“They are just very blunt.”

“They are being evasive.”

“They don’t seem to have an opinion.”

I hear these complaints every week from leaders managing international teams. They assume the problem is English fluency. They think if their team just had a better vocabulary, the friction would disappear.

It’s a trap. You aren’t experiencing a language gap; you are experiencing a Communication Style gap.

In my twenty years coaching international management, I’ve seen this play out in two distinct ways:

1. 𝗟𝗼𝘄-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 (e.g., UK, USA, Germany): We say what we mean. “No” means “No.” Feedback is direct. If the language is precise, we assume the message is clear.
2. 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 (e.g., Spain, Japan, Brazil): The meaning is in the relationship and the environment. A “Yes” might actually mean “I heard you, but I don’t agree.”

My job isn’t to teach more adjectives. It’s to show the whole team how to calibrate.

Fluency without Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is dangerous. If you don’t understand the “unspoken rules” of the person across from you, your perfect English is just a loud way of being wrong.

Stop blaming the language. Start decoding the culture.

The most successful global leaders aren’t the ones with the biggest vocabulary; they are the ones who can translate intent, not just words.