Collaborating Across Disparate Global Perspectives

I led a project with team members from Tokyo, London, and New York. We hit a bottleneck because the New York members were very assertive in brainstorms, while the Tokyo members were more reserved, leading to a feeling that we weren't leveraging all our expertise. I realized this wasn't a lack of ideas, but a difference in communication norms regarding hierarchy and 'speaking up.' To fix this, I changed our meeting structure. We moved from open-floor debates to a 'silent brainstorming' phase where everyone contributed ideas to a shared digital board anonymously before we discussed them. I also held 1-on-1s with the Tokyo team to understand their perspectives in a less high-pressure setting. This 'Inclusion by Design' approach led to a breakthrough in our supply chain model that the New York team hadn't considered. It taught me that global collaboration requires more than just a shared language; it requires active structural changes to ensure 'equitable airtime.' At BCG, I will champion these inclusive practices to ensure our global diversity translates into a competitive advantage for our clients.