CEOs around the globe are increasingly finding themselves working in more complex situations. With the development of more advanced technology, travelling and virtual communication are much easier and cheaper. The world is quickly turning into a ‘global village’ in which leaders can interact more closely with their teams and peers. Although working internationally has become more frequent and in most cases easier than before, leading across cultures can still be quite challenging for a number of reasons.

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CEOs today must demonstrate a unique combination of skills to effectively lead a global organisation to international success. In addition to core leadership skills, CEOs need other intercultural skills ranging from cultural adaptability and awareness to global communication and language skills. Global leaders with a suite of intercultural skills and knowledge will be better placed to harness and manage cross-cultural differences, no matter their cultural background or the territory they work in.

A recent article in the Guardian highlighted five skills that 70 chief executives around the globe demonstrated:

• Passionate curiosity – interest in understanding any and every situation through questioning, listening and talking with those involved
• Battle-hardened confidence – ability to face new and unpredictable situations with confidence
• Team understanding – understanding of their teams – the dynamics, objectives and challenges they face
• Simple mindset – ability to make quick and concise actions
• Fearlessness – lack of fear for future development and the improvement of current situations

These are just a few of the skills global leaders should demonstrate for international success but there are a number of other competencies that global leaders need in order to make an even greater impact on their global teams and objectives. Some of these include:

• Openness – an open attitude to new ways of thinking, working and behaving
• Cultural adaptability – ability to adapt their own behaviour and judgements to different situations
• Emotional strength – a positive attitude to life and the ability to ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong
• Perceptiveness – ability to identify cues that are not evident in verbal language and accurately interpret and understand them
• Cultural understanding – ability to research other cultures and increase their knowledge about traditions, values and attitudes in that environment

This is just the start of a list which could go on for pages. The important thing is for leaders to recognise that they will be required to adapt their style and skills and not just stick to the core leadership skills that may have worked so well for them before when leading across cultures .

So whether it’s having a passionate curiosity or cultural adaptability, CEOs of today’s global world need to be able to apply their skills to different cultural contexts. In doing so they will not only be able to effectively influence international communication processes but they will further break down interpersonal boundaries resulting in tremendous value for both the leader and the organisation on a global scale.

Competencies above have been taken from a number of sources including The International Profiler

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

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Post tags: global leadership, intercultural competence, international business, Leading across cultures, Working Globally

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Have you ever asked a question during a presentation you were delivering to an international audience and no one responded? Or perhaps you’ve made a joke when delivering a presentation that no one laughed at? Many people don’t realise how important it is to adapt the way you deliver presentations to people from international backgrounds. Presenting to an international audience effectively requires a unique set of presentation skills and cultural understanding.

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Cross-cultural communication skills training programmes like Presenting to an International Audience can be a tremendous help to anyone preparing a presentation for a global group. Training can help you to understand the cultural characteristics which may impact audience expectations when presenting to an international audience, while it will also help you to adapt your style effectively to have the most impact.

Whether following tips on what to avoid during a presentation or increasing your understanding of how to most effectively structure your delivery, it’s important you have the right cultural awareness and international presentation skills for any global delivery.

Using Humour

Humour is one part of cross-cultural communication that can have a really positive effect on a presentation, but it can also go seriously wrong if not used appropriately when presenting to an international audience. In Germany and Japan, for example, people don’t tend to appreciate jokes in presentations as much as they do in the US. In France the style and appearance of the presenter itself are very important and humour does not really play a role in French presentations. In the UK people tend to prefer traditional rather than modern PowerPoint slides and a bit of humour in your presentation can be appreciated.

Choosing your Communication Style

Countries like Germany, Sweden and Switzerland tend to be low context cultures in which people are rule, detail and task oriented so presentations tend to have a clear structure and include lots of information. In high context cultures like Brazil and Italy, communication tends to be less verbally explicit and individuals place a high emphasis on personal face-to-face interactions. When presenting to a high context culture, you should therefore try to use fewer words in your slides and select them carefully.

Managing Different Perceptions of Time

According to Edward T. Hall it is important to establish whether you are going to present in a culture which tends to be more monochronic or polychronic. People in monochronic cultures tend to appreciate punctuality and schedules, and time is considered a scarce resource. When presenting to audiences from monochronic cultures, make sure you start your presentation on time, stick to the structure you have outlined and finish as planned as ’time is money’. Conversely, individuals in polychronic cultures put more emphasis on relationships rather than schedules and they will often make last minute changes or interruptions. Don’t be offended if people ask questions or make remarks during a presentation to a polychronic audience as this is quite normal behaviour.

Anyone delivering presentations to an international audience can greatly benefit from considering the cultural characteristics of the audience they are presenting to. International businesses can also profit immensely from developing the presentation skills of its employees, especially when cross-cultural components of the delivery are taken into consideration. By helping employees to increase their understanding of their international audience, they can more successfully harness the cultural differences in each and every context and have the most impact.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Post tags: communication styles, cross cultural communication, cultural awareness, Presentation Skills, presenting across cultures, presenting to an international audience, presenting with impact, Working across cultures

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Thanks to everyone who has been following the last 100 blog articles where we have explored different issues in the world of culture and communication skills training.

If you’ve just discovered this blog, have a look at some of the following articles we’ve published that have proven popular:

• Impact of Culture Shock
• Coming Home: The Hidden Challenges of Repatriation
• The Onion Model of Culture
• China: Business Goldmine or Cultural Minefield?
• Benefits of Doing Business in the Middle East
• Living and Working in India: Second Most challenging Destination for International Assignments
• Managing International Teams: Can Fabio Capello Harness the Bulldog Spirit?

As we continue to post new articles on a regular basis, we hope that training professionals, international employees and organisations continue to find the Communicaid blog an invaluable tool to navigating this fascinating field.

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The eruption last week of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has caused major disruption to air travel throughout Europe.  As this took place during school Easter holidays, many UK families have been stranded abroad, unable to return to school or work.  Business travellers have also been affected and many meetings have been postponed and projects put on hold.  The disruption that this has caused to business has been immense and the impact of people being unable to travel is as yet incalculable.

In this situation, unprecedented in recent times, virtual communication comes into its own.  Companies that are equipped with video and teleconferencing technologies are likely to suffer far less of an impact than those companies that rely on face-to-face contact between colleagues in different locations.

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While email and telephone usage is ubiquitous in today’s business environment, video and teleconferencing technologies enable companies to interact internally and externally anywhere in the world. This can not only save a great deal of money but allows global organisations to be responsive to business needs and to avert disruption in situations like the current no-fly order.

Savvy companies realise that communication via virtual platforms is most successful when they are aware of the obstacles and know how to overcome them. Cross cultural differences, the absence of non-verbal communication and working in different time zones are all issues that need to be handled sensitively when working virtually across cultures.

Communicaid’s Managing Virtual Teams cross cultural awareness training course is specifically designed to address these obstacles and equip managers with the knowledge and skills they need to communicate effectively with their teams through virtual means.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Post tags: Courses - Cultural Training, Cross Cultural Awareness training programs, Cross Cultural Training Awareness Programmes, Cross Cultural Training Programs, Flight cancellations, Intercultural Training Programmes, Intercultural Training Programs, No-Fly order, UK, virtual communication, working virtually across cultures, Working with Virtual Teams

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The Italian film director Federico Fellini once said “a different language is a different vision of life”. A person’s world can stretch out in front of them for miles and miles or it can be a box around them depending on who they can communicate with.

Learning another language can open up new worlds, broaden your horizons and bring you into contact with many new cultures. The language you speak can mould your world view and by association your experience of life. Opening up to new cultures can enrich your life and give you new opportunities. Taking part in a cross cultural training program or in a language training course can help you broaden both your mind and your world view, increasing your cross cultural competence and your ability to communicate across cultures.

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Many people think that learning a new language will be boring or too time consuming, but they are often surprised by the progress made even after the first few language training courses. Even a basic knowledge of a language allows you to communicate and interact with someone from another country. Being able to say something as simple as ‘¡Hola, buenos días!’ (Hello, good morning! in Spanish language) will improve the positive impression you make on your Spanish speaking counterparts while it will also help you to build the trust that is so vital when building international business relationships. Seeing that this secret code registers and gets a response from the native speaker can be very satisfying indeed. After a few more language training sessions this could follow onto a conversation – and from there who knows?

Businesses can greatly benefit from building the cultural and linguistic skills of their employees. Speaking another language can open new markets up to you that were previously closed. Because English predominates as the ‘global language’ of trade and commerce, people often forget that the ability to conduct business with a non-English speaker in their own language, and with knowledge of their cultural values and norms, can build lasting bridges and forge links with that individual or company for many years to come. By taking part in Communicaid’s cross cultural training programs or in our language training courses, you or your staff can learn the language and culture skills needed to truly break any communication barriers and achieve global success.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Post tags: Communicating across cultures, Cross Cultural Training Programs, Cultural Awareness training, intercultural training, Language Training, Learning a language, Multilingualism, Spanish language, Working across cultures

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In an ever-increasing global working environment, the successful outcome of cross cultural business negotiations is often determined by our capacity to work effectively across cultures with international business partners. However, this capacity highly depends on the interaction process itself as much as on what is said during the negotiation. Turn taking strategies, or the way people structure their participation throughout the negotiation, are just one element of cross cultural negotiations that are crucial for success.

Have you ever thought to yourself, during a conversation, why isn’t he saying anything? Or have you found yourself getting frustrated that you can’t get a word in? Taking a turn is the precise moment in any interaction when the role of speaker is taken or given to another person. This can be shown through a pause, a change of intonation, decrease of volume or a gesture such as a head nod.

Methods of signalling that it is now someone else’s turn to communicate can vary significantly when working across cultures. For example, when doing business in Finland you may notice conversations are often filled with a series of pauses before the next person speaks. Conversely, doing business in Spain you will see that your Spanish counterparts often take their turn to speak before the other person finishes their sentence.

People unfamiliar with Finnish turn taking patterns may try to fill the silence while those communicating for the first time with Spanish counterparts may feel frustrated by their constant interruptions. Failing to understand when you can contribute to the conversation can have a negative impact on how you are perceived and the impact you make in cross-cultural business negotiations.

Such implicit rules of turn taking are deeply embedded in our communication style. A lack of awareness of how people pause or overlap in conversations can lead to misinterpretation, confusion and frustration. Participating in a cultural awareness training programme such as Managing International Teams or Doing Business in Finland will help you understand the cross cultural styles of turn taking and ensure you communicate more effectively when doing business with international counterparts.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Post tags: Courses - Cultural Training, Cross Cultural Training, Cross Cultural Training Programs, Cultural Awareness training, Doing Business in Finland, Doing Business in Spain, intercultural communication, intercultural training, Turn-Taking

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The Totally Expat Show, taking place on 24 May 2010, will see Communicaid acting as a Gold Sponsor exhibitor, as well as delivering a case study in collaboration with one of its key clients. The exhibition is the largest in Europe aimed at global mobility professionals and expatriates. Read more here.

International consultancy firm Deloitte has been working in collaboration with Communicaid in a committment to build and improve relationships with customers across the globe. Click here to read more.

Communicaid contributes to the February 2010 issue of  Newsline, ECA International’s newsletter aimed at International HR, with an article on managing international teams. Read more.

The 2010 schedule for International Business English courses is now available on Communicaid’s website. Courses provide core skills for the international communication needs of legal, insurance, financial and HR professionals. Further details available here.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Post tags: Communicaid news, Cross Cultural Training, Cultural Awareness training, intercultural training, International English courses, Totally Expat

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Today’s world is characterised by global organisations with operations and employees across the world in constant contact via traditional and modern communication methods. The coming together of different nationalities offers organisations access to an unrivalled talent pool. However, it also creates new obstacles that internationally focused companies and institutions have to deal with in order to be successful.

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Intercultural training can help employers and employees navigate the challenges of international working rooted in cultural differences by helping them develop their intercultural competence which is essential for global success.

International organisations working across the globe should provide intercultural training options for its employees to ensure they:

• Understand the implications of cultural difference on business
• Understand how they are perceived by their international counterparts
• Communicate effectively across cultures
• Build successful cross cultural relationships
• Help the organisation have a competitive edge in the international market

A high level of competence in the areas above, developed through intercultural training, will result in more successful financial cross cultural business endeavours, an improved corporate image and long-term relationships with international counterparts.

Understand the impact of cultural difference on business

Intercultural training programmes like Working Effectively across Cultures provides employees with a foundation for understanding the impact of culture on business. Through the analysis of several key dimensions of culture, employees are able to understand how their own cultural values compare to those of their international counterparts. Being aware of different attitudes to things such as time, hierarchy and risk raises awareness of potential differences and helps to develop strategies for successfully working across cultures.

Perception and Image

One of the most important things intercultural training develops is self-awareness. By understanding both their own culture and that of their international counterparts, employees are able to better identify differences which they will need to adapt to. Through an increased awareness of how they might be perceived in other cultures, both individually as representatives of the company, they will avoid any potential miscommunication and improve global business.

Effective Intercultural Communication

Another important area that intercultural training helps develop is intercultural communication. Different verbal and non-verbal communication styles can cause misunderstandings and frustrations that can potentially affect international business relationships and cause a decrease in productivity and efficiency due to the lack of knowledge or appreciation of cultural differences.

Problems in communication may arise from the obvious linguistic differences, but also from the often less apparent differences in cultural values which are often unconsciously embedded in people’s behaviour. The awareness gained from intercultural training about employees’ own cultural values and the impact they have on how they behave and are perceived is essential for anyone working in international organisations.

Build successful cross-cultural relationships

When working across cultures, it’s extremely important to consider the importance employees place on relationships. In some cultures, doing business means getting straight down to the tasks at hand while in others doing business is all about developing a solid relationship first. Stories abound about companies who were not able to build effective relationships with their international counterparts resulting in lost deals. Knowing how much time needs to be spent developing the relationship before starting negotiations or planning a project will ensure success. Intercultural training programmes can provide employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to build effective global relationships.

Increase competitive edge

Communicating and working across cultures often presents huge risks for international businesses. Communicaid’s intercultural training can help prevent wasted time, lost revenue and damaging misunderstandings which occur as a result of a lack of knowledge and understanding of the target culture. Understanding how people think and why they behave the way they do will help employees work more effectively, which in turn, will give the organisation a competitive edge over other organisations who lack this intercultural competence.

 
In an article about measuring the benefits of intercultural training John Schieman wrote, “Quantifying the business improvement from cross-cultural interventions is challenging, however it is clear that cross-cultural competence has the potential to make a significant contribution to top and bottom line results as well as individual performance.”

Intercultural training ensures international organisations maximise positive outcomes of intercultural interactions and reduce potential cultural faux-pas which could result in huge direct and indirect costs as well as lasting damage to the company’s performance and reputation abroad.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Post tags: Courses - Cultural Training, Cross Cultural Training, Cross cultural training for management, Cross-cultural training for business, Developing intercultural Competence, doing business in, Global success, intercultural communication, intercultural training, Training for international assignees, Working effectively across cultures

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