How to Understand Your Boss and Colleagues in an International Team | Webinar with Elena Arrola

Summary

The webinar explains how cultural norms shape expectations at work and how misunderstandings can arise when people interpret colleagues through their own cultural assumptions. Elena Arrola, founder of Chameleo, presents a simplified set of cultural “lenses” based on established cross-cultural frameworks. She emphasizes that these lenses can help people notice possible patterns, but they are not rules for predicting how any individual will behave.

Main Ideas and Cultural Lenses

Communication: Direct Versus Indirect

Some people state requests and criticism explicitly, while others soften their wording or imply what they want. For example, “Send the presentation by 5 p.m.” is explicit, whereas saying it would be nice if the presentation arrived sometime may be intended as a request.

Direct communicators may be perceived as rude, while indirect communicators may be misunderstood as vague or unreliable. Arrola describes Finnish communication as generally direct, while noting that directness does not necessarily mean people are comfortable with confrontation. Some may avoid conflict or remain silent.

Time and Planning: Sequential Versus Flexible

Some people prefer to do tasks one at a time, follow schedules, and plan well ahead. Others are more comfortable handling several things at once and making plans spontaneously.

Expectations about punctuality and the length of events can differ. The webinar describes Finnish settings as often treating schedules and punctuality seriously, while other settings may allow more flexibility. The practical lesson is to clarify expectations, notify others if delayed, and avoid assuming that a different approach to time is disrespectful.

Silence, Personal Space, and Social Interaction

Silence may be comfortable or meaningful rather than awkward; it does not always need to be filled. A colleague who declines an invitation to join lunch may simply prefer time alone, rather than be rejecting the person who asked.

The speakers also discuss how expectations around sociability can affect how people interpret not greeting or approaching someone.

Individual and Group Recognition

Some workplaces emphasize individual ownership and responsibility, while others place more emphasis on collective contribution. Arrola describes Finland as relatively individualistic, with employees often expected to take ownership of tasks rather than wait for detailed direction.

The appropriate way to give praise may depend on the context. For example, an interview may call for describing one’s own contribution, while a team achievement may be framed collectively.

Rules and Principles

People and organizations differ in whether they see rules as firm requirements or as guidelines that can be adapted to circumstances. These differences can affect how employees interpret company policies and handle deadlines or procedures.

Hierarchy and Authority

Arrola characterizes Finnish workplaces and public life as relatively flat. Using a superior’s first name, asking questions, and speaking directly with people in senior roles may be normal. In more hierarchical settings, that familiarity or directness may feel unexpected.

In a flatter, high-trust setting, it may also be acceptable to say “I don’t know” and look up the information rather than pretend to know the answer. This may be interpreted differently in settings where authority is expected to project certainty.

Work and Personal-Life Boundaries

Expectations vary regarding availability outside work and whether staying late signals commitment. In the Finnish context Arrola describes, working late may be seen as a sign that someone is struggling to manage their work, rather than as proof of dedication. She recommends not assuming that longer hours are valued everywhere.

Practical Approach

1. Notice a puzzling interaction. It might involve a colleague’s silence, a blunt comment, a missed deadline, or a declined invitation.
2. Avoid immediately interpreting it as a personal judgment or character flaw.
3. Consider which cultural lens might be relevant, such as communication style, time, individual or group orientation, rules, hierarchy, or work-life boundaries.
4. Check the team’s or organization’s expectations. Ask a manager or HR contact how feedback, disagreement, deadlines, and responsibilities are handled.
5. Communicate expectations explicitly when needed. Clarify, for example, whether a request is a suggestion or a deadline, and let others know if plans change.
6. Keep individual differences in mind. Cultural frameworks describe possible tendencies; they do not determine how any particular colleague will behave.
7. Use reflection and learning tools to explore your own norms. Chameleo’s proposed process is to take an assessment, review a personal cultural profile, compare it with a country profile, identify possible gaps, and study examples or lessons about how those differences may appear at work.

Arrola connects this approach to the image of a kaleidoscope: people are unique combinations of backgrounds and experiences, but recurring cultural patterns can still help explain why the same interaction is understood differently by different people.

Speakers and Sources

• Julia — NerdsBay founder and webinar host; introduced the event and facilitated audience discussion.
• Elena Arrola — Chameleo founder and presenter on cross-cultural communication. Her name is rendered inconsistently in the auto-generated subtitles.
• Audience participants — contributed comments and examples in the webinar chat; they are not individually identified in the subtitles.
• Cross-cultural researchers and frameworks cited by Arrola: Geert Hofstede, Richard Lewis, Erin Meyer, and Fons Trompenaars.
• Other source referenced: McKinsey’s “obligation to dissent” principle, which encourages employees to raise concerns even when a superior may be mistaken.