Conflicts at work due to cultural differences: how to avoid them?

"Wait a minute, that's not what we were talking about!" Did you know "Konzept" is not the same as "concept"?

“Let’s talk about the concept on Thursday.”

You have certainly heard a colleague say such a sentence at the end of a meeting. Just this much: it can cause misunderstandings when you are working in an intercultural team! For instance, the German “Konzept” is not the same as the French “concept”. Whether you’re working in Germany or in France, your French colleagues may understand this term completely differently than your German colleagues do.

When German colleagues hear the sentence “Let’s talk about the concept on Thursday”, they usually understand it as a work order. It is natural for them to start working on a concept for the topic under discussion. Most likely, a first draft of an elaborated concept proposal will then be available for discussion in the Thursday meeting. This preliminary work is seen as good preparation and a basis for the meeting to proceed seamlessly and on the basis of information and facts.

At this meeting on Thursday, French colleagues are surprised, probably even a little offended. Because the term “concept” has a different meaning for them. In the French working world, the creation of a “concept” is understood as a kind of brainstorming with different participants. It is more about listening to the ideas of all participants, discussing them, and then working out a solution together. Without further explanation, the French colleagues will think that their opinion on this topic was not wanted and will feel ignored or excluded.

According to our experience, it is rather negative in the French working culture if a finished concept in the German sense is already brought to the meeting. The French colleagues will then think:

“The work has already been done”

They will feel like there is no longer any reason for a joint discussion at this point. And they may even be disappointed that their ideas could not be included in the concept.

Let’s turn the tables now: The French colleagues did not bring a concept to the meeting, while the Germans instinctively expected it. So they notice it negatively and think for example:

“The colleagues didn’t make any effort, now all the work is up to us”

In this situation, of course, neither party is to blame. It is important that intercultural teams openly discuss the expectations of all parties involved. So here the term “concept” should have been defined together in the team or concrete tasks and goals should have been set in order to avoid misunderstandings and promote harmonious cooperation.

Would you like to learn more about cultural differences and possible misunderstandings in intercultural teams? Discover our series of articles!

Do you have questions about interculturalism in the context of your internationalisation project?

We are happy to talk to you about it!

Are you a B2B software company looking to expand globally but not sure where to start? Read on to learn about the five key ways to target specific countries and set up the right international expansion strategies, including prioritising countries with large software markets, researching cultural norms, and developing a localised marketing approach.

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International Readiness Workshop

The status quo before the project

The DACH market had been identified by the Collective Thinking management as a strategic target market in Europe. First business development and sales actions have been conducted by the first German team and a GmbH had been established. 
The CT team wanted to continue to build their knowledge of the German market, the identification of key partners, key client groups in order to better evaluate business development potential and sales targets. This knowledge shall help define an appropriate strategic and operational marketing approach for CT in the DACH markets. CT is also in the process of raising a Series A funding round, a European approach can be evaluated in this project.

What we did

Wyngs wanted to support the Collective Thinking Team to create a strategic and operational roadmap for optimized business development and marketing/communication, with a special focus on developing the DACH markets – Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

We prepared a 1-day workshop, divided into 2 major parts:

  • Review of existing actions, the discovery of the key players and potential business development partners, enhancing market knowledge. 
  • Creation of a strategic and operational business development and marketing plan for 2021. 

Presentation of results of the workshop in the form of a roadmap to concretely address the mentioned challenges.

The “International Readiness” workshop with Wyngs allowed the German team of Collective Thinking to better understand and define the needs of the German market, particularly in terms of marketing strategy & business development. If you too are planning to develop internationally, Wyngs would be a very good partner to succeed in these first steps, which are essential for successful development.

CEO Vincent

Vincent Susplugas

CEO Collective Thinking

The “International Readiness” workshop with Wyngs allowed the German team of Collective Thinking to better understand and define the needs of the German market, particularly in terms of marketing strategy & business development. If you too are planning to develop internationally, Wyngs would be a very good partner to succeed in these first steps, which are essential for successful development.

CEO Vincent

Vincent Susplugas

CEO Collective Thinking

The “International Readiness” workshop with Wyngs allowed the German team of Collective Thinking to better understand and define the needs of the German market, particularly in terms of marketing strategy & business development. If you too are planning to develop internationally, Wyngs would be a very good partner to succeed in these first steps, which are essential for successful development.

CEO Vincent

Vincent Susplugas

CEO Collective Thinking