Managers and staff of international and local organizations and institutions, GIZ national and international personnel – everybody who feels responsible for an effective and efficient team and who wants to improve the understanding of factors influencing and defining intercultural communication and cooperation. This training programme is specifically designed to help actual cross-cultural (working -, project -) teams to analyze their situation, to develop a strong (cross-cultural) team identity and to support teams to develop better skills to apply selected standard management instruments in a specific cross-cultural setting;
Therefore, in addition to the usual individual participation, this training programme is highly recommended for actual working teams sharing the same working environment who will have the opportunity to discuss their own “team situation” in general / “cross-cultural team situation” in particular during the course.
Objectives - why should you attend?
Cross-cultural cooperation is a chance and a challenge. The causes of frictions in the cooperation often stem from cultural differences among team members, cooperation partners, etc. which can only be hardly explained by the parties involved. We are often not aware of our own cultural background and the way it predefines our own behavior in various situations. Only when unexpected reactions, conflicts, misunderstandings occur, we suppose that “culture” plays a role.
In view of this the training programme will focus on:
Cross-cultural team building:to manage the transformation from a group of individuals to a high performance team bound together by a strong team spirit. During this part of the course participants learn more about themselves and others and about the factors which influence team work and affect the member’s zeal in performing their various management functions.
Cross-cultural team development: to establish a learning system in order to maintain and improve efficiency and effectiveness of the team. This includes methods, instruments and rules for problem solving and resolving of conflict situations.
After the completion of this training programme, the participants will be more knowledgeable and skillful in :
recognizing how their own behavior is influenced and pre-determined by their cultural background
differentiating between their own cultural background and that of others
drawing conclusions relevant for their individual work from insights into the implications of culture on personal values, norms, behavioral patterns, etc.
using the six characteristics of effective and efficient teams as a checklist in assessing team performance and as a guideline for cross-cultural team development
performing the management tasks in steering their team through the four major phases of cross-cultural team development: forming – storming – norming - performing
using the feedback planner for performance assessment
handling conflict situations in their teams by knowing better which attitudes and communication techniques are helping to reduce tension and are leading to agreements and conflict mitigation.
Content - what will you learn and experience?
Theoretical models to explain cultural commonalities and differences
Implications of culture on practical (project) management (leadership styles, communication styles, organization styles, conflict resolution styles)
How to analyze and adjust mutual expectations to avoid misunderstandings and disappointment
Assessing one`s own culture vis à vis another culture using practice-oriented tools and instruments (questionnaires, checklists, graphic models, etc.)
How to deal with the standard management functions and related tools (planning, leading/deciding, motivating, communicating, organizing, co-ordinating, monitoring and evaluating) in a cross-cultural setting by mutually agreeing on `How to behave?` and `How not to behave?` as well as `What to do?` and `What not to do?`
Methods:
Theory inputs, presentations, guided dialogue, group discussions, small group work, individual facilitation exercises, video-feedback, group coaching and individual coaching.
Registration 