Originally published on Forbes in Mar 2025. This article has been republished here.
20 Best Practices For Building Culturally Competent Leadership Teams
In an increasingly global and interconnected world, a culturally competent leadership team isn’t just a reflection of values—it’s a competitive advantage. Leaders who understand and respect different cultural perspectives can develop strategies that reflect and resonate with the needs of a wide range of employees and clients.
To help, 20 Forbes Business Development Council members recommend their top strategies for cultivating cultural competence from the top. From prioritizing ongoing education to actively seeking diverse perspectives, these approaches can help you build a stronger, more adaptable leadership team.
1. Create A Transparent, Approachable Environment For Employees
The best way to develop culturally competent leadership is to create an environment where employees feel safe and trust their leadership. The focus must be on transparency and approachability. Open communication, regular feedback and consistent follow-through on promises build strong relationships and foster a culture of trust and competency. – Kris Talajic, Kubiya.ai
2. Invest In Continuous Learning
Invest in continuous learning about different cultures, communication styles and social dynamics. This will help leaders to become better equipped to navigate complex situations, make inclusive decisions and create a welcoming environment for employees and stakeholders from various backgrounds—which helps to foster collaboration, drive innovation and build trust amongst diverse teams. – Kim Poole, Clayco
3. Be Consistent And Strategic About Programming
One best practice for developing a culturally competent leadership team is to be consistent, strategic and intentional about implementing ongoing immersive education and training programs that emphasize self-awareness, empathy, operational excellence and actionable inclusion strategies. This shows a commitment to growth, accountability and adaptability, which are key traits of competent leadership. – Damien Howard, Grant Wagner
4. Engage With Communities Outside Of Work
It’s important for leadership to engage with communities outside of work, such as social or religious groups. These experiences broaden perspectives, build empathy and enhance cultural awareness. By immersing oneself in different environments, leaders gain valuable insights they can bring back to their teams, fostering inclusivity, collaboration and a deeper understanding of diverse viewpoints. – Jonathan Nikols, Verizon Business
5. Make Listening A Priority
Building a culturally competent leadership team starts with making listening a priority. It’s about taking the time to truly hear and understand others, being curious and admitting you don’t know everything. This kind of leadership builds trust, shows respect and strengthens the team by shaping decisions with a fuller understanding of the people they impact. – Ana Franco, KIO Data Centers
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6. Prioritize DEI Training
Prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training for leaders. DEI training builds awareness of unconscious bias, fosters inclusive communication and promotes understanding of diverse perspectives. This creates a culturally competent leadership team equipped to navigate today’s diverse workplace and drive organizational success. – Anoop Anthore, Cadalys Inc.
7. Foster Empathy And Cultural Intelligence
A best practice for developing a culturally competent leadership team is fostering empathy and cultural intelligence. Leaders who value diverse perspectives create inclusive environments that build trust and collaboration. Leaders create the vision, and teams bring it to life. Nurturing your team ensures alignment, development and empowerment, driving innovation and strengthening dynamics. – Curtis Brinkerhoff, Impartner, Inc.
8. Maintain Open Dialogues
A culturally competent leadership team thrives on open dialogue and continuous learning about cultural differences without focusing solely on diversity, equity and inclusion. Encouraging leaders to engage in meaningful conversations and embrace diverse perspectives builds empathy and respect, fostering a culture where leaders navigate diversity effectively and make inclusive decisions. – Matthew Buckingham, Focal Point
9. ‘Default To Public’
“Defaulting to public” is a key practice for building a culturally competent leadership team, especially in remote work environments. After every one-on-one or departmental sync, I make it a point to share my meeting notes with the entire organization. This practice encourages open dialogue and fosters a level of transparency and participation that might not occur otherwise. – Branden Abushanab, Prop Firm Match
10. Embed Diversity At Every Level
One best practice for developing a culturally competent leadership team is embedding diversity and inclusion at every level of the company. This involves fostering openness, conducting regular training and genuinely living these values daily. By “walking the talk” instead of just discussing it, leaders build trust, foster innovation and create a collaborative culture where everyone feels valued. – Anna Jankowska, RTB House
11. Rotate Leadership Roles
Setting up a process where there is an opportunity to rotate leadership roles to get exposure to different cultures would be very helpful. Experiencing nuances firsthand—including biases, decision-making approaches and prioritization—can have a tremendous impact at all levels of the organization. – Srinivas Vadhri, Kestone Integrated Marketing Solutions
12. Implement Reverse Mentoring Programs
A unique and effective way is the implementation of reverse mentoring programs, where leaders learn from employees representing different cultural backgrounds within the organization. This not only fosters cross-cultural understanding but also breaks down stereotypes, offering deeper insights into the values, expectations and behaviors of both employees and clients from diverse cultural contexts. – Dima Raketa, Reputation House
13. Create ‘Cultural Crucibles’
Culture isn’t trained; it’s stress-tested. The most effective practice I’ve seen is creating “cultural crucibles”—deliberately structured scenarios where leadership teams must solve high-stakes problems across cultural contexts. Like a flight simulator for cultural intelligence, these experiences reveal blindspots far better than any workshop. – Sidharth Ramsinghaney, TWILIO
14. Strive For Equal Representation
Diversity is key. Equal representation of genders, age groups, cultures and ethnicities will bring diverse ideas and angles to the leadership team and make it more sustainable. Providing regular diversity and inclusion training will also foster awareness of biases and enhance cross-cultural communication, enabling leaders to drive innovation and team cohesion. – Egle Pavyde, hVIVO PLC
15. Conduct An Inclusive Language Audit
Doing an inclusive language audit involves training leaders to review company communication, policies and interactions to ensure language is inclusive and culturally respectful. For example, replacing phrases like “manpower” with “workforce” promotes inclusivity. This process helps leaders remain mindful of their language, creating a welcoming and respectful workplace. – Bryce Welker, The CPA Exam Guy
16. Practice Radical Honesty
Practicing “radical honesty”—or caring deeply and feedback constructively—as a leader can help create a sense of psychological safety within your team. This helps drive a culture where the team feels culturally competent to take on new challenges and not afraid to fail. – Pradeepa Kolli, LHH (The Adecco Group)
17. Provide Emerging Leaders With Varied Opportunities
Leadership—like most things in life—is a skill that is developed based on exposure and experience. Once you have identified an emerging leader or group of leaders, provide them the opportunity to make decisions in all areas, including cultural competency, so they come out well-rounded. – Mustansir Paliwala, Zomara Group
18. Align Goals With DEI Objectives
As a practice, aligning organizational goals with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) objectives ensures that DEI is integrated into the company’s mission, strategy and operations. Embedding DEI metrics into leadership development, hiring and performance evaluations attracts diverse talent, improves employee engagement, promotes inclusivity, broadens market reach and drives growth. – Salice Thomas, Wipro Limited
19. Hire Intentionally
Intentional hiring practices are essential, including bringing diverse voices to any team. If a leader looks around a C-suite meeting and everyone looks the same, that’s an issue because the company is culturally insular and narrow in its view. Therefore, going above and beyond to reach different voices in hiring is essential. – Wayne Elsey, The Funds2Orgs Group
20. Foster Open Communication And Take Ownership Of Culture
One best practice would be to create communication channels that allow for openness and inclusivity. The leadership must also be seen taking ownership of building the right culture across the organization. – Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, MTN NIGERIA COMM PLC
