Even seasoned, cosmopolitan managers often have oversimplified ideas about how people from other cultures operate. That$$s because they tend to zero in on just one or two elements$$communication$,$ for example, or decision making. But culture is more complex than that. To get an accurate picture, you need to gauge cognitive, relational, and behavioral differences along the eight dimensions where cultural gaps are most common$$and to assess yourself in those areas.

Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD and an expert in cross$-$cultural management. She is the author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business $($PublicAffairs$,2014).$If I$$ve done poor work, I prefer to be told bluntly rather than gently or diplomatically.

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