CROSS CULTURAL COACHING
How do you work across diversity yet maintain a clear sense of who are as a leader, manager or colleague? How can you manage the expectations of diverse global reports, manage teams or team members in different countries whilst ensuring that the business delivers to an ever increasing diverse client population?
As a coach I work with individuals and teams to manage their intercultural interactions more effectively. What do I mean by 'culture'? Well, when we say 'culture' people often think of nations (e.g., British culture, Japanese culture), however we can also including cultural groups of various kinds, the most common ones being corporations (e.g., Ford, Unilever, Sony) and professions (e.g. engineers, doctors and business managers). In other words, cross cultural coaching is not uniquely about working in an international context (though many of us do nowadays) but also about those working with people from different organizations and backgrounds. So in essence, my approach is about working with cultural perspectives (e.g., alternative ways to see the world and to communicate) and what can be learned from them rather than simply describing the cultural characteristics of particular nations, corporations, or professions. Some objectives of a typical coaching programme would be:
A coaching across cultures programme typically includes:
As a coach I work with individuals and teams to manage their intercultural interactions more effectively. What do I mean by 'culture'? Well, when we say 'culture' people often think of nations (e.g., British culture, Japanese culture), however we can also including cultural groups of various kinds, the most common ones being corporations (e.g., Ford, Unilever, Sony) and professions (e.g. engineers, doctors and business managers). In other words, cross cultural coaching is not uniquely about working in an international context (though many of us do nowadays) but also about those working with people from different organizations and backgrounds. So in essence, my approach is about working with cultural perspectives (e.g., alternative ways to see the world and to communicate) and what can be learned from them rather than simply describing the cultural characteristics of particular nations, corporations, or professions. Some objectives of a typical coaching programme would be:
- Understand the impact of cultural differences on work performance and relationships
- Use pragmatic tools to assess and compare personal and cultural tendencies
- Develop empathy with colleagues and partners from other cultural backgrounds
- Develop communication and management strategies that work in a multi-cultural environment
- Encourage changes in attitude and implement solutions that lead to visible results in the work environment
A coaching across cultures programme typically includes:
- Initial contracting session to clarify objectives
- Review of coaching tool results and implications
- Preparation for upcoming challenges
- Consideration of new approaches and their potential impact (organisationally, senior staff, employees)
- Review outcomes of actions planned in the previous session
- Contingency planning (what if the new approaches do not work)