- After a great week at FMX – Film & Media Exchange, as Creative Team Designer, I’m obsessed with this question.
THESIS
Westerners (USA/Europe) often moan that Indian teams aren’t “loyal” enough. We see the talents and the capacities, less of the “got-your-back” spirit.
Now, I’m a human mixtape between France, Germany and Canada and this is me trying to figure out if I’ve been part of the problem.
I really want a reality check from those of you who grew up in India.
Seriously, roast this. Tell me where I’m being off.
ANTITHESIS
Is this “loyalty gap” just us, Westerners, being kinda clueless and a bit arrogant with our own ways?
Are we just lazy? We expect Indians to “get” our super-direct, task-obsessed style, but how much effort do we put into understanding that in India:
“the relationship often is THE business.”
That “long lunch” isn’t waisted time; it’s where the trust that makes people want to go the extra mile, gets built.
We’re talking heart-level connection, not just “they delivered on time” type.
Is our “clarity” just confusing?
We love our blunt, “say-it-like-it-is” emails. But in India, it seems hugely high-context, meaning they are masters of nuance.
Is our “clear instruction” actually missing most of their communication cues?
Does our “yes” mean the same as their “yes”? (Spoiler: NO!)
Do we bulldoze harmony?
We think a good debate is “constructive” but in a culture that values group harmony and “saving face”, does our “cut the crap” approach just make people shut down or, worse, feel disrespected?
SYNTHESIS
This so-called “loyalty gap”?
I’m starting to think it’s often a direct reflection of our (Western) failure to show “cultural empathy”.
If we don’t put in the real work to build actual human connections, understand the communication playbook, and respect the way for things like hierarchy and disagreement, etc, then…
…we’re basically just asking for a “transactional relationship”.
And then we act surprised when that’s what we get.
If we want true partners who are loyal because a connection is built, not just because a contract says so, maybe the first and biggest step is for us to stop being rigid, get a little uncomfortable, and genuinely invest in that “Culture Empathy”.
So, to my Linkedin contacts who grew up in India: Please roast me!
Where am I off the mark?
What’s the stuff that really makes you sigh when dealing with us Western business types?
Share your truth.
PS:
To balance out the vendor paradigm, Smart Indian companies, like VFX PICK (was awesome connecting with Praveen Kumar at a Visual Effects Society lunch!), are clearly already in another conversation 🙂
For those with FMX pass, check their talk in VOD here: https://lnkd.in/eumuu3fi
PS2:
Map is coming from Erin Meyer‘s great website: https://lnkd.in/eEsMEwrg
