My experiences here have been overwhelmingly positive - but if I were to be hyper-critical and find a nit to pick, then that nit would be team work. While we all knew before we started out that the group of people here represented a mishmash of countries, cultures, age ranges, experiences and job functions, what took me a bit unawares were the diversity of viewpoints on any given topic.
Much of the difference of opinions between the team could be directly traced to a cultural or country-specific "tic" - for instance, the style of asking questions - but what I assumed to be inviolable axioms of professional conduct (for example, being on time and remembering clients' and coworkers' names) turn out to be open to personal interpretation as well. Each team acts as a self-managed unit, with no assigned leader - and "rule by consensus" is much harder that "rule by decree". Differences in language, mannerisms and communication styles seem to get amplified, as we have been doing an intense amount of working and socializing with no prior acclimatization period. Many of the team have no prior experience providing consulting services to clients, so what appears glaringly obvious to me does not appear at all obvious to them, and this frustrates me sometimes.
I consider this an opportunity to get used to working with such a diverse bunch of people, and learn to be patient, listen and not shoot off my mouth at the first chance. But it sure ain't easy !
#ibmcsc brazil
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