In today’s global workplace, language is often treated as a problem to be solved — a barrier to communication, a source of misunderstanding, or a trigger for status imbalances. But what if we flipped the script?
Recent research I’ve conducted with colleagues suggests a powerful and underappreciated truth: language diversity in organizations can be a source of strength. Whether it’s the implementation of a new corporate language or the coexistence of multiple languages within multinational teams, these experiences have the potential to expand professionals’ behavioral and communicative repertoires, both inside and outside the firm.
Take the case of a Chilean subsidiary of a U.S. multinational company that radically shifted its working language from Spanish to English. Employees didn’t simply gain fluency over time. They also learned to navigate emotions like frustration and anxiety, developed new ways of interacting, and began to operate more confidently across linguistic and cultural boundaries. In fact, low levels of initial negative emotion actually helped some employees embrace the change—showing that discomfort with language change can be productive when properly supported.
At the team level, another study found that employees who were more fluent in the official corporate language often gained higher peer status and became informal leaders—and more so in teams that mainly conversed in another common language. Why? Because switching between languages made fluency more visible and more valuable. Yet rather than entrenching inequalities, the shared need to use multiple languages (or to adopt a new one) often created a sense of mutual adaptation. Everyone had to stretch. Everyone had to learn.
In both studies, a clear insight emerged: mandated or informal multilingual practices can normalize language diversity. They push people out of their comfort zones—and, over time, expand what they are capable of. These shifts foster linguistic agility, greater empathy for others’ communication challenges, and a more flexible approach to interacting with clients, colleagues, and partners across borders.
So rather than seeing language differences as something to manage or eliminate, leaders would do well to ask: how can we embrace them?
Here are a few ideas to start:
- Frame language shifts as opportunities for professional growth—not just communication efficiency.
- Encourage team members to share their own strategies for navigating multilingual contexts.
- Recognize and reward those who build bridges across language divides—not just those who speak fluently.
In a world where global collaboration will continue to be the norm—in whatever disguise—those who can operate across languages hold a key competitive advantage. Not because they speak perfectly, but because they’ve developed the behavioral range to connect, adapt, and influence across boundaries. And I’d speculate that the actual cognitive and emotional benefits of language learning will continue to hold even if technological advances like AI can make bridging language barriers easier.
Here is to building workplaces that celebrate—and cultivate—the power of many tongues.