#YouWillBeAssimilated

We were joking earlier this week about this expression and how I’m being assimilated into the AGT Netherlands office.  This was a direct result of my attempts to integrate myself into the NL office by offering to pick up coffee for my colleagues.  Keep in mind, picking up coffee here is a bit more complicated than it sounds.  It often requires a coffee carrier, a notepad and pen, multiple assistants, and an advanced degree.

All joking aside though, this really got me to thinking about assimilation.  Actually, it got me thinking about acculturation.  To explain, assimilation is the process where a person absorbs another community or culture’s aspects until their own culture is significantly mitigated or lost.  Acculturation is the process where a person adapts to another culture without losing their own traditions and customs.  So just to make sure we’re on the same page, I’m actually attempting to acculturate.

Okay, enough of the nerdy lesson in culture.  Sorry about that, but I’m just really interested in this kind of thing.  You’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to.  This week I was able to do a lot of things, many of which really helped in my acculturation:

• I got to spend more time with my friend Carine in Utrecht and her adorable three year old twins.  I’m proud to say that after living here for a month (and really trying to learn the language), my Dutch language skills have advanced to that of a toddler.  Small victories.
• I had the honor of attending our colleague Cherish’s wedding, which was an amazing and beautiful event.
• I attended my first Dutch soccer match (ADO Den Haag v. Feyenoord) with another colleague Wim and his son.  It was an awesome match, and I’m happy to report that ADO Den Haag won!  Again, small victories.
• After the soccer match, Wim took us on a tour of Rotterdam, seeing old Rotterdam (the location where the pilgrims actually departed to come to America) and new Rotterdam (the funky Erasmus Bridge area).  Rotterdam is a fascinating city.  It’s full of history, and much of its dichotomy is due to the WWII bombing on 14 May 1940.  A large section of the city was completely leveled, which is why part of the city is so ultra-modern.  This combination has now become part of Rotterdam’s identity.

All of these events (family, wedding, pastimes, history) really drove home how every interaction we have is an opportunity to acculturate.  And every interaction we have with people is an opportunity to create culture.

So back to work.  Or rather, back to corporate culture.  All this has me thinking a lot about our AGT corporate culture and specifically our “I AM AGT” initiative.  To quote Norbert’s article, “Every time we meet with a customer, answer a call, troubleshoot software, build a computer, or perform infrastructure changes – every time we carry out any job function -- we represent AGT.”

In short, we’re all responsible for creating our AGT culture.  Every day.  With every interaction.  So how can we globally acculturate more in AGT?

• Take time to get to know our colleagues.  If you’re in the Netherlands, this is easily accomplished via coffee and lunch.  How do other locations do this? 

• Take point on projects and issues.  Really own them.  Show our customers that we’re taking care of them in a way that only you can.
• Learn other expressions and customs.  Start and/or end meetings with a simple greeting in the local language.  Another easy thing that I like to do is sign emails to global colleagues with “thank you” in their language.  Google translate is your friend. 
• Find out important days/history and acknowledge them.  Similar to how learning the history of Rotterdam helped me appreciate it more, the more you know about a person’s holidays, important days, and history will can help you understand and appreciate them more. 

• Use social media and other creative outlets.  Linked in sends you birthday and anniversary reminders of colleagues.  For an interesting perspective and global updates, track Aegon and Transamerica on Facebook.  For example, Aegon recently posted this AWESOME video on Facebook which I just love.  And it even features some of our very own AGT employees!

 

So how are you creating a culture you want to be a part of?  Share your ideas below.