Dexterity

                 As humans, we all strive to be perfect as we can and unknowing make numerous errors. The process continues in a complete cycle and we learn, this tendency to attain perfection, being flawless and skillful in every sense is Dexterity. It could be the sleight of hand with which a person plays tennis or just the skill with which a manager plans & controls an operation. It is a normal tendency to accomplish self-actualization; it will not be possible without Dexterity set deep within your personality. The word Dexterity does not necessarily apply to a person who is ultimately without any errors, it is about how you deliver what is expected and make the errors sound beneficial to the situation skilfully. Being skillful does not limit a person at any  regional or an organizational level, I have always felt  that one has the right to be accepted worldwide and for this a person that does not have to be a chameleon ,forgetting all his cultural sensitivities & ethics.

               It was because of this word that I picked up the book “Global Dexterity” of Harvard Book Publishing by the author Dr.Andy Molinsky .The inspiration came from his father, a lecturer at Boston University who had once invited his students with their own cuisines, when the author walked into the hall he saw the diversity at every level & yet everything  in perfect synchronization. He later realized that knowing is not everything, there is a serious gap between what one has communicated about cross-cultural management & what people actually struggle with, facing the problem on field will require training and he trained the Russian Soviets to prepare for interviews in the States. He found that they were extremely talented but failed at fitting-in within an American organization. The book essentially highlights that how one can survive a foreign culture without losing yourself in the process. We have insatiable demands, we want to have the best of both worlds & this nature does not change even when we settle down in a foreign land. One might even bear the burden of pretension for a long time but not at a healthy cost, the author promotes the idea of “Fitting-in without giving-in”. The phrase itself holds an intensity which is inspirational, saying, yes, there is a way to escape pretension, there is a way to not lose an opportunity that would turn your career into a gold mine even if you are from a different race.

       The author has emphasized on the nuances of the situations using a 6D evaluation model enthusiasm, directness,formality,assertiveness,self-promotion & personal disclosure. As business becomes more global every day, the practical advice in the book couldn’t be more timely or useful. Molinsky insists, it is not just knowledge about the cultural differences that we need, it is the ability to adapt one's behaviour in the light of these differences. The most likeable part is that the author makes the reader realize that it is his choice to adapt to a foreign setting, touching upon our core ethics we most often cling on to.
                  Finally global dexterity cannot be compared to an actor performing a play as the audience knows that it is pretension and the author will go back to being himself after a while, it is similar to shopping for a perfect suit wearing which he can best express himself yet with a tint of what is expected of him.