By cultural effectiveness, we mean the ability to respond to, affirm, and value people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions in ways that protect and preserve their dignity.
Many members are committed to acting with cultural sensitivity and are skillful at it. But being culturally effective is something we do not want to leave to chance. We need to take an active and explicit role in community entry. We want to ensure members are cross culturally respectful and adept at working with other cultures.
Take a minute to reflect on what we mean by "cultural effectiveness." Click and drag the following phrases into the Effective or Ineffective category.
What does cultural effectiveness look like?
| Culturally Effective | Culturally Ineffective |
| Practice listening and observing | Talk before listening |
| Recruit a cultural guide or coach | Spend a week learning, then get to work |
| Commit to learning about the visible and less visible aspects of a culture | Never apologize |
| Wait, ask permission | Demand |
| Focus first on strengths and assets | Focus first on challenges and problems |
| Learn from your mistakes | Never make mistakes |
Two resources to help coach members through their community entry are:
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