[00:00:00] Trisha: I would like to acknowledge the Dharawal people, the Aboriginal people of Australia, whose country I live and work on. I would like to pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and thank them for sharing their cultural knowledge and awareness with us.
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[00:00:39] Trisha: Hi there everyone. I'm Trisha Carter, an organizational psychologist and explore of cultural intelligence. I'm on a quest to discover what enables us to see things from different perspectives, especially different cultural perspectives, and why sometimes it's easier than others to experience those moments of awareness.
[00:01:00] Shifts in thinking as those of you who have listened to some of the earlier episodes will be aware. Cultural intelligence CQ the capability to be effective in situations of diversity is made up of four areas. There's the motivational, the knowledge, the metacognitive, and the behavioral. There's strong evidence that tells us that CQ helps us to operate effectively in multicultural situations and also in other situations of diversity.
[00:01:32] In this podcast, we focus on the metacognitive aspect, and that is referred to as CQ strategy. It's where we think about our thinking. Last episode. I introduced the Shift Signals framework to help you recognize those pivotal moments when you're actually experiencing a cultural shift to help you to really focus on the learning and gain as much as you can from the experience.
[00:02:01] Today we're going to explore what to do when you notice these signals or when you're in a moment. Quite often, it can be a moment of discomfort in terms of learning from a cultural perspective, and I call this process the pause process. The pause process provides a practical approach to responding effectively to cultural shift moments.
[00:02:25] Now, sometimes these might not. Seem like shift moments. It might seem like potential disaster moments because these moments might be when you realize something is going wrong. It might be you getting frustrated or angry with something that's happening, or it might be someone that seems to be violating one of your values.
[00:02:46] It might be a clash that you can see happening in your team and you realize you need to step in. It might be a potential crisis moment. You get the picture. It's a moment we need to pause and shift, so we will lean into our pause process. It's grounded in both research and practical wisdom from cultural intelligence, expert neuroscientists and cross-cultural practitioners, including many of our previous guests on this podcast. So let's explore what each letter in the Pause framework stands for and how you can apply it in your daily interactions.
[00:03:27] So pause starts with a P, and that P stands for physically center yourself. , Now, you might like to think of it as grounding. You might just like to think of calming. Sometimes, when these difficult moments happen, as we discussed in the last episode, you really notice it sometimes first in your body.
[00:03:51] You might feel hot, hot on your face or your head. You might feel tense in your throat or your jaw or chest. You might feel your heart racing. So the first step is to regulate your physiological response. We need to understand how our bodies respond to difficult situations and sometimes to cultural differences.
[00:04:14] Monique Toohey our psychologist from episode 20 explained how the body signals cultural discomfort.
[00:04:21] Monique: When we feel difference that can be, uh, felt by the body in different ways. So for some of us, yes, it can be felt as this is awesome. Mm-hmm. Like, I'm, I'm awake, I'm so curious about this difference. And for other people it can feel un uncomfortable. But that is the best feeling because if one takes that moment to reflect on why they're feeling uncomfortable. You, it's your body articulating a cultural difference here that you don't understand and don't have a name for.
[00:04:49] Trisha: It might be positive, but it might also be really uncomfortable. Either way, this physiological response happens automatically, but we can counter it by physically centering ourselves. Take three deep breaths. Inhale for four counts
[00:05:10] and exhale for six.
[00:05:17] As you do that, relax your facial muscles, lower your shoulders, and literally ground yourself by feeling your feet planted on the floor. And if you're in the middle of something and you can't take the space for three deep breaths, take one deep breath. Hold it for a moment.
[00:05:42] And then let it out.
[00:05:45] Mark Williams, our neuroscientist from episode eight recommended.
[00:05:50] Mark: So, you know, when you walk into a room, walk into the room and stop and breathe mm-hmm. And look around. Work out how you're feeling, um Yeah. Before you actually start interacting with people. 'cause if you just walk in, in a bluster, um, and it happens to be that there's everybody in there is from a different race mm-hmm.
[00:06:09] You are gonna have this physiological response. If you walk in slowly, and realize if you're having this physiological response and breathe deeply. And as, as you would know, by breathing deeply, we slow down our heart rate and we slow down all those. Yeah. Fight or flight response and so on.
[00:06:23] Trisha: So slowing down that heart rate fight or flight response that interrupts the stress response that you might be heading into. And what it does is it gives you a higher order thinking, a chance to engage, and in these moments, we really need that type of thinking rather than the automatic operating out of our standard processes type thinking.
[00:06:50] The A in the Pause framework stands for acknowledge what's happening.
[00:06:57] After centering physically, you need to internally recognize what's happening. You could name the sensation you're experiencing. I'm feeling tense. I'm feeling hot. I'm feeling confused. Label the emotion. I'm feeling surprised. I'm feeling defensive. I'm feeling angry. Even if it's a positive emotion, I'm feeling curiosity and intensity.
[00:07:24] It can help to identify what triggered the reaction. Perhaps it was a communication style or a cultural expectation. For a new realization that you weren't prepared for.
[00:07:36] Dawn Bryan, the Global leadership consultant in episode 17, shared her powerful experience of acknowledging a shift in her perspective.
[00:07:47] Dawn: And I realized, um, during this time of self-reflection, and actually I've been praying, right? So I was praying about situations and, and, and just this gentleness of, Dawn, you probably show up in a way that you don't wanna show up in a way that dismisses others that comes across as culturally superior that doesn't appreciate the beauty undervalues, the beauty, undervalues the value of certain things about Ethiopian culture.
[00:08:23] And I think I was gutted, But I, I likely needed to be,
[00:08:28] Trisha: Recognizing and naming these feelings is essential. Neuroscience research shows that the simple act of labeling emotions activates the prefrontal cortex and reduces amygdala activity, and that helps us shift from reactivity to thoughtfulness, but acknowledging doesn't mean reacting immediately based on those emotions. As Greg Dursley health and safety expert noted in episode 14.
[00:09:00] Greg: What is it at that point of time of an accident made somebody think that, what they were doing was safe and what, and was the right thing? Mm m Uh, and, and you can only, you can't know that by guessing. You can only know that by, um, making them feel comfortable that they can tell their truth.
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[00:09:20] Trisha: So we want to be able to hear that truth
[00:09:23] and U- stands for understand before responding. This is where. We might seek clarity before forming conclusions, perhaps before jumping to conclusions. As David Livermore, social scientist, author, and pioneer in the field of cultural intelligence, reminded us in episode four.
[00:09:45] David: I've used, uh, in both the episodes, uh, we've done together, I've used the word reflection several times and I do think that's something that's fairly concrete that people can relate to of how do I reflect on this?
[00:09:58] Trisha: So if you are reflecting. You might be asking yourself questions or even asking questions of the people to understand their perspectives. You might be listening fully rather than leaping to a response in the situation you are listening to learn. You might look for the cultural context, how things might be different, and explore those alternative interpretations and most importantly, suspend judgment. If you can hear some of those judgment words coming into your brain, stop them. Words like rude, wrong. David also mentioned a technique called the five whys.
[00:10:41] David: sort of that infamous Toyota principle that they used of five why's, you know, asking, you know, why is it that this individual was upset that I startled them? Okay, well why did that trigger kind of fear or why? Did they think that even though I am playful, that I, you still wasn't a safe person to let them know, please not do that, et cetera.
[00:11:01] Trisha: This method of asking why multiple times helps us dig deeper into understanding the root causes of reactions. Whether we are analyzing our own responses or trying to understand others, so we now have more understanding.
[00:11:17] S stands for shift perspectives intentionally. Now that we have more understanding, we can actively try to see the situation through different viewpoints. Dawn Bryan from episode 17 described this beautifully when she explained her leadership framework.
[00:11:33] Dawn: I think there is this awareness of what it's like to be somebody else.
[00:11:37] And as we think about leadership in an organization, maybe it comes down to the three big buckets that we talk about at the Kaleidoscope Group, and those are empathy. Vision and depth. And for the empathy part, thinking about the people in our teams of what is it like to be them? What are their experiences, what are their opportunities? What are their barriers? How are they feeling?
[00:11:59] Trisha: This perspective taking is conscious work. As you can hear, Monique Toohey in episode 20 discussed how this applies in her field of mental health.
[00:12:09] Monique: who do you the therapist need to be so your client brings their whole self into the room? Who do you need to be? And I think the answer is. Confident. Mm-hmm. Think confident to ask things around culture and religion and belief systems and non-dominant norms or family structures
[00:12:31] Trisha: So whether we are working in therapy, in leadership, or just in everyday interactions, intentionally shifting to see things from other cultural frames requires us to do some work. We might do some first person perspective taking, imagining the situation from the other's viewpoint as dawn described. We might think about different cultural values that might be driving the other people's approach and consider power dynamics that might be influencing the interaction that hadn't even occurred to us.
[00:13:04] So when we have more of the understanding, when we've got this sense of perspectives, then it's time to engage. That's the E in pause, and we engage authentically because now we are not just responding out of automatic responses.
[00:13:22] This doesn't mean that we simply adopt the other person's cultural practices. It means finding a thoughtful way to bridge differences while remaining true to yourself. As Dawn Bryan explained.
[00:13:36] Dawn: Sometimes that looks like going counter to your own culture. Yeah, exactly. And, and I can think of, you know, times where. You know, my, I'll just use my husband, um, who is incredibly humble and, uh, and maybe was, uh, demonstrating that in ways that weren't meaningful in the culture in which we were. And, and so, so what he meant as humility, uh, may not have been, you know, taken in that way.
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[00:14:03] Trisha: So engaging authentically means choosing whether to adapt, to explain, to inquire, or just to observe. It means using body language that communicates receptivity and openness and acknowledging differences while seeking common ground. You could share your viewpoint as one possibility, not a universal truth, and as always, remain flexible and adjusting based on the feedback you're getting as Monique reminded us.
[00:14:35] Monique: Perfection is not required. Sometimes repair is. We can maintain a relationship if you acknowledge that you've crossed something and step back and make repair
[00:14:45] Trisha: This pause process can be applied in many different contexts, professional settings, personal interactions, community events, travel experiences, and education settings. But like any skill, it takes some practice. Mark Williams reminds us.
[00:15:03] Mark: If we slow down mm-hmm. We'd actually get more done. Um, which would be actually most, more bene beneficial for us all. We'd all feel better, um, and we'd all relate to each other better.
[00:15:11] Trisha: By implementing the pause process. When you notice the shift signals, you can transform potentially challenging cultural encounters into opportunities for growth, connection, and deeper understanding. So again, the quick reference for the pause process, P-A-U-S-E is P physically center yourself with deep breathing and relaxing the tension you're feeling A acknowledging what's happening By naming sensations and emotions. U understand before responding by asking questions and listening fully. S shift perspectives intentionally through perspective taking e.
[00:16:04] Engage authentically by choosing an approach that balances cultural sensitivity with personal authenticity.
[00:16:13] Remember. The pause process isn't about suppressing your cultural perspective. It's about engaging more intentionally and effectively across cultural differences. I hope you find this framework helpful as you navigate your own cultural shift moments. I've created a downloadable guide to the process that will be available on our substack, and this guide includes the framework we've discussed today, to help you practice responding to cultural shift moments.
[00:16:43] As you go about your week, I invite you to notice when those shift signals arise, and try and apply the P-A-U-S-E process. I'd love to hear about your experiences. Please reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn if we aren't already connected.
[00:17:03] Thank you so much for being part of the shift today. These conversations become even more valuable when you share them with others. If today's discussion offered you practical insights, pass it along to someone in your network who's on their own cultural journey, and you can find us on your favorite podcast platform.
[00:17:20] Follow and subscribe and join us next week on the shift.
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