Who Should Attend ?

All managers working in a multi-cultural environment or with people - colleagues, partners, clients - from different cultures, in face-to-face or at distance.

All managers who wants to adjust their leadership style to various cultural contexts.

Benefits of Attendance

The objective of this seminar is to significantly improve participant’s ability to operate in a multicultural context and to help them make their mark and convince foreign contacts. The objective is to enable them to develop their international leadership skills.

At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to help them to:

• Understand the culture of the people with whom they interact professionally
• Anticipate and prevent breakdowns in communication stemming from cultural differences
• Identifying common cultural preferences within professional/business cultures
• Making the most of cultural differences and the added value they generate
• Developing common values to ensure effective cooperation
• Acquiring the tools needed to successfully work and manage within a multicultural environment

Training Approach

• Exercises and case studies experienced in the company
• Personalized action plan : key cross-cultural competencies, cultural profil, your type of leadership
• Access to the Nomad’ Network, an exclusive online tool for Akteos’ clients and experts : find resources, exchange experiences, knowledge and insights

Programme Outline

Module 1: Understanding cultural codes

1. Pinpointing cultural differences

• The rules by which groups operate
• Identifying sources of ambiguity and incomprehension
• Reconciling differences

2. Developing awareness of culture’s impact on communication

• The origins of culture and value systems
• Cross-cultural interactions: individual, functional, organizational and national levels
• Preconceptions and stereotypes
• The stages of cultural adaptation
• Differing perceptions and communication problems

3. Decoding cultures

• How time and space are managed
• Reasoning styles, risk-taking and change management
• Social relationships with individuals and groups
• Importance attached to tasks and relationships
• Communication (implicit, explicit and non-verbal messages)
• Power distance, status and acceptance of rules
• Expression of emotions in the workplace, conflict management

4. Analysing one’s cultural profile

• Culture questionnaire
• Individual profile
• Comparison of cultural profiles

Module 2: Enhancing international management skills

1. Cross-cultural communication

• Communication methods and styles
• The linguistic factor in cross-cultural situations
• The importance of “self management”
• The quest for clarity and meaning in order to avoid ambiguity
• An intercultural communication model

2. Creating a climate of trust

• The notion of trust differs from one culture to another
• Factors having an influence upon trust
• Obtaining information about each culture represented within the team structure
• Maximising cultural synergy: making the most of proximity
• Resolving cultural conflicts

3. Boosting team performance

• Are multicultural teams really different from others?
• The challenges of virtual teams
• Defining areas of responsibility and influence
• Being a manager or member of a virtual team: injecting dynamism, empowering, communicating and contributing.
• 10 virtual leadership skills
• Organizing effective international meetings

4. Meeting the challenge of intercultural management

• Passing on skills, motivating and involving
• Maintaining individual and collective motivation
• Assessing the competitive advantages of cultural differences
• Giving thought to power and persuasion strategies