How to Increase Cultural Intelligence to Better Connect with Clients with Stephanie J. Lee [Ep33]
Updated: Jul 8
Welcome to episode 33 of The Innovating Advice Show.
I’m joined by Stephanie Lee, Founder of East Rock Financial Services in California.
If you like smiling and making eye contact, how do you react if a client doesn’t smile or make eye contact? If they interrupt you, does that feel rude?
In this episode, we’re talking about cultural intelligence and how to understand different values and behaviors in financial planning – which is the title of a great talk that Stephanie gives.
She shares with us what culture means – which is far broader than ethnic and national cultures; how to select the right communication techniques with clients; and how to be open minded and curious when working with people from various cultures and backgrounds.
Resources
Guest Bio
Stephanie Lee, CFP®, founded East Rock Financial Services in 2008. In a prior career she worked with clients in 17 countries. Stephanie volunteers on a nonprofit board to improve K-12 financial literacy. She is a jazz bassist and rock violinist who votes on the Grammy Awards. She has been quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC.
Timestamps
00:20 – Introducing Stephanie Lee
02:12 – What culture means
03:30 – Dissecting culture along different spectra of behaviours
05:44 – The importance of cultural intelligence
07:55 – Stephanie’s cultural background
12:37 – The importance of non-verbal communication: what smiling means in different cultures
15:36 – Mirroring your client’s behaviour
17:12 – Book Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, by Kenji Yoshino
18:20 – Wait vs Interrupt culture
19:58 – Allowing space for people to speak
21:35 – Examples of cultural taboos
23:22 – Talking about death with clients of different cultures
28:30 – Talking about illness
29:46 – Individualist vs Collectivist cultures: analyzing the Thailand soccer boy’s cave rescue
35:57 – The way different cultures are handling the coronavirus
37:42 – How to contact Stephanie to have her present to your company or group on cultural intelligence
38:25 – Nothing matters more than human connection: finding ways to connect with others whose background is different than yours