The Rider & The Elephant - Application to Cultural Competency
In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist Jonathan Haidt discusses what he has coined The Rider & The Elephant - an analogy on behavioral change. The analogy was more recently discussed in the book Switch, by Chip & Dan Heath.
The Rider is the Rational System - (The Mind 🧠) - which plans, problem-solves, analyzes, and is logical.
The Elephant is the Emotional System - (The Heart ❤️) - which provides power for the journey of change.
Adopting new behaviors is difficult because the elephant is so strong. Emotions often outweigh our best intentions. Even if you rationally know you should or need to change, your emotions get in the way and stop you.
So how do you fight the elephant in order to enact change?
You must think about the path - your external environment.
According to Haidt, if you want to lead change, you need to...
Direct the Rider - Give direction & knowledge of how to get to the destination
Motivate the Elephant - Tap into emotion
Share the Path - Allow for easy progress, eliminate obstacles, make the path shorter
When thinking of Cultural Competency, it's easy to see how this analogy can be applied.
In order to be culturally competent, one must learn the art of change. One must learn how to code-switch - alternating communication styles & behaviors depending on the cultural context.
For cultural competency, the rider is the individual who lives in or works with other cultures. She wants to adapt and learn new ways. The elephant is a combination of our values, beliefs, and norms that make us who we are & make it hard for us to change. The elephant is us doing what we've always done because it's comfortable.
So when working across cultures, how can we be successful when our emotions are constantly fighting our brain? How can we change communication styles or behaviors when this dance is constantly going on?
We can use the steps Haidt outlined above:
Direct the Rider - Provide training, coaching, and intercultural skills necessary to work effectively across cultures. This could mean hiring an intercultural expert, taking some online courses, or reading up on your own. To make the most impact & gain the most knowledge, I recommend a trainer or coach who can customize solutions for you.
Motivate the Elephant - Tap into the emotions of learning cultural competencies. Think about the emotions that tie into succeeding in & with another culture - maybe it's been a lifelong dream to go on an international assignment, maybe gaining cultural competencies will help you better understand your in-laws or your partner, maybe being culturally competent means you can be the global citizen you've always wanted to be.
Share the Path - Adjust your surroundings so that the path to change is clear. If working on international assignment, living abroad will ease the path for sure. If you are unable to live abroad, then change your surroundings as much as you can in your home country to allow for more intercultural contact. Join an internationally-minded Meetup group, become an InterNations member, learn a new language, connect with diverse groups. See what you can do to change your environment so that it is working towards your goal.
When we take the time to understand our mind (the rider) & our heart (the elephant) - and have them work together - the opportunities for change are endless.
Contact me at hello@nicolebarile.com to learn more about working across cultures.
#futureofglobalwork