Strategies for International Consulting

Bridging Direct and Indirect Communication Styles in Global Teams: A Leader's Guide 🤝 🌏 Have you ever sent what you thought was a clear message, only to realize it was interpreted completely differently by team members across the globe? You're not alone. 💭 Imagine a Dutch supervisor giving feedback on a Brazilian team member’s proposal: "This proposal needs significant work." The Brazilian colleague, however, walks away feeling disheartened. 💔 Neither intended for this disconnect—both simply wanted to produce great work. 🎯 Here are four tested strategies I've seen transform global team communications: 1️⃣ Create a "Communication Charter" 📝 Work with your team to document and share each culture's typical communication patterns. Make it explicit: "In Germany, direct feedback is a sign of respect" or "In Japan, suggestions often come wrapped in careful language." 2️⃣ Use the "What I'm Hearing" Technique 👂 When receiving indirect feedback like "Maybe we could consider..." or direct feedback like "This isn't working," practice restating: "What I understand is..." This simple practice reduces misunderstandings in global teams. 3️⃣ Establish Multiple Feedback Channels 💬 Some team members may never speak up in meetings but will share brilliant insights via email or one-on-one chats. Give your team options – it's not about changing their style but creating space for all voices. 4️⃣ Model Flexibility 🔄 As a leader, demonstrate switching between styles. With direct communicators, be clear and concise. With indirect communicators, provide context and be attentive to subtle cues. Remember: The goal isn't to make everyone communicate the same way, but to build bridges between different styles. The most innovative solutions often emerge when diverse communication styles meet in the middle. 🌉 What communication challenges have you encountered in your teams? Share your experiences below. 👇 #GlobalLeadership #CrossCulturalCommunication #DiversityAndInclusion #TeamManagement #GlobalBusiness ______________________________ 💡 Turn Cultural Differences into Your Team’s Competitive Advantage! Ready to build a culturally competent team? Let’s work together to turn cultural differences into strengths! 🌐 Learn more about how Mastering Cultural Differences can help your organization thrive. 🎁 Click the link on my profile to book a complimentary session and discover how we can empower your team to thrive globally.

How a $320 Decision Changed the Way I Build Global Teams When I first set up Intuit’s India Development Center, I recommended extending health insurance to cover parents of employees. In India, that’s a cultural expectation—and a source of pride. HR in the US pushed back: “We don’t offer this to US employees.” But the goal wasn’t rigid consistency—it was being sensitive to local norms. The cost? Just $320 per employee per year. The impact? Immense trust, goodwill, and belonging. That’s what Organizational Change Management (OCM) is really about. It’s not frameworks or checklists—it’s understanding people and culture, and making changes with them, not to them. Because without OCM, here’s what happens: • Leaders schedule calls at 8 AM Pacific, forgetting it’s midnight in Singapore. • Companies roll out shiny new tools, only to find employees sticking with Excel because no one explained why the change mattered. Global success doesn’t come from process alone. It comes from aligning people, culture, and ways of working across borders. Question for you: If you’ve worked in global teams, what’s the funniest—or toughest—change management challenge you’ve faced? Zinnov Hani Mukhey Santhi Janapati Shilpa Nayak Shweta Rani (She/Her) Rohit Nair Want the inside track on the biggest GCC opportunities, AI breakthroughs, and global talent stories? Follow me — I share fresh insights and real-world updates every day.

1. Practice cultural perspective-taking: Try to understand the cultural backgrounds and perspectives of your team members. This can help you interpret their opinions and behaviors in context. 2. Develop global dexterity: This is the ability to adapt your behavior across cultures without losing your authenticity. It involves understanding cultural differences and adjusting your communication style accordingly. 3. Recognize your own cultural biases: Be aware of how your cultural background influences your views and reactions. This self-awareness can help you approach conflicts more objectively. 4. Use active listening: Pay close attention to what others are saying, ask clarifying questions, and paraphrase to ensure understanding. This shows respect for diverse viewpoints. 5. Look for common ground: Despite differences, try to identify shared goals or values that can serve as a foundation for agreement. 6. Encourage open dialogue: Create a safe space where team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions without fear of judgment. 7. Practice code-switching: Adapt your communication style to bridge cultural gaps, but do so in a way that feels authentic to you. 8. Seek to understand before being understood: Focus on comprehending others' perspectives fully before advocating for your own position. 9. Use cultural brokers: If available, leverage team members who have experience in multiple cultures to help mediate and translate cultural nuances. 10. Frame disagreements as learning opportunities: Approach conflicts as chances to gain new insights and broaden your cultural understanding.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of teaching a class at Columbia Law School on Managing Cross-Border Legal Teams. In our interconnected world, this is an essential skill for legal professionals. The globalization of business has led to an increased need for legal teams that can operate across borders. Managing these teams presents unique challenges, including navigating different legal systems, overcoming cultural differences and coordinating across time zones. Effective management of cross-border legal teams requires a combination of legal expertise, cultural awareness and advanced communication skills. Here are some key insights from my class: ◾ Understanding the Global Legal Landscape: It's crucial to stay informed about international laws and trends. Regular research, reading and networking with global legal associations are essential strategies. ◾ Cultural Sensitivity: Emphasizing the importance of cultural awareness can significantly enhance team effectiveness. Implementing cultural competence training and celebrating diversity within teams are key practices. ◾ Leveraging Technology: Utilizing advanced communication and collaboration tools can bridge the gap between geographically dispersed team members. Providing training on these tools ensures seamless interaction. ◾ Building Trust: Fostering a culture of trust within a team is essential for effective collaboration. Feedback (for both superiors and subordinates), an open-door policy and transparency are vital and above all, provide independence and do not micromanage team members. ◾ Clear Communication: Establishing clear communication protocols and ensuring regular updates help in aligning team expectations and maintaining smooth operations. Thank you to the students for their engagement and their insightful questions and discussions. And special thanks to Adam Kolker and Theresa Kaiser for the invitation and for organizing everything. #ColumbiaLawSchool #Management #Legal #InHouse #CrossBorder

Transformation is often measured in tools, timelines, and revenue. But there's another layer one that doesn't show up in dashboards: cultural transformation. 🌏 When people from different parts of the world come together to work as one team, misalignment isn’t just possible, it’s inevitable. Communication styles, expectations, and norms don’t always line up. And sometimes, even a simple question can spark unexpected tension. Take this example: A quick check-in like "What’s the update on this?" Or a straight forward question on client escalation, might feel completely routine in one culture but come across as confrontational in another. Intentions get lost, feelings get hurt, and frustration builds.  No one is wrong. But everyone feels it.  So, what can be done? ✅We built cultural bridges, placing individuals who understood the nuances of both sides to interpret tone, context, and intent. These weren’t just translators; they were empathy amplifiers. ✅We swapped roles, encouraging team members to shadow each other, experience different workflows, and gain perspective from the other side. Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes changes everything. ✅We invested in immersion, allowing team members to experience working in another location. What once felt confusing over email started to make perfect sense in person. These efforts didn’t erase differences, and that’s not the goal. The goal is understanding. Because trust isn’t automatic in distributed teams, it’s earned through openness, patience, and genuine curiosity. And here’s the truth: There may never be a single fix. Cultural tension is part of the package when building global teams. The win isn’t in eliminating friction but in learning to navigate it gracefully. When teams move from blame to curiosity, from assumptions to questions, that’s where the magic happens. So whether you're an executive or an implementer, I encourage you to approach hard conversations head-on, to listen a little deeper, and to build teams that don’t just span time zones but truly connect across them. 🤝 What’s helped your team bridge the cultural gap? #leadership #culture #empathy #trust #respect

Having remote teams across continents bring both opportunities and challenges. How do you get it right? Working with global teams, especially when spread across drastically different time zones, is a reality many product managers face today. It can stretch your collaboration skills and test your patience. But, done right, it can be a powerful way to blend diverse talents and perspectives. Here's how to make it work: 1. Creating Overlaps: Aim for at least an hour or two of overlapping work hours. India's time difference with the US means you'll need to adjust schedules for essential face-to-face time. Some teams in India choose to shift their hours later. This is crucial for addressing any pressing questions. 2. Context is Key: Have regular kickoff meetings and deep dives where all team members can understand the big picture—the customer needs, project goals, and product vision. This enables your engineers to make informed decisions even if you're not available to clarify on-the-spot. 3. Document, Document, Document: While Agile champions minimal documentation, it's unavoidable when teams can't meet frequently. Keep clear records of decisions, questions answered, and the day’s progress. This provides continuity and reduces paralysis when immediate answers aren't possible. 4. Strategic Visits and Camaraderie: If possible, send team members to different locations periodically. This builds relationships and trust, which are invaluable when working remotely. If travel isn't possible, consistent video calls and personal updates help. 5. Local Leadership: Consider having local engineering leads in the same region as your development team. This can bridge gaps and streamline communication, ensuring that strategic and operational alignment occurs naturally. Ultimately, while remote setups have their hurdles, they are not impossible to overcome. With thoughtful planning and open communication, your team can turn these challenges into strengths, fostering innovation and resilience that transcends borders. 🌎

Managing a legal team in one city is hard. Managing lawyers across four continents? That’s a different league. As a COO, I’ve learned that operations aren’t just about systems and processes; they’re about people. If you don’t understand how culture, communication, and trust work across borders, efficiency will collapse before it even starts. Here are 3 lessons I’ve learned leading global legal teams: 🔹 Culture isn’t a footnote, it’s the foundation. Every country handles conflict differently. Some are direct. Others avoid confrontation. Learning when to speak and when to listen is the fastest way to build trust. 🔹 Leadership is not one-size-fits-all. Some teams thrive with clear, top-down direction. Others need collaboration first. The best leaders flex, without losing sight of the mission. 🔹 Efficiency travels. From Miami to Madrid, productivity principles remain universal. We centralized case files, used AI to accelerate document review, and built standard templates. The result? Lower costs, faster results, and clients who actually smile when they see their bill. The big takeaway? You don’t need to have all the answers. You need to ask better questions, adapt to different contexts, and turn cultural differences into competitive advantages. Because the truth is, teams spread across the world don’t slow you down. If you manage them right, they make you unstoppable.

I wasn’t always a fully-remote CEO... But when I launched Squad App, I wanted it to be 100% remote from the start. I’ve been working in tech my entire life— With international teams across different time zones my entire career. Here’s how I leverage my experience to build a world-class culture with no office 👇 1. Flexibility as a rule You can’t lead an international team without being flexible. I built my daily schedule from the ground up to accommodate different time zones— Starting early with our European teams, focusing on American activities during the day, and wrapping up with our teams and partners in Asia. 2. Proactive communication Working remotely exposes any flaws in your communication style. Remote teams don’t get the exposure of in-person conversation— You MUST learn to express ideas clearly over Slack, Zoom, and Loom, and get it right the first time. Otherwise? People will carry on with misunderstandings, and you’ll find out hours later they did something completely wrong because of poor communication. 3. Fully embracing technology for connectivity Coming from a tech background, leveraging Notion, Workspace, Slack, and other async-friendly tools for collaboration came naturally to me. Simply put, the right tech stack will 10x your productivity. Even if you’re not a remote leader, get serious about the tools you use. They say great photographers aren’t people with the best cameras — it’s those who understand how to take full advantage of what they have. It’s the same for remote teams. They understand how to leverage collaboration platforms to their full potential, no matter which they’re using. 4. Fostering a culture of flexibility and trust You can’t build a remote team without placing your full trust in them. Why? Because you can’t hover over people’s shoulders, or force everyone into a meeting room to hash things out in-person. You need people who can turn around quality work without you controlling the process. Remote teams are self-starters working together toward a common goal— Trust matters here more than ever. 5. Prioritizing employee well-being Not seeing your team in-person makes it harder to pick up on struggles they might be facing that you’d notice in the office. You don’t see anyone sad, happy, frustrated, or anything else. You see them for a few minutes on Zoom calls, and that’s it. That’s why it’s crucial for remote leaders to be proactive about team health — because they won’t share it otherwise. Ask them how they’re doing. Ensure they’re using their time off. And most importantly, emphasize an open-door culture. All this is the backbone of Squad App’s success in remote work, and why we’ve been so effective — despite being 1000s of miles apart — from day one.

I share the following as an open reminder to...me. I hope it proves helpful to you as well. "Harmony is when words connect instead of collide" Your US directness with your LatAM teams is often being misread as rudeness and yet, it is possible to adapt without losing clarity. What you see as "cutting to the chase," your LatAm team might experience as jarring abruptness. After observing dozens of cross-cultural teams, I've noticed a pattern: The very communication style that US leaders prize for its efficiency often creates unexpected friction with LatAm colleagues. Here's what's happening beneath the surface: 🤝 Relationship context matters first In many LatAm cultures, establishing connection before diving into tasks isn't optional—it's foundational 🎭 Direct feedback feels like public shaming What US teams view as "straightforward feedback" can feel like deliberate humiliation when cultural context is missing 📝 "Just the facts" communication removes essential social cues Purely transactional exchanges strip away the relationship signals LatAm professionals use to interpret meaning I recently watched a US tech leader transform her team interactions with simple adjustments: What she changed: 👋 Added 2-3 minutes of genuine connection at the start of every interaction. Replaced "That won't work because..." with "I see your thinking, and I'm wondering about..." 📱 Moved critical feedback to voice/video rather than text-only channels (although written praise is valued even higher than personal delivery) 🌉 Created explicit team agreements about communication preferences What happened: 💡 Misunderstandings decreased dramatically 🚀 Implementation speed actually increased 🗣️ LatAm team participation in discussions grew substantially 🌐 Innovation improved as diverse perspectives emerged 💡 The key insight? You don't need to abandon directness—just sandwich it between connection moments. Question for leaders: What small adjustments to your communication style might help your cross-cultural teams interpret your intent more accurately? #GlobalTeams #Leadership #CrossCulturalCommunication #RemoteWork #LatAm

My team has grown to 20+ in 5 years across 5 continents, because of this I've had to completely rethink leadership. Here's my framework for making a global remote team work seamlessly: 1. Trust comes first, everything else follows. When you can't physically see your team working, you must believe they're delivering their best. This isn't blind faith - it's about creating clear expectations and giving people space to meet them. 2. Communication needs structure in a remote environment. Weekly video calls are sacred time for deeper discussions and relationship building. Monthly one-on-ones focus exclusively on growth and roadblocks, not task updates. 3. Documentation becomes your company's memory. Every process, decision, and important conversation gets recorded in our central knowledge base. New team members can get up to speed without needing to interrupt others constantly. 4. Cultural connection requires intentional effort. We celebrate wins across time zones with virtual parties and send physical care packages to maintain the human touch. 5. Team retreats bring everyone together in person to strengthen bonds. Time zone management is an art form. We've established core collaboration hours where most team members are online simultaneously. For everything else, we embrace asynchronous work and respect personal boundaries. 6. The right tools make all the difference. Our tech stack enables seamless collaboration without creating notification fatigue. We regularly audit our tools to ensure they're solving problems, not creating them. Leadership in a global team isn't about control - it's about creating an environment where people can do their best work from anywhere. What's your biggest challenge with remote leadership?