“A small correction early on avoids an escalated situation later. The longer the situation remains unchecked, the less it can be questioned later.”
Some takeaways…
- Sensitivity to different cultural backgrounds is crucial for those in a multicultural environment.
- Left unchecked, an unwanted behaviour will find its own level.
- Once a culture has formed, it can be difficult to drive change later on.
Some thoughts on culture, managing situations and driving change arising from a trip in the so-called ‘quiet coach’
I was coming back to London this past weekend on the intercity East Coast line, and found my seat to be in the quiet coach. I hadn’t purposefully chosen it, but didn’t mind as I was travelling alone.
At the next table, two people struck up a conversation as it transpired they were both fans of the Lake District. Observant of the quiet coach, they started by whispering, but later, the conversation blossomed, and soon they were talking freely in normal voices, quiet coach be damned.
I was most interested in the reactions of those around me. It clearly annoyed several people who preferred quiet, and they raised their eyebrows and tutted, but nobody said anything. By the time we hit King’s Cross, some were actually quite cross indeed, but they still did not speak up. I have seen similar situations in Switzerland and Holland – there, other travellers always remain very polite, but waste no time in telling the chatters that this is the quiet coach and they need to take their conversation elsewhere.
What can we learn from this episode?
There were three lessons on managing situations, managing culture and driving change that I could draw from this episode:
Managing different cultural backgrounds
Cultural background can define how you react to situations, so sensitivity to cultural background is crucial for those in a multicultural environment. English people may be less likely to speak out in the same way the Swiss or the Dutch might, but are no less annoyed by certain behaviour. Left unacknowledged, this can mean they foster resentment, but it may not always be obvious until it is too late. As members of a multicultural society, we must be aware that everyone around us experiences their own full range of emotions but not everyone expresses their emotions in the same way.
Managing situations
Left unchecked, a conversation will find its own level. What started as a whisper soon became full voices as no one spoke out against the rising volume. There is a lesson here in managing situations – a small correction early on avoids an escalated situation later. By the time the conversation has become full volume, it is much more difficult to speak out against.
Culture formation and driving change
Culture is formed through certain behaviours. Regardless of cultural background, every environment has its own culture, which can be defined as ‘how we do things around here’. In the quiet coach, that usually means one is quiet, but here, as the conversation was allowed to continue at a normal volume, that became the accepted culture. The longer that is the case, the less it can be questioned – the quiet coach is now no longer quiet, and any effort to reinstate the quiet will require a powerful force for change.
A simple episode, but interesting lessons for all of us, whether we are managers of change, managers of people, managers of relationships or simply just members of the quiet coach.
Thanks for reading.