Cultural Diversity and Business Analysis: Why It Matters More Than Ever
Key Takeaways
Here’s what you need to know from this episode of Business Analysis Live:
- Cultural awareness strengthens stakeholder relationships and leads to more accurate, inclusive business analysis outcomes
- Empathy, respect, and the spirit of Ubuntu help uncover real needs and build trust
- Language and terminology clarity reduce misunderstandings and prevent project rework
- Diverse teams spark innovation, challenge assumptions, and deliver better solutions
- Continuous learning and volunteering help business analysis professionals grow global mindsets and practical skills
September 24 was Heritage Day in South Africa—a celebration of the cultures, languages, and traditions that shape the nation’s identity. It also set the perfect stage for a meaningful conversation with Lungile Mnguni, a lead business analyst and community leader from Johannesburg.
In this episode of Business Analysis Live, Lungile and I explored how cultural diversity influences the way we work, communicate, and collaborate. What unfolded was a candid, insightful look at the human side of business analysis: language, empathy, respect, inclusion, and the mindsets that allow us to work more effectively across cultures.
Whether you’re working across borders or simply across departments, cultural awareness is critical to building strong connections. Today’s business environment is global by default, and business analysis professionals sit right at the intersection of people, process, and problem-solving.
This episode was all about understanding how diversity strengthens analysis, improves collaboration, and leads to solutions that actually work for the people who use them.
If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of our discussion and some bonus considerations.
Why Cultural Awareness Matters in Business Analysis
Most of us know this intuitively already, but it’s worth saying. Business analysis is ultimately about understanding people: their needs, their expectations, their pain points, their constraints. And culture shapes all of these.
It influences…
- How people communicate
- How they express disagreement
- How they give feedback
- How they make decisions
- How they interpret risks
- How they prioritize goals
- How comfortable they feel sharing information
In turn, each of these impacts elicitation, analysis, documentation, requirements validation, and stakeholder engagement.
When business analysis professionals strengthen their cultural awareness, they reduce misunderstanding, increase psychological safety, and create conditions where better information and better ideas surface.
As I often say, “business analysis is a relationship business.” And relationships are built on empathy, understanding, and respect.
Diversity Sparks Innovation
Imagine a team that speaks five languages, celebrates ten holidays, and brings twelve different lived experiences to the table. At first glance, it may seem chaotic. In reality, though, this variety creates a richer landscape for innovation.
Here’s why. Diverse teams:
- Challenge assumptions rather than reinforce them
- Spot risks and gaps others miss
- Generate more creative, inclusive solutions
- Better reflect the complexity of real-world users
For business analysis professionals, diversity becomes a strategic advantage rather than a hindrance. When your stakeholder group is culturally diverse, you get better insights into user behaviour, decision patterns, and what “value” really means across different contexts.
Here’s a practical business analysis scenario to illustrate my point:
You’re gathering requirements for a product serving three regions. A culturally homogeneous team may miss that certain terms, workflows, or interfaces aren’t intuitive in another market. A diverse team can identify these gaps naturally and early, before they become costly.
Empathy and Respect Are Strategic Tools
One of the most memorable parts of the conversation was discussing the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which means “I see you.”
Not “I see your output.” Not “I see your title.” But I see you as a person.
Far from being a “soft” skill, empathy really is a strategic capability. It helps business analysis professionals uncover real needs, navigate conflicts, and build trust more effectively.
Business analysis application:
During elicitation, not all stakeholders will express their concerns directly, especially in cultures where open disagreement may feel disrespectful. Empathy helps you read non-verbal cues, ask clarifying questions, and create an environment where more honest dialogue is possible.
When people feel acknowledged, they share more, and that leads to better analysis.
Language Builds Bridges (and Limits Risk)
Lungile shared a great example: learning even a few words in someone’s native language—hello, thank you, their name—can make an immediate impact that pays dividends later.
- It signals respect
- It opens doors
- It reduces tension
- It builds trust
And in business analysis, trust is as good as gold. It determines how much information people are willing to share with you.
Business analysis application:
Terminology misunderstandings are a common source of defects. Words like “specification,” “verification,” “approval,” or “design” can mean different things in different industries or regions.
A culturally aware business analysis professional proactively clarifies terminology early, reducing downstream friction. Simple techniques such as glossaries, examples, or collaborative definition sessions can prevent avoidable rework later.
Continuous Learning Makes You a Global Business Analyst
Lungile emphasized that today’s business analysis professionals need to think and act like global citizens, even if they never board a plane or speak a second language. Virtual collaboration, distributed teams, and multinational products are now the norm.
A global mindset helps you:
- Adapt to regional differences in processes and expectations
- Interpret communication nuances
- Understand local regulations or constraints
- Prepare for diverse user needs
- Avoid unintentionally biased assumptions
Business analysis application:
Before joining a cross-border project, research common business practices in that region (things like meeting etiquette, decision roles, communication norms, or statutory requirements). These small efforts pay off in smoother collaboration and fewer frictions.
Volunteering Builds Skills and Community
One of my favourite parts of our conversation was how passionately Lungile spoke about volunteering. It’s easy to think of volunteering as “giving back,” but it’s also a powerful professional development tool.
Volunteering helps you:
- Work with culturally diverse groups
- Build new communication styles
- Practise leadership and facilitation
- Expand your perspective
- Grow your professional network
- Gain experience that’s hard to get in your day job
Especially for those transitioning into business analysis, volunteering in your local chapter or professional community can be a practical training ground.
Business analysis application:
Leading a multicultural volunteer team teaches you how to facilitate inclusive discussions, resolve misunderstandings, and motivate people with different communication styles. These are essential skills you’ll use in every project (and in many scenarios outside of work, too).
Why Cultural Diversity Improves Business Outcomes
Cultural awareness isn’t just the right thing to do. It also leads to stronger business results. Culturally diverse business analysis professionals are better at:
- Eliciting accurate, complete requirements
- Identifying hidden risks and assumptions
- Building trust with global stakeholders
- Designing inclusive solutions
- Improving user adoption
- Reducing rework due to miscommunication
Ultimately, culturally aware analysis produces solutions that work for more people, in more contexts, more effectively. And who wouldn’t want that?
Five Ways You Can Strengthen Cultural Awareness Today
Small actions compound over time. Here are a few you can incorporate into your communication style to expand your cultural awareness:
- Learn a greeting in a stakeholder’s preferred language: It takes 30 seconds and builds instant rapport
- Ask stakeholders how they prefer to give and receive feedback: This prevents misunderstandings later
- Validate terminology early: Create a simple list of key terms and ask each region or team how they interpret them
- Acknowledge cultural holidays and working patterns: It shows respect and helps you plan more realistic timelines
- Reflect on your own cultural assumptions: Awareness of your own lens improves your ability to understand others
The Human Side of Business Analysis
This conversation with Lungile was a powerful reminder that cultural awareness is a core skill for modern business analysis. By seeing people, valuing their perspectives, and creating inclusive spaces, we elevate the quality of our work and the experience of the people we serve.
It may sound simple, but it’s surprisingly easy to neglect in the rush of day-to-day delivery.
To dive deeper, listen to the full episode and hear Lungile’s stories, insights, and practical tips for embracing cultural diversity in your business analysis practice.
Explore fresh and candid conversations on a wide array of business analysis topics with the Business Analysis Live podcast.
About the Author
Susan hosts Business Analysis Live to discuss business analysis topics and answer questions from the live audience. There's a backlog of upcoming topics, and she's happy to take suggestions. Add a comment to one of our videos to suggest a topic you would like Susan to cover in an upcoming episode or connect with her via email at live@iiba.org.
