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 […]
So often in the annual performance reviews or even just day-to-day conversations people receive feedback that they should work on improving their communication skills. But what does that really mean? And does it mean the same thing around the world? We all have our own personal preferences of how we speak, what channels of communication […]
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 are doing a great job in the location you are in. You know how things work. People like you, clients know and trust you. So, naturally, you are the person the company asks to share that expertise with another office location. It’s just for a short-term assignment and if successful then you will be […]
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 […]
Right. You have nailed this new assignment, a job abroad or a place in an international team. You will be working with so many people from different cultures now! Oh gosh, that means you have to learn about all the cultures in the world now! Or, does it really?
Much can be said about the ‘soft skills trainings’, both good and bad. I’ve heard various things being said about cross-cultural skills training too. The research however shows clearly that increased cultural intelligence and intercultural skills have a whole range of benefits to the individual as well the organisations they work with.
All the social media feeds are filled with people travelling, living this international life, working with international people. You want to learn about and experience the world, you want to meet other diverse people, you want to make international connections, you want to practice speaking foreign languages. But what if you simply don’t have all […]