Building Stronger Teams through Culturally Intelligent Communication

Effective team building isn’t just about selecting the right people—it’s about creating an environment where everyone feels heard, valued, and empowered. Strong communication across diverse backgrounds strengthens team bonds, which ultimately helps teams thrive. In a recent workshop at 11:11 Systems, we focused on building stronger teams with culturally intelligent communication. Here are some key takeaways that can help your teams succeed.

Why We Need Strong Teams

Building stronger teams through culturally intelligent communication is essential. High-performing teams offer numerous benefits: higher productivity, higher profitability, lower burnout, attract top performers, and deeper loyalty.

But beyond these tangible benefits, high-performing teams also make a difference for individual team members. The best teams allow us to feel safe, bring out our best, and add genuine value to our lives—not just to the company’s bottom line.

The best teams allow us to feel safe, help us to be our best, and add value to our lives—not just to a company's bottom line. Meagan Pollock, PhD

What Sets High-Performing Teams Apart

Communication is the foundation that supports collaboration, productivity, trust, conflict resolution, and growth—all critical elements for a thriving and inclusive workplace. Effective communication fosters better teamwork by ensuring that everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and shared goals. It also minimizes misunderstandings, reduces the need for repeated instructions, and builds trust among team members, making everyone feel valued and included.

Dr. Ron Friedman’s research on high-performing teams highlights ten practices that make them successful. These teams:

  1. Invest time in bonding over non-work topics.

  2. Are more authentic at work.

  3. Give and receive appreciation frequently.

  4. Keep colleagues in the loop.

  5. Share credit.

  6. Believe disagreements make them better.

  7. Proactively address tension.

  8. Don’t leave collaboration to chance.

  9. Are strategic with their meetings.

  10. Are not afraid to pick up the phone.

Each of these practices relies on effective communication. 

Addressing tension, sharing credit, and fostering an inclusive environment all require clear and thoughtful dialogue. Effective communication helps teams improve collaboration, enhance productivity, and resolve conflicts—ensuring that everyone works cohesively and feels empowered. The LISTEN framework can be a key tool in enabling these practices, as it encourages empathy, clear dialogue, and purposeful connection.

communication is the foundation that supports collaboration

The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Communication

At its core, cultural intelligence in communication is about understanding, respecting, and navigating diverse perspectives. We explored a framework called LISTEN, which stands for Learn, Inquire, Synthesize, Translate, Empathize, and Navigate. This framework provides a structured approach to improve communication across different cultural contexts—helping teams connect more deeply and communicate more effectively.

The LISTEN framework begins with Learning about the cultural backgrounds and experiences that shape how people communicate. From there, it’s about inquiring with an open mind, synthesizing insights to understand the big picture, translating those understandings into actionable strategies, and navigating complex conversations with empathy and intentionality.

REVIEW THESE COMPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

Real-life Noise in Communication

One of the most engaging parts of the workshop was discussing the concept of ‘noise’ in communication—anything that disrupts a message from being received as intended. This can be as tangible as physical distractions or as subtle as cultural nuances and personal biases. Participants shared experiences of communicating across regions where even date formats led to misunderstandings. The importance of empathy became clear here: effective communication is not just about what we say, but about understanding how the recipient might interpret it, given their unique cultural lens.

Key Takeaways: Strategies for Better Team Communication

To address these barriers, many participants highlighted their use of reflective listening and round-table discussions—techniques that ensure everyone has an opportunity to be heard. Another practical strategy was pausing to allow time for understanding and clarification. Whether it was asking questions like, “Is my understanding correct?” or documenting meeting notes clearly, small actions make a big difference in reducing communication barriers.

In our multiple-choice poll, a significant portion of participants indicated that the Translate and Synthesize stages of the LISTEN framework were the most impactful for their communication challenges. This shows that taking the time to translate learnings into actionable strategies and ensuring that all voices are synthesized into a cohesive understanding can be transformative.

Trust grows when we focus on understanding each other, not just on being heard. Reducing misunderstandings starts with listening to truly connect. Meagan Pollock, PhD

 

Moving Forward: Building Trust and Reducing Misunderstandings

If there’s one action we can all take away, it’s to be more intentional in our communication. This means being mindful of potential cultural differences, listening with the intent to understand rather than just respond, and adapting our communication style based on our audience’s needs. The workshop showed that when teams commit to culturally intelligent communication, they not only reduce misunderstandings but also create a more inclusive and innovative environment.

In the words of one participant, “We could really all be saying the same thing, just differently.” By embracing diverse communication styles, teams can unlock hidden strengths, bridge gaps, and achieve true cohesion.

For your next team meeting, try to emphasize empathy and translate understanding into clear, shared actions. Let the LISTEN framework guide you in nurturing stronger, culturally intelligent teams.

Meagan Pollock, PhD

Dr. Meagan Pollock envisions a world where personal and social circumstances are not obstacles to achieving potential, and where kindness, inclusivity, and conservation prevail.

An international speaker, teacher, engineer, and equity leader, her mission is to provide services, tools, and resources that inspire awareness and initiate action.

As an engineer turned educator, Meagan Pollock is focused on engineering equity into education and the workforce.

Leave a Reply

About EO

Engineered Organizations partners with you to build intentional strategies that strengthen collaboration, inspire growth, and create lasting cultural change.

Featured Content

This TEDx talk examines a four-part, iterative, reflective, and reflexive framework for developing into an inclusive leader.

Recent Q&A

Explore More Content

Search

Follow Us

Can we Keep in touch?

Join our mailing list

Search our website