We live during times when synergy between cultures plays an increasingly important role in the success of our businesses and our organisations.  Understanding cultural motivations and differences are crucial for our success as leaders.

Our personal behaviours are highly influenced by the specifics of the cultural environments where we grew up and lived.  To a large extent, our cultural background defines what inspires and motivates the choices we make in our personal and working lives.  When we work with people who come from the same cultural background, we can easily find common ground for understanding, values and motivators.  This enables us to quickly build rapport and develop good working relationships.

However, when we work with people who come from cultures different to our own, we may find that our own style of work and motivational means don’t work so well. Sometimes, we may receive unexpected or even opposite responses to our own expectations.

The session will explore some of the aspects that culture has on personal behaviour.  This will cover the most common cultural differentiators (based on recent anthropological studies and supported by personal examples) that drive our choices in the business world.

The presenter will highlight cultural values and behavioural patterns which are most commonly present in various countries and will identify some key differences in leadership values in different countries.

Finally, the presenter will explore motivational factors related to cultural profiles and give suggestions on what one should consider when working with different cultures and how cultural differences can be leveraged to foster working relationships within international teams.

In the conclusion, the presenter will share some tips on how to increase personal cultural awareness