I’ve been helping multinational teams for more than two decades. Here’s how:
Explain Culture
I explain deeper-lying cultural differences between Germany and the United States:
understand-culture.com
You’re on UC right now. Currently ten topics, forty-seven subtopics, a thousand examples. With more analysis coming.
Topic Talks
Colleagues will read and reflect on my analysis here on UC. I’ll then take them deeper. Topic for topic. Per video call.
Q&A Sessions
Colleagues send me their questions. I’ll group them, then prepare my responses. We’ll discuss per video call.
Improve Collaboration
I help improve collaboration by guiding teams through three key questions:
Question 1 – Differences
“Where do we differ, in how we think, therefore in how we work?” This is the starting point, the foundation for discussing Q2 and Q3 as colleagues.
Question 2 – Influence
“What influence do those differences have on our collaboration?” This is about their experiences thusfar working together as colleagues.
Question 3 – Conversion
“How can we convert the differences from a weakness into a strength?” And this is about how to improve their collaboration, so that they succeed.
Solve Problems
I help solve complex problems in and between multinational teams:
Interviews
I’ll interview your key people. As a neutral, outside, unbiased party. Whose mandate is not to address the substance of their work. But instead to focus exclusively on solving complex problems within and between multinational teams.
In the interviews I listen for three things: the problems, their impact on collaboration, what the contributing factors could be. The focus is not so much on cultural differences, but instead on problem-solving.
Analysis
In the interviews I ask the key questions, listen carefully, and take accurate notes. I reserve the right to conduct follow-up interviews. Then it’s all about analysis, which is the basis for my recommendations.
I then present my results to you. We will discuss them in-depth. Including if and where I should begin. With an initial action. We’ll then proceed step-by-step. Assessing. Tweaking. Continuing or not. Always with an eye on the impact on your bottom-line.
Actions
Actions is a generic term. Here it means things done in order to solve problems in and between multinational teams.
The actions can take many forms: structured discussions, coaching, web-based exercises, on-site workshops.
Actions are situational. Based on context, people, problems. The pieces, however, are always the same: bring the right people together, guide them to a solution.
Back to John Otto Magee.