Imagine you're staffed on a BCG project with team members from Manila, Singapore, and Jakarta. How would you handle working across different time zones, cultures, and communication styles to ensure the team functions effectively?

Situation

In a previous role at a regional NGO, I was part of a project team with members across three Southeast Asian countries. We had to develop a unified advocacy strategy while dealing with asynchronous communication and differing work styles.

Task

My task was to foster collaboration and ensure that the team met its deliverables on time, despite the 1-hour time difference between Manila and Jakarta and the more direct communication style of some colleagues.

Action

I proposed a communication charter during our kick-off: we agreed to use Slack for quick updates, weekly Zoom video calls at a rotating time to share the inconvenience of odd hours, and a shared Trello board with clear ownership by task. I took the lead in summarizing discussions and translating key points into simple English, as not everyone was a native speaker. When a Jakarta colleague was reluctant to give direct negative feedback on a draft, I scheduled a private call and encouraged open dialogue, which surfaced critical improvements. I also organized a virtual 'cultural exchange' session where each member shared a local work tradition, which built empathy and broke ice.

Result

The team delivered the advocacy plan a week early, and our work was adopted by the regional director. The team continued to use the same collaboration protocols for subsequent projects, and I was later selected to co-lead a cross-country initiative.