At the start of my career in leadership development, I began working with a Fortune 100 global financial services company. While I was not involved in the architecture of the larger initiative, my role was pivotal in developing mid-level managers and Vice Presidents to adopt a set of behaviors designed to meet company-wide expectations for the future. In essence, we worked to transform the culture.

Having been steeped in organizational change management in the nonprofit sector for many years, I understood the importance of involving stakeholders in culture change.  I was already aware of the angst that inhabits the body at the mere mention of change.

When I joined the team preparing the organization for this transformation, we worked with small groups of leaders over the course of two days in most major cities throughout the United States. Over time, the effort expanded into the company’s offices in Europe and Southeast Asia. At one point, my entire client base was in Asia, covering Hong Kong and Inland China. Later, the work extended to Singapore, Australia, and India. These are cultures with different norms than those found in Europe or the US. 

To serve them effectively meant learning more about the culture of these countries. Understanding what mattered most to people helped me frame the need for change in ways that were meaningful and relevant to them. It also deepened my appreciation for the different norms that existed and revealed important parallels between organizational and national culture. When working with multinational organizations, cultural intelligence is a must-have. By drawing on what I discovered about the interests, motivations, values, and confidence, I helped them recognize both their similarities and differences. This insight allowed leadership teams to strategize more effectively in a cross-cultural environment. From there, they are better positioned to adapt their verbal and nonverbal behaviors, communication styles, and leadership approaches to a global environment.

That work began more than twenty years ago. To this day, you can still sense the impact of that cultural transformation throughout the organization. The behaviors we were helping leaders develop became embedded in the culture, demonstrating that meaningful change is possible when leaders commit to it with intention, consistency, and patience. 

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