Insights
Jan 22, 2026
3 Signs of a Culturally Insensitive Manager
Most culturally insensitive managers do not think of themselves that way. In fact, many would describe themselves as progressive, fair, and well-intentioned. They know the language of inclusion. They have attended the trainings. They might even be the person in the room who reminds others to “be mindful” or “use the right terms.” On the surface, they look informed.
But cultural insensitivity is rarely about ignorance. It is about behaviour that does not change, even when knowledge increases. From a social psychological perspective, competence is never measured by what someone knows. It is measured by how their actions shape power, safety, and participation in a group. And this is where many managers fall short.
In intergroup settings, teams do not experience their manager’s values or self-image. They experience patterns. Who gets interrupted. Who is believed. Who is allowed to make mistakes. Who has to prove themselves repeatedly. When these patterns remain unchanged, no amount of awareness can compensate for the harm they produce.
This article discusses three behavioural signs that a manager is culturally insensitive, even if they sincerely believe they are not.
1. They Individualise What Is Clearly a Pattern
One of the clearest signs of cultural insensitivity is the tendency to treat repeated issues as isolated incidents. A comment is brushed off as a misunderstanding. A complaint is reframed as a personality clash. A pattern of disengagement is explained away as resilience or confidence issues. In each case, the system is protected and the individual is scrutinised.
Intergroup relations research tells us that people do not react to single moments in isolation. They respond to accumulated experiences shaped by power, history, and social positioning. When a manager insists on evaluating each incident in a vacuum, they ignore the broader social pattern and, in doing so, reinforce it. This is how exclusion becomes normalised without ever being named.
Culturally insensitive managers often ask, “But what exactly did I say?” when the more useful question is, “Why does this keep happening, and to whom?” Failing to ask that question is not neutrality. It is complicity.
2. They Defend Their Intentions More Than They Examine Their Impact
Another common sign is a reflexive attachment to intention. When harm is raised, the response is immediate and familiar. “That wasn’t what I meant.” “You’ve misunderstood me.” “I treat everyone the same.” These statements are often sincere, but they are also socially ineffective.
Intention is private. Impact is collective. In group settings, particularly workplaces, what matters most is not what a manager believes about themselves, but how their behaviour shapes safety, participation, and belonging. When managers centre their intention, they recentre their identity and shift attention away from the experience being raised. This communicates, often unintentionally, that preserving their self-image matters more than addressing the harm.
From an intergroup perspective, this response also ignores how power operates. Managers are afforded the benefit of the doubt. Their words carry weight. When they dismiss impact in favour of intention, they are not just defending themselves. They are reinforcing the very power imbalance that made the interaction unequal.
3. They Confuse Knowledge With Competence
Perhaps the most misleading sign of cultural insensitivity is performative knowledge. The manager who knows the right language. Who references frameworks. Who attends training but does not change behaviour. They speak fluently about inclusion while their team quietly adapts around them.
Cultural competence is not demonstrated through vocabulary. It is demonstrated through action. Who gets heard in meetings. Who is given stretch opportunities. Who feels safe disagreeing. Who is expected to absorb discomfort politely. When managers focus on sounding informed rather than acting differently, they create a culture where appearance matters more than experience.
Social psychology is clear on this. Groups learn norms through behaviour, not rhetoric. If nothing changes after the training, the training becomes irrelevant. Worse, it becomes a shield, allowing managers to believe they are doing the work while the same patterns persist.
At its core, cultural insensitivity in management is not about bad people. It is about unmanaged power. It is about failing to recognise that leadership always shapes the social conditions others must navigate. When managers know better but do not do better, they create environments that look progressive on paper and feel exclusionary in practice.
And that gap between knowing and doing is where trust erodes. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But slowly, predictably, and along the same lines, again and again.
If you would like your management team to go deeper, talk to us on www.gormmedia.com/contact
Dr. Mamobo Ogoro is a social psychologist and multi award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of GORM, an award winning social enterprise bringing about belonging through Intercultural media and education. Based in Ireland, she hosts 'Younified' on Newstalk and has earned several accolades, the most recent being the first Irish person to win the Echoing Green Fellowship for her impactful work.
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