Professional coaching represents a cross-disciplinary approach. When focusing on Executive Coaching, the objective is to work with the Executive Leader on the enhancement of their well-being, performance, and professional development as well as the acceleration of individual and organizational change.
On the other hand, Intercultural Executive Coaches goes a step further, because we know beforehand that the Global Leader steps into a new overall CHANGE: a new country, a new region, a new culture, new bosses, new work teams, new members, new goals, and maybe even a change of organization. Furthermore, one must remember that the Global Leader not only is acquiring this new assignment, office, and home, but is also going through a series of losses: circle of friends, extended family, and social networks. An Intercultural Executive Coach helps them manage these changes, as well as, in many cases, those changes their families bring with them.
Who benefits from Intercultural Executive Coaching?
In this everyday more globalized world, a growing number of executives are moving from place to place, country to country, and continent to continent. There are many examples:
- We have Global Executives that collaborate in the U.S. and Mexico or with an International or Mexican company,
- Mexican Executives that have been or will be assigned a project or position in a foreign country or culture,
- Leaders that now work in a highly diverse culture in a company or new position, possibly in a remote manner, but also lead a diverse cultural team or are integrated within a diverse group of peers,
- Executives dealing with cultural changes through mergers or acquisitions, or working with a workforce of different ethnic and national viewpoints, values, and expectations, or,
- Leaders that wish to navigate cross-cultural environments more effectively, because of their new markets or business reach.
The main approaches for coaching Global Leaders
In my experience, I’ve found that the best way to coach today’s Global Executive is a combination of 3 approaches involving the 3 major happenings in their lives:
- The New Position
- We all know that the first days in a new job, new country, city, or company, the new Global Leader faces many challenges, among these are: new expected performance goals, new expectations from local and international management teams, all while one integrates within new social networks.
- The Change itself
- As we all know, every new gain implies a loss. We gain new friends, leave old ones, we gain new challenges, leave some pretty well mastered jobs behind, maybe open the door to a new exciting culture but leave the comfort of our well-known traditions behind. All this a happy but bittersweet experience.
- The Cross-cultural and Intercultural reality
- Intercultural coaching can help you be aware of both your own and the new cultures you are now coexist in, and how similar and different you are in terms of values, beliefs, or behaviors. As the Global Executive learns and understands these differences, they can build cultural bridges, and appreciate the new culture before them.
I’ll get more into these points in future posts, which I’ll leave a link to, when they’re ready. For the time being, it’s important that you assure, as in any Coaching that you approach an ICF Certified, globally recognized Coach assuring you that you will work with a professional who has committed to his integrity, an understanding and mastery of coaching skills, and a dedication to you as a client.
