Working Effectively Across Cultures

When working with counterparts from other cultures you may have been frustrated by the fact that they do things in ways that are fundamentally different to your own. Perhaps their priorities in the workplace are different to yours or they seem to be sending you mixed messages. These different cultural attitudes and behaviours are instilled early on in life and expressed in the way we behave and interact. Everything we do is influenced by our cultural preferences, from the way we stand and talk, to the way we deal with superiors, conflict and decision-making. These intuitive and deeply founded differences can lead to substantial cross-cultural miscommunication and faux-pas if they are not correctly understood or interpreted.

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, being able to work effectively across cultures is more than a nice-to-have skill. It is now a key competency for all employees. This programme will develop your global competence through an increased awareness of the cross-cultural values, attitudes and behaviours that impact on the workplace, allowing you to communicate more effectively and efficiently across cultures.

Benefits

This programme will provide you with:

• An understanding of underlying cross-cultural attitudes, values and behaviours and their impact on the workplace
• Analysis of key variations in business communication styles across cultures
• An increased awareness of your own communication style and working preferences and how this impacts counterparts from other cultures
• An awareness of key global competencies needed when working internationally
• Practical tools and strategies for communicating more effectively across cultures

Who should attend?

Anyone who:

• Works in an international environment or on global projects
• Works with an international client base or multicultural team
• Travels regularly overseas for business
• Communicates increasingly with colleagues in other countries
• Experiences the challenges of working with counterparts from other cultures

Programme Content

• Introduction to culture and global competence
• The impact of cross-cultural values, attitudes and behaviours on work
• Perceptions, stereotypes and expectations across cultures: how are you seen
• Cross-cultural communication styles: high/low context, non-verbal
• Virtual communication across cultures
• Self-assessment exercises
• Language issues: communicating in English as an international language
• Developing your global competence: awareness, skills and strategies
• Practical tools and strategies for communicating more effectively across cultures