving away from liberating people from the bands that tie them to their convictions and is, in fact, binding them ever more tightly to them.  The echo chamber of our mass media and the way we receive it more frequently feeds our biases than challenges them. 

We have more sources of information now than ever in human history.  The Internet, 24-hour news channels, social media, and instantaneous communication allow us to find information on virtually any topic at the push of a button. 

However, with this plethora of information comes the need to separate the important from the superfluous. Our minds naturally seek those things that we know and are comfortable with and avoid those that challenge our beliefs and debase the perceived stability of our world.  Information providers understand this and, in the quest to attract readers, increase the click-through, and garner ever greater advertising revenues, they have developed specialized systems to give us the stability our minds crave.

News outlets today cater to this need and provide a news resource for every view.  Fox or Breitbart for the conservative and Huffington Post or MSNBC for the liberal.  The news these outlets produce is no longer news, but political commentary.  They no longer provide us with the facts and allow us to put them into the context of our own understanding, but the news comes with a ready-made context.  We are told what it means and how to think about it.  Even the algorithms in our search engines look at what we most often seek and provide us with more of the same.  It is no wonder our society is becoming more and more polarized every day.

This polarization has migrated from our own personal cave wall to our collective walls. 

We wonder why our governmental institutions are so dysfunctional.  Why our elected officials can seem to get nothing done other than blame each other for the mess they all have created.  It is because we choose the candidates that make us feel good about the shadow-play before us.  They are a reflection of our own opinions and views. 

“People bind themselves into political teams that share moral narratives. Once they accept a particular narrative, they become blind to alternative moral worlds.”

― Jonathan Haidt

To keep our attention on the shadow play they have created for us, they demonize anyone that offers an alternative view.  Our society no longer cherishes and nurtures diversity, but tells us accommodation is a weakness, a sellout of the “defenders of truth.”

This is tearing our society apart.

The greatest leaps forward in American history have been brought about by cooperation, accommodation, and compromise – by a willingness to listen to alternate views and admit that certain institutions must remain while others must change.  Government for the people, of the people, and by the people and a free market economy are as important as ever, while practices like slavery, Jim Crow, religious discrimination, and gender inequality in any form must be rooted out of our society.  This process continues today. 

While the shadows playing across our cave walls may seem comforting, we must confront them for what they are, as distortions of reality.  We must do all we can to break out of our echo chamber cave, to expose ourselves to alternative ideas, to accept that others may see things from a different perspective and that this is what enriches our society. 

For example, the constant influx and integration of wave after wave of immigrants has played a significant role in making America an economic and cultural force in the world.  While commonsense legal controls are important, shutting the door can only lead to cultural stagnation and decline.

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts. 

- James Madison

When we buy into the extreme narratives that immigrants are a threat or that all who want a secure border are racist, we push the possibility that we can find a compassionate and secure solution ever farther away.  Dialog and a willingness to consider all views is the only way forward.

As we emerge our the cave, we must accept that not everyone will see things as we do, and this is not only all right but essential.

Going Far Together – The Value of Cultural Guides in Cross-Cultural Communication

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” 

African Proverb

The anecdote goes, that many years ago, a plane full of gold went down in the middle of Siberia. When the KGB had finally located the wreckage, they were shocked to find that the gold was gone. After careful examination, they discovered tracks in the snow leading through the forest to an indigenous hunter’s cabin. The hunter answered their authoritative knocks, but to their dismay, they found he spoke no Russian. Leaving the man under guard, they located an interpreter and began the interrogation.

“Where is the gold?” they demand. The interpreter conveys their question and the peasant claims ignorance.

The agents pressed further, “We followed your tracks from the crash site to your cabin. We know you have the gold. Where is it?” The interpreter repeats the question in the hunter’s own tongue.

The man again feigns ignorance. The agents realize more persuasive measures are required. One pulls out his weapon and points it at the hunter’s head.

“If you don’t tell us where the gold is, your days are over!”

The hunter breaks. “I buried it under the tree behind my cabin! Please don’t shoot me!” he pleads desparately.

The interpreter, without hesitation says, “Go ahead and shoot, I’m not going to tell you a thing!”

Interpreters are often indispensable when working in a global environment. The skill, trustworthiness, and professionalism of your interpreter can make or break your negotiations. You rely on them to keep you abreast of all that transpires during your meetings with your foreign counterparts. In fact, they may be the only one in the room that gets the whole picture.

However, finding someone that can take your ideas in language A and convey them to your partner in language B is only the beginning. A truly effective interpreter understands the target culture at a much deeper level. As they are well versed in the history, literature, and etiquette of the culture, they are also able to help you navigate the cultural and social intricacies of these cross-cultural interactions. In other words, they must be more than an interpreter. They must be a cultural guide.

Another story illustrates their value:

After months of correspondence, an American company has finally landed a meeting with a key Korean retail distributer. This company has the best distribution chain in the country and ties to other distributers throughout East Asia. They enter the conference room, shake hands, and exchange business cards. The host takes the American leader’s card in both hands, looks at it, carefully and thanks them by name. The American looks at the Korean’s card briefly, memorizes his name and title, and puts it in his pocket. The Korean host’s demeanor cools noticeably, but since he continues discussions, the Americans think nothing of it, but the deal just doesn’t make progress. They don’t understand what happened.

Unfortunately, no one had explained the personal value Asian cultures place on a business card. It is considered an extension of the person and a key component of personal dignity. The card is , a part of what is known as “face.” As such, a business card should be given the same respect that is due the person it belongs to. By not giving the card proper respect, the American offended the host. Teaching local etiquette is a key role of a cultural guide, but this can only happen if their involvement began weeks before the trip.

During my many trips throughout Eastern Europe as part of American official delegations, we would begin our preparations weeks beforehand. As an interpreter, one of my key duties was to prepare a country briefing. This included a short history of the country, a basic familiarization with the language, including key phrases and words. I would follow this with a short lesson on customs and etiquette. One of the lessons I taught included the regimented order of standard toasts in Russia. This had a significant impact on building positive working relations with our hosts. For example, I taught that in military circles, the third toast in Russia is traditionally to the fallen, drunk standing, without clinking glasses. On one multi-site inspection, this third toast fell to my non-Russian speaking team leader. He gave an eloquent tribute to those who had fallen defending both of our homelands, including mention of the Soviet and American soldiers who together defeated fascism. By this simple toast, he earned the enthusiastic esteem of our Russian counterparts. Due to his good relations, he was able to overcome some very thorny issues that arose during the inspection in a very effective and amicable way.

As the above examples show, the insight a cultural guide can provide requires goes beyond linguistic support. Their ability to help avoid missteps and build an affinity with our partners. The cultural literacy the guide provides can pay significant dividends.

As an interpreter, I have supported people from all levels of responsibility from small team leaders to government officials and leaders of national-level NGOs. As I grew in experience, my management responsibilities grew as I managed the interpreters and teams of my own. Regardless of my rank, while serving as the interpreter, my basic duty was to ensure that both sides clearly understood the other. However, early on, I came to understand that my most important role was guiding my team through the intricacies of inter-cultural interaction and ensuring they understood not only the words, but also the unspoken meanings of their partners’ actions and ensure our team’s actions did not convey inappropriate messages.

A cultural guide’s training differs somewhat from a simple interpreter or translator.[1] Whereas many interpreters’ and translators’ skills extend beyond the mechanics of language to include cultural proficiency as well, each individual specialist falls somewhere on the continuum of cultural competency.

Full cultural literacy requires an in-depth understanding of the many factors, which make up the shared understanding and values of a culture. This often requires both formal and informal prolonged exposure to the language and the culture gained from significant time in country and study of its culture, history, art and literature, and philosophies. It is key to understand that language is merely the most basic vehicle by which understanding is shared between people, but it is not the only, and often not the most important one.

To be able to converse at a high or near native level, one needs to understand the unspoken cultural realia that is often interweaved into conversations, especially at a higher intellectual level. A simple phrase can carry meaning understood by natives due to its cultural context. For example, if an American says, “Here’s your sign,” we instantly picture Larry the Cable Guy and understand the implied meaning. No further explanation is necessary. A culturally literate specialist must understand and be able to convey this meaning in both languages.

When looking for an interpreter, it is important that they have the skills, both linguistic and cultural, to give you the support you need. There are some key concepts to keep in mind.

First, you should integrate your cultural guide into your team in the early stages of your preparations. They should be a key part of your planning process. Your guide will understand such vital factors as timelines to expect, the approaches that will be most effective, what would be an appropriate gift, what would be the best hierarchical makeup of your team based on your goals, and many other similar factors that will determine your schedule, scope, and tactics you will employ during your trip. Furthermore, if you visit a certain country regularly, you may want to include a cultural guide as a permanent member of your team.

Second, a cultural study led by your cultural guide should be a key component of your team preparations. This should include a historical synopsis, cultural norms and etiquette, any holidays during your trip, and key words and phrases such as greetings, please, thank you. A study aid or phrase book, including the name and address and phone number of both your host and of your accommodations in the local script to give to a cab driver or law enforcement if the need arises is highly recommended.

Third, your cultural guide should be trusted and confident enough to ask for clarification if something you say or do is unclear or if it may be interpreted negatively. He/she should be comfortable in explaining the possible meaning and consequences of that action or statement and clarify whether that is your intent or not. As with other members of the team, their input should be valued, but a professional interpreter and cultural guide understands that their role is not to lead the team, but to advise and facilitate understanding. Once they are sure the principal understands how the statement will be understood, if they decide to proceed, the interpreter’s role is to convey that meaning – no more, no less.

Fourth, understand that an interpreter/cultural guide interprets meaning, not words. What you say may require expansion or may be conveyed in few words than in your language. It may even not be possible to translate. This is especially true with humor. ALWAYS run jokes by your cultural guide before telling them. Humor often does not translate and puns or plays on words almost never do. Don’t put your interpreter on the spot of the mythical interpreter, whose boss tells a joke that does not translate. The interpreter, in desperation, explains to the audience, “My boss just told a joke that doesn’t translate, but if you don’t laugh, he’ll fire me, so when I say laugh – please laugh.”

Fifth, the cultural guide should not be the team leader. While a team leader well versed in the language and culture is an asset to the team, having another acting as a sounding board and filter is often vital. I have on occasion interpreted for people whose language was on par or better than my own, but wisdom and protocol require an official interpreter.[2] Working through an interpreter has certain benefits in official exchanges. First, if you also speak the language, it gives you a double pass at what your partner is saying and additional time to consider your response. If you do speak the language, I would advise speaking directly with your counterpart, however, during the official portions of the inspection, use your interpreters.

Finally, vet your cultural guide carefully. They will be key in ensuring you and your partner fully understand each other as well as helping you not only avoid the cultural landmines that could scuttle your success. Furthermore, a good cultural guide can also that could give you that added edge.

In our modern, globally connected world, the likelihood we will find ourselves working with people who speak another language and have different cultural norms. Having a well-trained and trustworthy cultural guide to help you navigate the sometimes complicated cultural maze and help you find the common ground where you and your counterparts can take advantage of the strengths each side brings to the table is critical to your success.


[1] Many people use the terms interpreter and translator interchangeably. While many may be able to do both, many professionals focus on one or the other. Translation normally refers to written translation, while interpretation refers to conveying spoken communication in another language.

[2] If you do speak the language, but are working through an interpreter, never publicly criticize or correct your interpreter. You will only discredit him/her and yourself in front of your counterparts.

A Mile in Another's Shoes – The Value of Perspective

Developing a Global Mindset through Foreign Language and Cultural Immersion

"He who does not travel, does not know the value of men." Moorish Proverb 

An American negotiating team arrives in Riyadh.  They are sure their proposal will be a big hit with the Saudi negotiating team.  Their talking points are ready, and they feel they should have the whole thing sewn up by evening.  However, their best-laid plans begin to unravel as the Saudis refuse to act like Americans.  They just don’t seem to want to get down to business.  The meetings start with coffee and small talk without a mention of business, and continue with tours of the city and other social events.  The Americans are growing frustrated.  What did they miss?

The thing is the Saudis are not doing anything wrong.  Just as the Americans are acting like Americans, the Saudis are just being Saudis.  For them, you must show your guests hospitality and get to know your prospective partners before you start talking business – to do otherwise would be rude.  This approach to business, common in many cultures including Arab, Asian, Latin, and Slavic is often unfamiliar to Germanic and Anglo-Saxon cultures, where friendship is friendship, business is business, and the one does not necessarily have to exist for the other to happen.  For these cultures, time is precious and the thinking is, “We came on business so let’s get to it!”

This may be a fictional caricature of a common situation, but it illustrates the intricacies of cross-cultural interactions occurring daily around the world.  As the global economy continues to grow and integrate, more and more people are coming into contact with other cultures and finding that not everyone works, thinks, or acts as they do. 

Just a few decades ago, relatively few people had direct contact with people outside their own country.  Most of their acquaintances were just like them. 

Things have changed dramatically.  The Internet, social media, and modern transportation have changed the way we live and interact with the world outside our own communities.  The effects on everyday life are significant. 

In today’s globally connected virtual economy, anyone with a computer and an internet connection can find and find your business, leading to not only new customers and but also to new partners.

For example, acting on a friend’s suggestion, a farmer set up a website to help grow his feed sales.  His website succeeded beyond his expectations when a customer placed a large order from China.  This farmer found himself in a crash course on international trade.

Checkpoint Charlie and Warning Sign in Cold War Berlin

As the world continues to integrate, the exchange of ideas, capital, and goods across borders has reduced hostility and border controls between countries.  As William Shurtz, the second president of Thunderbird School of Global Management pointed out, "Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers."[1]    

Border posts now stand empty across Europe and free trade agreements are proliferating around the globe.  Even when conflict does arise, as it has between Russia and Ukraine, it is often moderated by economic ties and potential loss of markets. 

With all these global opportunities, what can provide a competitive advantage? 

A common characteristic of today’s most successful companies is their ability to leverage diversity and foster the free exchange of ideas.  Those brave enough to seek out and welcome ideas that challenge their own paradigms find benefits, which would be unachievable in a mono-cultural setting. 

For example, Google’s famous free lunches and recreation rooms are more than perks.  They are part of a larger strategy to facilitate contact between people from different backgrounds, specialties, and functions.  Providing settings, where their employees can exchange ideas with people outside their normal social or professional spheres allows Google to mobilize the capabilities and perspectives of different people to resolve problems, create new innovative products, and find ways to increase the customer base.    

As with any great opportunity, diversity also presents its own problems.  Working with those who think and act differently increases chances for conflict and misunderstanding.  To navigate these waters, we must take time to understand the cultures and people we will be working with, we must build an appreciation of the diversity in the world around us, and foster a spirit of adventure to explore it.  We need to build a global mindset.[2] 

Monsour Javidan, the Executive Director of Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Najafi Global Mindset Institute, describing the Global Mindset in 2010, writes:

“Leaders with a strong stock of Global Mindset know about cultures and political and economic systems in other countries and understand how their global industry works. They are passionate about diversity and are willing to push themselves. They are comfortable with being uncomfortable in uncomfortable environments. They are also better able to build trusting relationships with people who are different from them by showing respect and empathy and by being good listeners.”[3]

Empathy and trust comes through good communication.  Therefore, learning another language and its associated culture is key in building a global mindset.  In 2004 Christine Uber Gross conducted a survey of Thunderbird graduates, who must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language before graduation, on the impact of foreign language study on their professional life.  She found that 82% of graduates rated the impact of language and cultural literacy in their professional life as significant.[4]  While learning a language is only the first step in gaining a global mindset, it strengthens our ability to empathize with others.

Until we learn to express ourselves in another’s language and see the world from their perspective, we have a hard time seeing beyond our own cultural biases.  In other words, we must spend time walking in another’s shoes.  As we learn about the cultural landmarks, of their art, history, religion, and language, we find that ours are not the only way to see the world around us.  This opens our perspectives and makes us more tolerant of others, even those with whom we do not share a common language.  Language study does more than teach communication – it expands our horizons, opening our minds to new ways of seeing the world and relating to others.

In fact, research has shown that people, who learn to express themselves in another language, learn to see issues from a broader perspective.  This impacts how we learn and positively influences intellectual development.  This is especially evident in bilingual children.  Therese Sullivan Caccavale, President of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL)[5] points out that:

“Studies have shown repeatedly that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of mind in young children. Students who are learning a foreign language out-score their non-foreign language-learning peers in the verbal and, surprisingly to some, the math sections of standardized tests.” 

The way we communicate influences our view on the world and reflects our cultural norms.  However, the interaction between language and culture flow both ways – language is also a product of a society’s shared historical and cultural legacy.  For example, Russians seldom use the verb “to possess something,” but rather say that something is near them.  This is a product of a history where the only person who truly owned anything was the sovereign who could take their possessions away at will.  Conversely, this conception of ownership also influences how Russians themselves view ownership and authority.  In gaining an understanding of others’ perspectives, we can better understand them and build productive relationships.

Building this understanding requires focused study, exposure to different ways of thinking, and immersion in language and culture.  Awareness of this is not new.  Programs like the Middlebury Language Schools[6] and the American Graduate School of International Management (today Thunderbird School of Global Management) [7] pioneered education in language immersion and internationally focused business management in the first half of the 20th Century.  However, with the growth of globalism and international trade have created a greater awareness of the need for cross-cultural and global leadership skills, resulting in a growing number of programs similar to those pioneered at Middlebury and Thunderbird.

Language and international business courses abound using a wide variety of methodology.  However, not all are equally effective.  While school courses, books, and computer programs can provide a basis for cultural and language proficiency, the watershed event in one’s education involves some kind of immersion.  Whether this is formal study abroad or working in a factory with native speakers, only when one is regularly exposed and required to function in a language and navigate the culture, will true proficiency develop. 

Furthermore, higher-level proficiency requires more than grammar and vocabulary.  Whereas much of the higher-level communication takes place in using abstract ideas, cultural context, and inferred meaning, this requires complementing the mechanical aspects of language with an understanding of the target culture.  This requires an immersion, building a sound knowledge of its art, history, religions, climate, political system, values, and many other factors.

Living in another country for an extended time, where you must function not only linguistically, but in daily interpersonal and cultural interactions infuses those aspects of culture, which are impossible to learn in a classroom.  Long-term interaction with the people, their language, and culture reinforces an understanding of the locals’ worldview and norms of interpersonal behavior.  Only then do the deeper, abstract meanings of their conversation begin to make sense.

We live in a world where global trade is no longer the undisputed domain large multinational firms with their substantial war chests of capital allowing them to leverage global markets.  Today, the Internet and cheap and efficient global delivery services allow even small businesses to export their goods around the world, requiring these much smaller companies to work with partners, clients, and legal systems around the world whose native cultures, laws and regulations, and languages are different from their own.

In the modern globalized world of business and mass communication, the ability to understand not only what people say, but also how they feel, their values and desires is vital in maximizing the synergistic potential of our multicultural world. When we can accept others’ way of thinking and living not as wrong, but simply as different from our own, we begin to understand that we can learn and benefit from looking at the world from their perspective. We are then on our way to a richer more fulfilling life as we are better equipped to succeed in business, resolve thorny political issues, to appreciate the wonderful diversity of our world, and build lasting relationships based not on coercion and threats, but on mutual respect. 

While we will not always agree and our interests will not always mesh, when we understand how others see the world and accept their right to do so, we can then find ways to make it a place we all can live in.  Studying not just foreign languages, but various cultural perspectives allows us to enter another’s soul – to walk in their shoes.  This helps us gain a deeper understanding of not only other cultures but our own as well.  The first step to true emotional intelligence is self-awareness.  This is impossible without the reflecting pool of our multicultural world.  When we see our culture and views juxtaposed against others, we can better understand ourselves.  This new understanding will lay the foundation for a truly global mindset and unlock the potential the diversity of our world has to offer.

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[1]  Thunderbird School of Global Management. About Us. 2 April 2012. 7 April 2012 www.thunderbird.edu/about_thunderbird/thunderbird_good/about/index.htm.

[2] For more information on what a global mindset is and how it influences our ability to interact with the diversity in today’s world, see Thunderbird’s Najafi Global Mindset Institute at http://globalmindset.thunderbird.edu/

[3]  Javidan, Mansour. "Bringing the Global Mindset to Leadership." Harvard Business Review (May 19, 2010): https://hbr.org/2010/05/bringing-the-global-mindset-to.html#.

[4]  Grosse, Christine Uber. "The Competitive Advantage of Foreign Languages and Cultural Knowledge." The Modern Language Journal (Vol. 88, No. 3 (Autumn, 2004)): 351-373.

[5] Duke University. "American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)." Fall 2007. Cognitive Benfits of Learning Language, Vol 8, Issue 1. http://www.actfl.org/advocacy/discover-languages/for-parents/cognitive#sthash.gk6l0BzU.dpufIf. 1 November 2015.

[6]  Middlebury Language Schools. The Language Schools' Mission Statement. http://www.middlebury.edu/ls/academics/language-schools-mission-statement. 1 November 2015.

[7] Thunderbird School of Global Management.  Thunderbird History.  http://www.thunderbird.edu/thunderbird-history.  1 November 2015.