In today’s borderless workplace, we often find ourselves needing to better understand and adapt to customers, colleagues, vendors and partners from another country. Whether you are interacting face-to-face or virtually, your knowledge of a specific country’s culture can make a very positive impact. This presentation offers hands on practical advice, to help develop country intelligence across your individuals, teams and organization. To find out more about how to thrive in the borderless workplace, contact us today: enquiries@tmaworld.com

1. Developing Country Intelligence
Develop productive working relationships

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Developing
Country
Intelligence
In today’s global workplace, we often find
ourselves needing to better understand and
adapt to customers, colleagues, vendors and
partners from another country.
Whether you are interacting face-to-face or
virtually, your knowledge of a specific country’s
culture can make a very positive impact.

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Developing
Country
Intelligence
Modifying your behaviour and
communication style, where appropriate,
to accommodate cultural differences can
reduce the risks of misunderstandings and
reach a mutually satisfying state of
collaboration.

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We can increase our cultural
awareness by not only
knowing what we are
adapting to, but also what
are we adapting from – this
requires a high level of self
awareness.
Think of it in these three
phases:
Awareness
Attention
Coming off cultural
automatic pilot and
observing and listening
in the ‘here and now’

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Adaptability
We can increase our cultural
awareness by not only
knowing what we are
adapting to, but also what
are we adapting from – this
requires a high level of self
awareness.
Think of it in these three
phases:
Awareness
Calling on a repertoire
of behaviours that
support cross-cultural
bridge building

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We can increase our cultural
awareness by not only
knowing what we are
adapting to, but also what
are we adapting from – this
requires a high level of self
awareness.
Think of it in these three
phases:
Awareness
Knowledge
Understanding what
culture is and its key
characteristics, as well as
increasing our knowledge
of specific differences
when working in a
particular culture

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We don’t see the world as it is,
but as we are.
We don’t see others at they are,
but as we are.
“
”
We are always looking through perceptual filters

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Beware of using your personal/cultural
perspectives for interpreting behaviour,
learn to interpret behaviour based on
the perspectives of the other person.
We are always looking through perceptual filters

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To avoid misreading the thoughts and
actions of people from the other country,
we need challenge our own habitual
ways of seeing, thinking and doing and
to start acting out of informed choice,
not habit.
We are always looking through perceptual filters

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Let’s look now at the
second stage – how to put
it into action.
We are always looking through perceptual filters

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Tune
Make further
adjustments,
as needed
Analyze
Reach an initial
understanding
of the situation
Process
Assess the
effectiveness
of your
adaptations
Apply
Make
adaptations
Skill Development
The ADAPT Cycle
A method for dealing
with new situations.
It should be applied in
the moment, as you
observe what’s
happening.
Each step of the cycle
has a goal.
Decide
Choose
reasonable
adaptations
based on your
initial
understandings

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 Maintain a desire to learn
 Observe differences and similarities:
• Analyze your own culture/working style/priorities
• Analyze the culture/working style/priorities of your
colleagues
• Look for value in difference
The ADAPT Cycle
Analyze
Key actions to focus on:

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 Be self aware: Recognize and manage
your own mental filters
 Be tolerant of ambiguity: Function
effectively when there’s a lack of clarity
 Consider the 5 strategic options when
working across cultures and difference:
Adapt
Blend
Co-Create
Divide
Enforce
The ADAPT Cycle
Decide
Key actions to focus on:
ADAPT
Adjust behaviours to
accommodate the other
BLEND
The best approach is a mix
of your way and my way
CO-CREATE
Develop a new way that works
for both of us
DIVIDE
You do it your way,
and we’ll do it our way
ENFORCE
We have to do it this way –
we don’t have a choice

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 Adapt your working styles and preferences to work well with
the other cultures and when there is difference, to generate
business value
 Be confident in your actions that things will work out
 Control and manage any common damaging behaviours,
thoughts and feelings
 Take a risk and simply act in the face of unpredictability
The ADAPT Cycle
Apply
Key actions to focus on:

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 Slow down your reactions
 Focus your attention on the ‘here and now’
 Become more aware of your own thinking and reasoning
 Make your thinking and reasoning more visible to others
 Ask questions about others’ thinking and reasoning
The ADAPT Cycle
Process
Key actions to focus on:

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 Be open to learn continuously and re-adapt, unlearning
previously tried and tested routines
 Recover from failures quickly and keep going
 Gather information on what to know, what to do, how to do it
and when and why to do it
 Organize information to better remember and use it
 Reflect on lessons that you have learned
 Adapt knowledge and skills learned in one situation to new
problems in another
The ADAPT Cycle
Tune
Key actions to focus on:

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Webinar Twitter Blog Viewpoints
and articles
Publications Written by Terence Brake, Director of Learning &
Innovation at TMA World.
Our new Borderless Working e-book series
About Us
Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights
to discover the latest
thinking from our experts
on global, collaborative,
cross-cultural and virtual
working.
There you’ll find links to
our:

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you directly, so please don’t
hesitate to send any comments,
questions or feedback to us at:
enquiries@tmaworld.com
Or visit our website:
www.tmaworld.com
About Us
Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights
to discover the latest
thinking from our experts
on global, collaborative,
cross-cultural and virtual
working.