From the course: Six Skills to Develop Cultural Agility
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Personal development, not perfection
From the course: Six Skills to Develop Cultural Agility
Personal development, not perfection
- I'm a university professor. Every now and then I use a word during my lecture that makes my students laugh. A word that was correct in the context from someone from my generation, but clearly had a different meaning for someone in a younger generation. A generation is an example of a group with a culture. Just like a nationality, a profession, or an organization. Culture comprises the norms and values that have been socialized over time and shared by the members of that group. If you're not from the culture, you might not know the unspoken rules or expected behaviors. You weren't socialized to know them. When we don't know the rules, mistakes and misunderstandings are normal. In fact, they're a given. The more important thing is your reaction to them. Whenever I use a generationally inappropriate word in class, my reaction is to laugh about it and ask my students to translate. When I remain open and receptive, it's a…
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