I expected cultural differences, what I found was something else
This week, I’m working on an employee engagement session for the U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese company. As I was preparing, I found myself reflecting on a question that comes up often in my work: how different is employee engagement in a global organization compared to a local one?
At first glance, it seems like the answer should be "very different." Culture influences how people communicate, what they expect from leaders, how decisions are made, and even how comfortable employees are expressing their opinions. Anyone who has worked across countries knows that what works in one location may not automatically work in another.
Having spent many years working in Japan with Deloitte and now with Japanese companies in the US through JCO, I've seen these differences firsthand.
A discussion about leadership, feedback, or recognition can unfold very differently depending on the audience. It's one of the reasons global organizations need to be thoughtful about local context rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach.
But as I continued preparing for the session, I found myself focusing less on the differences and more on what seems to be universal.
Regardless of geography, people want to understand how their work contributes to something meaningful. They want opportunities to learn and grow. They want to feel respected by their managers and colleagues, and they want to know that their voice matters. The way those needs are expressed may vary from culture to culture, but the needs themselves seem remarkably consistent.
This reflection brought me back to my time at GLOBIS MBA School in Tokyo. One of the most rewarding aspects of the program was learning alongside classmates from sixteen different countries. We came from different cultures, industries, and professional backgrounds, and our discussions often highlighted very different ways of approaching the same challenge.
Interestingly, the longer we studied together, the more I noticed that our conversations about leadership, teamwork, motivation, and organizational culture often converged on similar themes. While our experiences shaped our perspectives, there was a shared understanding that people do their best work when they feel trusted, connected, and able to contribute.
Facilitating this recent engagement session reminded me of that lesson. In global organizations, it's important to understand and respect cultural differences. At the same time, it's equally important not to lose sight of the common human experiences that connect us.
Perhaps that's one of the biggest things I've learned from living and working in Japan. The more time I spend working across cultures, the less I see engagement as a "Japanese issue," an "American issue," or a "global issue." Instead, I see it as a people issue. Context matters, culture matters, but at the heart of employee engagement is something much simpler: people wanting to feel that they belong and that their contribution makes a difference.
What have you learned about employee engagement from working in a global team?
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