A few years ago I researched cosmopolitanism, which basically is a philosophy or worldview that emphasises the importance of recognising and respecting the diversity of cultures and identities that make up our global community. It is based on the belief that all human beings have inherent value and dignity, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, religion,…
Continue reading ➞ Finding belonging halfway across the world
A strong organisational culture is the key to a successful business to many leaders in business. Therefore, corporate culture plays a key role in supporting business strategy. Organisational culture is, simply put, "the way we do things around here". It's about the ways in which a company conducts itself as a whole, including all it's…
Continue reading ➞ How to align your corporate culture towards business success?
This blog has been discussing intercultural (mis)communication for a few years now. What hasn't had a lot of attention yet though, are the expectations when it comes to the ability of people to engage with traditions and activities of people who come from different cultural backgrounds. Since this subject plays a big rol in intercultural…
In my last blog I discussed intercultural dialogue, and I gave you three practical methods to facilitate opportunities for dialogue: 1. Experiential learning. Get to know your host country. Build traditions together with your team. Highlight cultural aspects of the host country and invite everyone to talk about their cultural backgrounds. 2. Art & music. Encourage people to provoke…
How to facilitate opportunities for dialogue in a culturally diverse team? Making everyone's voice in your team heard and understood by facilitating team building, communication, and open dialogue! This blog provides three different practical methods to facilitate opportunities for dialogue in a culturally diverse team. It also will give insights in cultural peculiarities based on…
Continue reading ➞ Is your team ready for intercultural dialogue?
Let me start by saying that I am a firm believer of prevention. Prevention is always better than resolving. What if you are too late though? What if the conflict is already there? How do you solve a cultural conflict at work? That is the topic that I will cover in this blog and I…
Why do you need cultural awareness in the workplace if you already have skilled workers? Well, by promoting cultural awareness and improving your teams cultural literacy skills, your team will overcome cultural differences. Employees that can overcome these differences will act as a team with a common goal and common goals build team spirit and…
A while ago I addressed social inclusion, this blog will continue on that subject by expanding the subject to social and cultural diversity and it's implications in the Netherlands. First off, what is social diversity? Social diversity refers to a variety of individuals when it comes to race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, language, sexual…
Making intercultural communication effective is key when it comes to improving productivity & overall performance in diverse teams. Often enough though, without the intention or even knowing, we sabotage our own effective listening. How do we do this? When you rethink conversations that took place in intercultural settings the level of sabotage can be reduced…
Continue reading ➞ You might sabotage yourself without knowing
In my last blog I wrote about "finding your kind of people". Based on the book "Belong" by Radha Agrawal. Today's blog is about nurturing your community: once you found your kind of people, how do you make them coming back for more? As with everything in live: you sow what you reap. The more…
Dialogue with the Dutch 