How Culture Supports You in Your Career Path?

Have you ever wondered that how your country of origin, your culture and the society you grew up in might support you, gives you a potential to success in certain careers you choose? Have you wondered where are certain skills you have are coming from?

If you have, then that`s wonderful, as until now I have not really.

I attempt to write this short article just for the purpose to express my recent thoughts and add to the public for further discussion, hoping to receive your thoughts, ideas and perhaps recommendations of useful books and others in this topic.

I have a very fresh experience coming from a school class just had this week in the topic of exploring the Core Competencies of a Professional Coach. We have been exploring Core Competency: 5. Active Listening 6. Powerful Questioning and 7. Direct Communication.

Since I have moved to the UK my direct communication style has always been a kind of issue for me, which I have never thought to be an issue in my country as that`s the natural and normal there. Therefore, I felt the need to refine it to be able to adapt to the different communication style this Country has. I am now more embedded to the cultural norm, especially through my awareness of it, yet I feel like deep inside I have not changed much.

Hungarians are known as having a direct communication style, indeed very direct, which was obviously natural to me and I have never thought that this can be a thing or even something advantageous, even the opposite as I said it in the previous paragraph.

So while we been exploring direct communication in the context of a coach`s core competency and practicing it through role plays, I got some very positive feedback about my direct communication style. Moreover, not just about communication style but also about my active listening skills, so can it be then also a Hungarian thing?

After all, I obviously left the class feeling positive and fortunate about my natural skills supporting me in my career path, which could be coming from my unique personal characteristic, but it could be also coming from my cultural embeddedness. I feel that this is an amazing opportunity for everyone to get to know their cultural uniqueness, which can led to choose maybe easier and be more confident in certain career paths, giving the potential to fulfillment and success.

I am more than curious, that what is your uniqueness? What are your experiences, insights or thoughts about this?