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TESTIMONIALS

Great job in coaching today, I liked your stories and how poignant they were to his situation.  Thanks for doing all the preparation.  I think you made an impact and hopefully gave him more to think about.

 

Warmest Regards,

Marianne Brandt, MBA , MA , LPC

Intercultural Consultant, Coach, and Facilitator

SERVICES:

 

• Business Coaching
• Business Accelerator
  Boot Camps
• Business Accelerator
  Round Tables
• Motivational Speaking
• Intercultural Coaching
• Business Coaching in Indian Markets

INTERCULTURAL
COACHING CLIENTS

Prudential Intercultural Global Workforce Development

• Terri McGinnis
• Marianne Brandt
• Sandy Teach
• Ricardo Nunez
  

INTERCULTURAL COACHING

The world is flat and getting flatter. In today's economy, people are being required to work across borders and cultures. In order to succeed in this environment people must acquire skills and behaviors that allow them to conduct themselves differently. Thomas Friedman in his book World is Flat describes the reasons behind globalization and makes the point that this is an irreversible phenomenon. Therefore understanding how people behave in different cultures and conducting yourself appropriately is vital to the success of the business.

When a company wants to do business in another country, success depends upon on many factors but the following are three factors are most important:

• Good products and services
• Attractive cost
• Strong relationships

Many businesses do very well on the first two factors but fail miserably on the third one. Why? Because many people fail to understand the cultural differences between their own country and the country they wish to do business with. Failure to make necessary behavioral changes results in serious misunderstandings. This creates ill feelings causing serious damage to the relationships.

Understanding how people behave in a particular culture with respect to these and other traits is vital to building good cross-cultural relationships. An article in The Wall Street Journal brought focus to this very important aspect of conducting business internationally. The article discussed the need for people to adjust their behavior when interacting across different cultures in the increasingly global economy.

Although everything becomes uncertain when you work across different cultures, it does provide numerous experiences that are invaluable. Have the ability to deal with the uncertainty as it happens. Avoidance can create anxiety and stress. Welcome situations as challenges in a caring and open manner. Do not shy away from them. Having the flexibility and willingness to adapt to differences will help you tremendously. What is insignificant to you may be quite important to someone else.

The foundation for building strong intercultural relationships consists of having Awareness and making a Commitment to take Action to achieve behavioral changes.

1. Awareness
   It is a fact that people are all different. Being aware of this fact and recognizing that numerous differences in values, behaviors, attitudes, perspectives and mannerisms exist between people across different cultures is the fundamental step.
2. Commitment
   Making a commitment to change is the next step.
3. Action
   Be sensitive and respect the fact that the people from different cultures communicate differently and try to make proper adjustments in how you communicate. Have an ability to interpret what is being said from the perspective of the person saying it. Communication is not just what is said but how it is said and what is actually heard. It differs from sensitivity in that it refers to actual behavior during communication.

 

Click here to learn more about Intercultural Coaching and see what some clients are saying about it.