As we talk about international business, M&A activities, learning cross-culture ways, joint ventures, collaboration through different sectors which led to a new field- intercultural activities. The cultures got clustered into different dimensions.
People got clustered as per different cultures. The geographies got mapped as per different cultures, languages and helping researchers to work out a pattern so that people from different geographies can come and work in a healthy or inapproachable.
But what about exceptions? Yes, we are brought up with different backgrounds, societies, and mindsets. But, there is an early concept known as an adaptation as per your habitat. The moment you change your surroundings, you need to adapt as per the requirements. It is really difficult but your body, emotionally and mentally you try to adapt, so they can fit into a new dimension or you wither.
We start using cultures and different aspects to learn new stuff and try to get accepted by giving culture as an excuse. But what about MBTI personality? What about them? Myers and Briggs’s type indicated, 16 different personality types irrespective of any culture. So, two of the personality, INFJ, and INTJ have been typed as rare personalities.
Ironically, they may be, but how do they survive the cultural introspective? As per the MBTI guide, INFJ’s are the introverts of the extroverts. They don’t like small talk but when you meet them, they are friendly.
Now, Germans or most of the Nordic countries are typed as a closed culture and don’t like small talk but Asians don’t have a problem with small talk, and they are used to crowded places. So, how a business person from Germany or any of the Nordic countries can professionally work with a person from Asia who got an INFJ personality?
As most of the companies, they like to train the individuals as per the cultural dimensions but here you just meet someone who resembles something with your own culture. So, who is at fault over here? Who should be misunderstood?
Who is wrong here?
The person who created the cultural dimension or the person who is born in a different culture but patterns resembling some other culture?
Now if we say, a person with INTJ or INFJ has gone to one of these countries to work, so how they socially are perceived? They have changed? Are they adapting? They are trying to be like us? How do they get the acknowledgment from the companies they will be working with?
For the people with such personalities, it’s normal to have a life they are leading but suddenly the cultural dimension makes them question, are they alien, or they were just misunderstood?
But do you think they need special attention?
I don’t think so, but maybe an acceptance that sometimes cultures don’t define someone’s personality. Sometimes people coming from different cultures or geographies need their space and acceptance that they do support you and like to be a part of the so-called human-made world.
The world is not flat was discovered by someone who had curiosity in itself to know something is bigger than himself.