How overcoming language barriers grows us as leaders
Effective communication is essential for leadership and vital for anyone seeking to make a positive impact in their organization
When I was 11 years old, living in the United States in 1999, I met my new friend Mario. We connected instantly—two Europeans among the overwhelming majority of Americans.
"Austria," he replied with an audible accent when asked about his origins.
By then, I had already lived in the States for a year, which allowed me to learn English quickly and communicate freely with other kids at school and in the neighborhood. But Mario, as a newcomer, struggled with English.
"I really, really wish I could ask him what he did today. How do I talk with him?"—I kept asking myself. I yearned to make a deeper connection with him. Unfortunately, a few months later, he moved with his family to another area, and our paths never crossed again. That experience has lingered in my mind over the years, shaping my approach to listening and understanding others.
Since then, beyond Polish as my native language, I've learned English, German, and Italian. I'd like to share how being open to learning these languages has shaped my approach to communication in professional settings.
Natural flow of native language communication
Native language communication enables effortless expression, clearer understanding, and stronger cultural connections
When speaking your native language, you experience an effortless freedom to find the right words instantly—it flows naturally. During my first two jobs where the teams were 100% Polish, I noticed how we all benefited from using our native language: ideas and their expression came easily, and our cultural understanding made even casual conversations more meaningful. This extended to giving feedback which, while inherently challenging, had fewer pitfalls since we had complete command over the clarity and impact of our chosen words. It's the most efficient and natural way to communicate thoughts and intentions, creating strong bonds through shared cultural understanding.
Embracing the language challenge
Immersion in a new language builds grit and a resilient mindset
At my first job in Switzerland, in my closest group of peers I was the only one who didn’t have a native command of German. You could get into the debate that Swiss German and High German are two different languages - which is an important realization - however at my first team everyone spoke German fluently and English at least in a communicative way.
I will always remember the day when one of the directors started his statement with calling my name:
“Leszek” - said with a cheerful tone - “From today we’re speaking only German”.
That was a bit of a shocker because I never fully completed any formal education in German. A mild flight-or-fight reaction kicked in.
‘Flight’ was not something that I was going to choose.
I decided to immerse myself in the language, through exposure to situations where unknown words and language constructs were regularly existent. I made sure to communicate with as many people in German as possible to strengthen my bond with the language and to pave the way for quicker progress. I frequently asked peers for feedback - I even asked them to correct me when I make a mistake!
From the current perspective it was a privilege to work with them and hear these words from my former manager. To me it was a manifestation of intention to help me develop, an invitation into a speaker group and surely a workplace challenge that I would eventually overcome. Pushing through the language barrier every day, navigating my way through new words, the discomfort of talking in broken German are the things that I will never forget. Yes, there were low points in that as well - the misunderstandings and the feeling of hopelessness when I struggled finding the word that could express my intentions. Also, feeling silly after having said something silly would be almost a part of the daily routine.
Learning a new language while adapting to a new environment taught me that staying outside your comfort zone for a prolonged time develops grit and a more resilient mindset. This experience fundamentally changed how I approach difficulties—I began to see problems as challenges that I would ultimately overcome. It also reminded me that formal training isn't necessary to become fluent in a new skill or discipline.
Building trust through language persistence
Language commitment builds trust with those around you
At my next job, we were primarily a group of German speakers from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. On my first day, I knew I needed to gain ground in several areas to win the trust and respect of the group: I had never written production code in Python, which was the team's primary programming language. Additionally, I had never worked in an environment with such diverse German accents and dialects.
As humans, we have the innate drive to seek approval within our peers and be recognized as one of the individuals that fits in the group. This is particularly important at the workplace where we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives. Even more so when joining a new group, the motivation to ‘prove yourself’ and to fit in is even more evident. Showing the right attitude and behavior at the beginning are vital - listening and being open to learn will win you trust of your peers.
Building a communicative bridge with the humans around you is evaluated way before you put your hands to the keyboard and hack away at your first implementation task.
One experience that particularly sticks in my mind is when I was trying to grasp one of my first requirements. I was struggling with understanding some of the words, attributed to the my colleague’s accent that was brought on due to life-long practice of the mother-tongue dialect. That wording would eventually be key to carry out the task:
- “Ok, let’s switch to English!”
The feeling of safely and surely expressing myself was appealing and I felt like giving in. At the same time, I knew that falling back on what I already know won’t end up in progress.
- “What if we tried again? Could you repeat what you just said but slower?”
We tried again, and this time - successfully. To say that this wasn’t the only situation where I needed to press “rewind” and play it back at 0.5 the speed would be an understatement. There were plenty more moments where I thought to myself “What are you doing? Why not just stick to English? Does this really make sense?”.
As I would realize now, it was one of ways to build trust with the team.
It does take courage to immerse yourself in a linguistically diverse environment and start being productive in it - regardless the language. It’s a fantastic tool to build relationships with people around you. Moreover, the right language is a foundational piece of one’s professionalism, on top of which the knowledge of tools and technologies builds.
Paving the way for inclusion through open-minded communication
Inclusion and transparency are key pillars of a leader.
The German language, which was previously dominant in our company, gradually transitioned to English as our company expanded and welcomed more non-German speaking employees from various nationalities.
As more people from different countries joined our company, English became our main language. This change wasn't just about speaking English - it made us think differently about how we communicate. We had to be more careful about the words we chose because people from different backgrounds might understand them differently. For example, if you say "apple," some people might think of a red apple, while others might picture a green one.
I remember one meeting that showed how important word choice can be. Two team members were discussing a new feature, and they had different views about how important it was.
- “But you want to implement it because it will simplify our current workflow, right?”
- “No, I don’t want to implement it. I need to implement it!”
In this exchange the slight nuance between the wording of ‘want’ and ‘need’ was a reflection of how the persuader sought it as an opportunity to push our product further, whereas the persuaded didn’t necessarily agree that it would end up contributing to its bottom line.
But more importantly, our collective desire to understand each other entirely expanded the awareness of how we want to be treated as individuals, too. We were prompted to be more thoughtful and empathetic in our messaging. With time we were successful in adopting following behaviors:
Using "we" instead of "I" to foster collaboration;
Discussing asynchronously on Slack and maintaining it as a knowledge base;
Embracing equity—recognizing that everyone brings unique value to the team.
Our entire group grew in leadership enormously during this transition and both the “core” founding team members as well as the newcomers benefited greatly from this linguistic, cultural transition. It instilled in me the belief that the qualities that we displayed: inclusion and transparency were the key factors in holding each other to the highest standard and help all of us turn into leaders.
As you finish reading this, I’d like to leave you with the final thought:
“How has embracing language challenges or cultural differences shaped your personal or professional growth?”