Cultural Differences

    Growing up in a Hutterite Colony helps me understand cultural differences. I can relate to how cultures view someone outside. People outside the colony used to be referred to as someone that can easily lead you astray. It had nothing to do with how they were dressed but more from a religious perspective. Looking back so much of the younger generation has their view shaped by how the colony views someone not in the colony. As kids we would look at haircuts or the way someone dressed and make our own assumption. However we were also look at as not being normal for the way that we dressed. Hutterite men wear black pants and a black hat of some sort. Women always were dresses and some head covering. People would look at you funny or put us in some category based on that. Another common way to be categorized was because of the way we speak. Our native language is a dialect of German. Germans do not have a pronounce the h in words like mother. Sounds kind of different, I know. 

  How do I relate to this today. I see the same patterns in and out of the colony. Even though I still may have some of those patterns and habits that came from where I grew up, I find myself to be more open to different cultures growing up in the colony and now finding myself to have overcome some of those obstacles that hinder us. I think a great leader will continually work on understanding and developing their cultural intelligence.