As I mentioned in my last post, Trust is one of the first things one needs to build when getting on board at a new company, when you get a new boss, and when you start a new team project. For the latter, it’s simply key for everything to get moving. As Stephen Covey states, I quote: “Without trust, we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team.”
Trust is a crucial factor for organizations and team cooperation. Trust “stimulates interactions, influences the information flow and correlates with team effectiveness and satisfaction.” (Morita & Burns, 2013).
Trust in an Intercultural Environment
Trust is a complex and multifaceted concept that varies greatly across different cultures. While some cultures tend to place a high value on trust and prioritize building and maintaining it, others may have different attitudes and behaviors regarding trust.
- Northern Europe and North American culture: trust is often seen as essential for social and economic interactions. These cultures tend to have higher levels of trust in institutions, such as government, businesses, and social services. Trust is often earned through reliability, honesty, and transparency, and it is viewed as a critical component of healthy relationships and successful collaborations.
- Parts of Asia and the Middle East: trust may be built more through personal connections and relationships rather than through formal institutions. Family, friends, and other close connections may be valued more highly than institutions, and trust may be built through loyalty, honor, and respect for tradition and hierarchy.
- Latin American countries: in this region, it can vary significantly depending on the specific country and context. However, some general trends can be identified. Trust in institutions such as, government, police, and the justice system, can be relatively low. This may be due to factors such as corruption, political instability, and economic inequality. Individuals are more likely to rely on their high trust in personal networks and relationships to navigate these systems and get things done. Trust is often earned through mutual respect, loyalty, and personal connections.
In addition, there can be a cultural emphasis on “saving face” and avoiding confrontation in many Latin American countries. This can lead to a preference for indirect communication and a reluctance to express criticism or negative feedback openly. This on its own impacts how trust is developed and maintained.
Trust in Mexico, Brazil & Argentina
Overall, understanding the specific cultural and historical contexts of each country can be important for understanding how trust operates.
- In Mexico, trust gained through personal relationships and networks in a very important, especially within family and social circles. Family is highly valued, and trust may be earned through loyalty, honesty, and respect. Trust in public institutions like government, police and the justice system may be low given corruption and lack of transparency.
- In Brazil, similar to that stated above, relatively low trust in public institutions is highly correlated to political instability.
- In Argentina, there may be a cultural emphasis on personal connections and relationships as well. However, there may be a strong sense of skepticism towards institutions and authority, that can impact trust in public institutions.
These countries can have regional differences in trust levels, where some regions have higher levels of trust than others.. Remember that these are general trends, and individual experiences with trust may vary within each culture. Also, cultural attitudes and behaviors change over time, so be mindful of these changes to understand trust.
Linking Trust to the Intercultural Dimensions
The descriptions detailed above are directly related to the Intercultural Dimensions that I explained in one of last year’s posts, How to Build Strong Intercultural Skills. Let me build on that a bit further:
Dimension of Collectivism
It refers to the degree to which individuals in a society are integrated into cohesive groups and exhibit loyalty to those groups, which may impact trust-related behaviors. In many LatAm countries, including Mexico, Collectivism is often highly valued. Social connections and relationships play a significant role in business and interpersonal interactions. Trust may be built and maintained through strong relationships and networks, and a high degree of collectivism may lead to a preference for trusting those within one’s social circles or in-group.
Dimension of Power Distance
The degree to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect unequal distribution of power may also influence trust-related behaviors. In countries with higher power distance, such as many LatAm countries, there may be a higher reliance on hierarchical structures and authority figures. Trust may be established based on the perceived authority and status of individuals or institutions, and trust may be expected to flow from top to bottom in the power hierarchy.
Dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance
It represents the extent to which a society tolerates or avoids ambiguity, uncertainty, and risk. It may impact trust-related behaviors as well. In countries with higher uncertainty avoidance, again some Latin American countries, there may be a preference for stability, predictability, and adherence to rules and procedures. Equally Trust may be established through adherence to established norms, rules, and protocols, and deviation from these may be perceived as a breach of trust.
I trust you now have a clearer picture! Trust varies in different cultures. In my next blog piece, I’ll continue with this subject and get more into when trust is most important and how we can manage it and build it interculturally within our teams, organizations, relationships and successful collaborations.
Further reading
- Morita, P.P., Burns, C. (2013) Trust token in team development. Team Performance Management, vol.20 no.1/2, pp 39-64
- Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills: SAGE Publications.
- Trompenaars, F., Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. New York City: McGraw-Hill.
