Bicultural Leaders – The Ultimate Guide

Why the Ultimate Guide is important for Bicultural Leaders? 

The Ultimate Guide describes the 6 unique and non-obvious skills that bicultural executives, leaders, managers, and up-and-coming talent need to apply so they can achieve peak performance. This guide is for foreign-born leaders who are looking for advancing their career and promotion goals. According to the 2020 US Census, bicultural individuals such as Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing racial groups in the US. Bicultural individuals also include foreign-born individuals who are Mexican Americans, Indian Americans, Philippine Americans, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Dominican Americans, among others. Applying the 6 skills in this Ultimate Guide is the first step to unleash the bicultural leadership skills in you to make tangible contributions in organizations.

Developing The Ultimate Guide from Tested Bicultural Skills, Experience and Education

I developed this Ultimate Guide while integrating: (1) my own bicultural skills application at work, (2) my 32 years of leadership experience, and (3) my PhD level education with research focused on Bicultural Leadership. First, I became a bicultural individual. I was born in Puerto Rico, so this is my culture of origin. I left Puerto Rico and came to the US 32 years ago to serve in the military while performing in a leadership position from day one. I learned and integrated myself into the US culture while simultaneously maintaining my Hispanic culture. This enabled me to become a bicultural individual in a leadership position: a bicultural leader. Second, I became bilingual. I spoke Spanish in Puerto Rico; however, I also learned English as a second language. 

Third, I made the conscious decision to perceive both my Hispanic culture and my US culture as integrated, compatible, and complementary. Last, I applied my bicultural skills described in this Ultimate Guide, which enabled me to achieve peak performance. I integrated my bicultural skills into my leadership approach while serving in the military for 25 years. My bicultural skills became instrumental while leading multicultural teams in complex, ambiguous and many times dangerous environments. Multicultural teams are organizational teams composed of three or more team members, representing two or more countries. These bicultural skills also enabled me to become a Director of Global Finance Operations, Certified Executive Coach, Faculty Member, and Guest Speaker, among others.

Moreover, this guide also integrated my PhD level education, which was focused on Bicultural Leadership. My Bicultural Leadership education is grounded in research related to International Management, Cross-Cultural Psychology, and Cross-Cultural Management. This Ultimate Guide is intended to assist foreign-born professionals as studies have shown that bicultural leaders have the ability to manage the diverse workforce, enhance creativity in teams, effectively mediate conflicts, and lead organizational transformations, if they can learn and apply their 6 unique and non-obvious bicultural skills. This guide represents the validated and tested application of bicultural skills while leading multicultural teams in complex and ambiguous organizational environments.

As the fastest growing racial group in the US, bicultural executives, leaders, managers, and up-and-coming talent are on the path to be the new breed of leaders in organizations. Foreign-born leaders have a tremendous opportunity to advance their career and promotion goals, if they implement the bicultural skills described in this Ultimate Guide. Rising to the top of their organizations will require that bicultural leaders implement the following 6 unique and non-obvious skills: (1) Low Need for Cognitive Closure, (2) Integrated Acculturation Strategy, (3) High Bicultural Identity Integration, (4) Non-Essentialist Ideology, (5) Foreign Multicultural Experience, and (6) the Ability to Speak Two or More Languages.

Bicultural Leaders: 6 Unique and Non-Obvious Skills

1. Low Need For Cognitive Closure (NFCC)

Bicultural leaders need to have low Need for Cognitive Closure (NFCC). At work, bicultural leaders face complex and ambiguous organizational environments. NFCC is the individual’s desire for firm answers to questions in order to avoid ambiguity. Bicultural leaders with low NFCC have demonstrated the ability to make judgments and decisions using a bottom-up perception process with their multicultural teams. This enables these leaders to have the ability to simultaneously recruit ideas and opinions from individuals representing different cultures.

As a bicultural leader, I have applied my low NFCC skills at work, which have enabled me to make decisions on ambiguous issues after I have simultaneously recruited, considered and juxtaposed the non-overlapping and divergent perspectives, ideas, and opinions from my multicultural team members. Having low NFCC has been critical for achieving peak leadership performance while leading global organizational transformations.

However, there are some negative implications in the workplace for bicultural leaders who demonstrate a high NFCC. Those who have high NFCC have demonstrated the need for reaching decisions on ambiguous issues and sticking to their decisions without considering other alternatives. This sometimes leads to individuals’ early freezing of initial judgments. Bicultural leaders with high NFCC are more motivated to follow their cultural conventions and norms who they were brought up. This makes these leaders less likely to receive ideas from individuals from other cultures. 

2. Integrated Acculturation Strategy 

Bicultural leaders who have the highest potential to effectively manage the growing diverse workforce in organizations have demonstrated an integrated acculturation strategy. However, there are large variations on how bicultural leaders are able to manage their two internalized cultures, which includes (1) their culture of origin and (2) their new culture. For example, I was born in Puerto Rico, so this is my culture of origin. Then I came to the US where I learned a new culture. As bicultural individuals, we must determine which acculturation strategy we are going to use to manage our two internalized cultures. These acculturation strategies for managing our two internalized cultures focus on two critical cultural issues: (a) our level of motivation to continue to identify and stay involve with our culture of origin and (b) our level of motivation to identify and participate in our new culture. 

My Bicultural Leadership studies identified research that showed 4 acculturation strategies: (1) assimilation, (2) separation, (3) marginalization and (4) integration. The assimilation acculturation strategy consisted of individuals identifying themselves mostly with their new culture. The separation acculturation strategy consisted of individuals identifying themselves mostly with their culture of origin. The marginalization acculturation strategy consisted of individuals demonstrating low identification with both their culture of origin and their new culture. However, the integration acculturation strategy consisted of individuals identifying themselves with both their culture of origin and their new culture.

As a bicultural leader, I decided to adopt the integrated acculturation strategy. I perceive my culture of origin from Puerto Rico as well as my new culture from the US as compatible and integrated. I decided to maintain my culture from Puerto Rico while adopting the US culture. This have enabled me to enhance my ability to comfortable switch between my two internalized cultures. This is critical for achieving peak performance while making tangible contributions to my organizations. 

However, bicultural leaders who adopted the assimilation, separation or marginalization acculturation strategy may struggle while trying to make contributions to organizations. These bicultural leaders have demonstrated tension between their culture of origin and their new culture. They may respond in cultural incongruent ways during cultural interactions in the workplace. This may trigger higher level of conflicts as well as negative organizational work environments.

3. High Bicultural Identity Integration (BII)

Bicultural leaders who have adopted a high Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) have demonstrated more positive and effective interactions with individuals from different cultures at work. BII is the individual’s ability to perceive their culture of origin and their new culture as compatible and complementary. As a bicultural, I decided to perceive my Hispanic culture and my US culture as integrated and compatible, so I have a high BII. My high BII have enabled me to have low levels of interpersonal conflicts while managing individuals in multicultural teams. Having high BII also enabled me to have cognitive, emotional and behavior flexibility and adaptability. 

• Cognitive Flexibility and Adaptability: research has demonstrated that bicultural leaders with extensive foreign multicultural experience abroad tend to have high BII. During my military career, I spent over 10 years abroad in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, among others. I also had the opportunity to work closely with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition partners, representing over 20 countries. The NATO coalition included representatives from Spain, France, Belgium, Australia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and United Kingdom, among others. I developed a high BII as I was abroad for an extensive period of time while constantly being exposed to many different cultural ways of thinking. This constant access to different cultural ways of thinking enabled me to develop a more flexible and unconstrained way of thinking, improving my ability to simultaneously recruit ideas and opinions from individuals across cultures, which supports the process for enhancing creativity in teams. 

• Emotional Flexibility and Adaptability: studies have shown that bicultural leaders with high BII are able to regulate their emotions. My high BII have enabled me to regulate my emotions while continuous being exposed to my two internalized cultural aspects of emotional differences. On a daily basis, I’m continuous being exposed to: (1) my Hispanic cultural aspects of emotional differences, and (2) my US cultural aspects of emotional differences. My emotional flexibility and adaptability have enabled me to enhance my awareness for attending multicultural team members’ reactions as well as judging their emotions. This is important as according to research, different cultures have different ways to draw out, experience, regulate and judge emotions such as anger, joy, shame, guilt, among others. It is important to recognize that bicultural leaders who do not have the ability to judge team member’s emotions may trigger conflicts during cultural interactions, which may create a negative work environment.

• Behavior Flexibility and Adaptability: research have demonstrated that bicultural leaders with high BII have access to multiple behavioral scripts that are consistent with their culture of origin and their new culture. I’m a behavioral ambidextrous as I’m able to display behaviors that are culturally consistent with my Hispanic culture as well as my US culture. This has enabled me to understand my multicultural team members’ intentions while responding and adapting fluidly during our cultural interactions. This is critical for enabling a supporting and positive work environment, which encourages individuals from different cultures to share their ideas, opinions and skills for achieving strategic organizational goals.

4. Non-Essentialist Ideology

Bicultural leaders need to have a non-essentialist ideology in order to have the highest potential for making tangible contributions in organizations. According to research, the endorsement of the essentialist theory of race over the non-essentialist theory of race influenced social judgment and intergroup perceptions. Bicultural leaders who endorsed the non-essentialist theory of race believes that racial divisions are dynamically affected by the psychological states of the person in a given context and hence alterable as these are mainly caused by sociopolitical factors. These individuals did not assume that race was a stable and enduring entity. 

My non-essentialist ideology supports my Cultural Frame Switching (CFS) process. CFS enables me to transition between my Hispanic culture and my US culture. As a bicultural individual, I fluidly transition between my Hispanic culture and my US culture more than a dozen times daily. CFS requires me to have specific knowledge about both my cultural of origin and my new culture. Through frequent cultural frame switching, I enhanced my ability to regulate my behaviors as well as my verbal and non-verbal cross-cultural communication skills.  

However, individuals who endorsed the essentialist theory of race believe in outer appearance, considered that race was biological based, and that racial grouping was historically constant and could not be changed. These individuals assumed that race is stable and enduring entity. The endorsement of the essentialist theory of race is associated with justification of social inequalities and endorsement of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against minority groups. Bicultural leaders who are essentialist tend to regard their culture of origin and their new culture as separate entities, responding to cultural cues in an incompatible manner, which tends to increase conflicts during cultural interactions in the workplace.

5. Foreign Multicultural Experience

It is beneficial for bicultural leaders to have at least two years of foreign multicultural experience, working abroad with cultures other than their own. This facilitates the process of unlocking individual’s established cultural expectations and being aware of other cultures. This extensive foreign multicultural experience enables bicultural leaders to see that cultural systems are not absolutes; therefore, they are more open to individuals from different cultures. This process enables them to unfreeze their pass assumptions while developing a more unconstrained way of thinking.

Foreign multicultural experience abroad improves individuals’ ability to enhance creativity as it increases individuals’ willingness to seek and accept different ideas and opinions from individuals across cultures. Foreign multicultural experience plays a role when bicultural leaders deeply emerge themselves in foreign countries and actively think and understand as well as compare and contrast the differences between cultures. Foreign multicultural experience has the potential for creating a cognitive resource for creative thinking. Extensive multicultural experience is associated with the tendency to recruit ideas from individuals across cultures as part of the process for enhancing creativity in teams.

However, foreign multicultural experience may not increase creativity when bicultural individuals are cultural enclosed within their dominant values of their home countries, expressing their values more strongly than their counterparts living in their home countries. Being cultural enclosed within dominant values of individuals’ home country was reflected on individuals who have adopted a separation acculturation strategy where people identified themselves mostly with their culture of origin.

6. Ability to Speak 2 or More Language 

Many bicultural leaders have the ability to speak two or more languages. Language influenced the teams’ process of increasing communication effectiveness. Cross-cultural communication requires knowledge of languages. Bicultural leaders who are also bilingual, or multilingual, are able to interpret and facilitate conversations with team members from different cultures. This enables them to decrease the level of uncertainty and anxiety during interpersonal interactions while increasing the level of trust. Bicultural leaders who are bilingual can decrease team members’ language barriers while building relationships and trust.

I’m a bicultural leader who is also bilingual. My ability to speak both Spanish and English enhances my Cultural Frame Switching as I continuously transition between my Hispanic culture and my US culture, which includes the switching of social scripts as well as language. Bicultural leaders who also speak several languages tend to have a better interaction across cultures since language is one of the most identifiable markers of identity for team members. Team members from different cultures may be more willing to interact with bicultural leaders who speak their language as cultural lingo is used to express ethnic identity.

Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

The Ultimate Guide presented the 6 unique and non-obvious skills that bicultural executives, leaders, managers, and up-and-coming talent need to apply in their workplace so they can advance their career and promotion goals. Today, bicultural individuals are the fastest growing racial groups in the US. Now is the time for Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans to unleash their bicultural skills and rise to the top of their organizations. Now is the time for foreign-born leaders who are Mexican Americans, Indian Americans, Philippine American, Korean Americans, Vietnamese American, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Dominican Americans, among other bicultural leaders, to enhance their abilities by applying the 6 bicultural skills described in this Ultimate Guide. If you need assistance with unleashing your bicultural skills, I am the bicultural leadership coach for you.