Everybody needs a coach – here’s why

Let’s call this the coaching episode. A whole podcast about the fact that you won’t reach your top goals without someone who holds you accountable and cheers you on at the same time. 27 minutes to highlight how you or any global professional can build a career in international business with cultural competence.

When clients come to us their first inquiry is typically about cultural training: Which contents we will cover, how we incorporate assessments, how we deliver the training, pricing structure, and training duration, etc. The main interest in negotiating projects with our clients is rarely the budget. The one item we typically haggle over most is the amount of time the program participants will have to invest. I always tell them: Cultural KNOWLEDGE can be learned. Cultural COMPETENCE needs practice. Which is one of the reasons why cultural training in and by itself may not be enough for global professionals to be successful when working across cultures.

Smart organizations know this and have been embracing blended learning initiatives to build cultural competence which include a coaching component. In our practice, cultural coaching has been very effective for 1-on-1 (or 1-on-household) clients. Recently have begun opening our Global Leader Coaching Program to groups as well. For instance, we are offering a 90-day program with open enrollment (at a special rate through November 2018).

On this episode I talk about why many of us – without a coach – miss our own goals. Mainly because we get stuck and falsely believe “this is it,” or because our false fatigue kicks in, our mindfrick which tells us “this level is good enough” or “I’m tired/exhausted and can’t do another step.” I know this happens to me and if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit it happens to you too.

I also draw a line between many forms of coaching. Currently I work with two coaches myself: one for my fitness goals (shoutout to Mayday/Reggie) and another one for my business goals (highly recommending Jeffrey in Ottawa). As my wife, Brigitta, will tell you: every business challenge is also a personal challenge. Addressing only one aspect of your life (e.g. your work across cultures) will rarely improve your overall success rate and satisfaction.

This means: pick your culture coach wisely. I wrote about this before for Harvard Business Review. And here is an article I recently published on LinkedIn. In it I talk about what every professional should know about working with a culture coach.

Do you work with colleagues from other cultural backgrounds? Do your clients and vendors speak a different language? Do you sell and market your product globally? Then I would hope you already know how to manage, inspire, lead, and communicate – with people who are like or similar to you.

Now you want to be just as efficient with co-workers, clients, customers, and vendors who are sometimes quite different from you. What made you successful with your people could easily derail you when working in a diverse context.

So how are you going to master yourself in an unfamiliar environment? By now you probably know what I’m going to suggest: Get a culture coach! Whether it’s in a group setting or in a more personalized