If people are not yet convinced to the idea of growing the cultural intelligence, they often discard the research and intercultural tools. They may say things like: “I get it, there are differences between China and the US, but aren’t there also differences within the countries?”, or “Yes, there are differences between regions and countries, […]
I bet that you could say that you want to feel respected, want to be trusted and trust your co-workers, or that you want to behave professionally and be a good leader. Many of us would have that in common. But do we mean the same things by trust, respect, professional behaviour, good manager? Building […]
People may be working across cultures regardless of whether they’re travelling the world or working with colleagues remotely from one given location. And for that, the key thing you need are the “people skills” – that’s usually the first thing that comes to mind. To be a good international manager or HR/Talent professional you need […]
When it comes to cross-cultural communications the question of: “Who should adapt?” almost always comes up. I don’t think there is one magical formula for this, but there is a certain rationale I use for myself: “The one who wants to have a productive conversation and knows how to”. If I know that I’m in […]
The world is getting smaller as people travel more and more and therefore cultures no longer matter that much, some say. Wrong. They matter more than ever!
Travelling for work is often a good selling point, which companies use to attract young professionals. Taglines of “you will get to see the world”, “you will get to work with people from other cultures”, “you will increase your international experience” are frequently used. And all that really is possible, but it is your personal […]
We already know that the technical expertise in a chosen field doesn’t necessarily lead to a successful assignment abroad. It is certainly one of the factors, but not the only one. You might be a great manager in your current location, understanding people’s needs, being able to respond in an adequate manner, knowing how things […]
You know that cultures differ around the world. You know that people have different preferences on both cultural (be it country culture or a certain professional group like HR or IT) and individual level. You know that diversity in the team is important and may bring you many benefits. Is this enough to say you’re […]
They say that “crossing the pond” cannot be that hard. After all, the same language is spoken, pop culture of either of the countries is known in the other, cultural values seem to be very similar. Others might say that the British and Americans are two nations separated by a common language. So which one […]
Have you ever been in a situation where you encountered a challenging interpersonal situation, and started wondering – is there something more to it you should explore, or maybe it’s just a personal clash that you don’t want to do much about?