Estonia - Working and dealing with the Estonians
Objectives
The aim of this seminar is to significantly improve the participants’ effectiveness in their professional relationships with the Estonians, enabling them to be operational right from the start.
At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:
- Be aware of their own cultural baggage
- Fully understand Estonian context and culture
- Analyse possible situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating
- Reduce stress and misunderstandings
- Decipher and understand Estonians decision-making and negotiation processes
Programme Outline
Module 1 : Understand cultural differences
1. Intercultural awareness : The key to success in international business
- Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
- The basics of effective intercultural management
- Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes
2. Key aspects of Estonian culture
- The smallest and most northerly of the Baltic states
- A significant Russian minority
- An age-old civilisation and a crossroads for numerous cultures
- A high-growth economy spurred on by tourism and technology
- The challenges of European integration
3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships
- Man, nature and the seasons
- National and personal pride
- Reserve, cool-headedness and pragmatism
- A strict and measured view of time
- The importance of private life
- The individual as part of a close community
4. The Estonian corporate world
- The continued persistence of the Soviet mindset
- Entrepreneurial dynamism and a fascination for the liberal economic model
- Employee-friendly legislation
Module 2 : Succeeding in work with the Estonians
1. Effective communication with the Estonians
- Greetings and etiquette: the importance of formality
- Personal distance and silence
- Direct communication and a sense of proportion
- Learning Estonian: an extremely useful key to success
2. Adapting your working methods
- Building trust and confidence: patience, discipline and charisma
- Effective management: deciding, supervising and verifying
- Encouraging personal commitment
- Dealing with touchy or sensitive people
- Pitfalls to be avoided
3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Estonians
- Demonstrating your commitment and motivation
- Encouraging contact and promoting feedback
- Building a mutually beneficial relationship
- The value attached to written contracts
4. Final handy tips
- Caution, patience and humility
- Protocol and etiquette
- Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
- Sensitive subjects: politics, history, Russia
- Humour: a double-edged sword
