Nigerian Teams

As Nigerians are enormously relationship oriented, they have the potential to work very collaboratively and successfully in a team environment.

However, team members need to feel comfortable with each other and this can be difficult to achieve. Many factors are at play when Nigerians interact with each other. Tensions are never far from the surface. These tensions could be religious (Christian vs. Muslim), tribal or even language related.

Once a team has been formed and is seen to be working well together, it is probably best to leave it in place. Don’t be tempted to break teams up unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Team members will work best when managed by an authoritative leader who clearly defines each team members’ roles and responsibilities and gives clear, consistent instructions.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Nigeria only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.