Teaching Cross-Cultural Competence

Course Aim

The goal of any coach, consultant or trainer, is to help their clients become more effective in their role, company, industry or market whether it’s by offering solutions to problems, providing objective advice, or giving them the tools and techniques to navigate the road ahead. In each case, communication and understanding are key factors which drive success with potential breakdown causing poorly built teams, failed market development, and unsuccessful partnerships or mergers.

Many elements are required to triumph in a global business environment but as countries grow ever closer economically, are companies and executives sufficiently equipped to communicate across cultural boundaries? Are we ready to help them find mutual understanding with their international colleagues and counterparts?

The Teaching Cross-Cultural Competence (TCC) course aims to fill this gap and allow professional consultants to add a cross-cultural dimension to their training with grounding in The Lewis Model, the Cross-Cultural Dialogue Mat, and the online assessment tool, CultureActive, as well as teaching methods and materials.

Course Content

The course is held at Riversdown House, Hampshire, UK. It begins on Tuesday at 9am and finishes by 3pm on the Friday. We recommend arriving on Monday, to allow the course to start on time on Tuesday morning.

 

Day 1: Fundamentals of Culture and the Lewis Model

• What is culture? – Definitions, layers of culture, stereotypes, areas of cultural misunderstandings, values, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions.
• Introduction to The Lewis Model and CultureActive – Analysis of the group profile

 

Day 2: LMR in Practice & CultureActive

• The Cross-Cultural Dialogue Mat – Presentations, Meetings
• Origins of the Lewis Model
• Using CultureActive – An in-depth look at the programme and how it can be used by individuals and trainers/coaches, plus new developments
• The challenges of working in diverse teams

 

Day 3: Function-Specific Focus & Culture-Specific Focus

• Example session: function-specific training – the Oxford Programme on Negotiation, plus simulation
• Cross-cultural Dialogue Mat – Leadership, Trust
• LMR in practice – simulation and analysis
• Country specific example presentation

 

Day 4: Training Design & Teaching Techniques

• Teaching practice
• Bird’s eye view of materials available
• Brainstorm of teaching techniques
• Designing workshops
• Open forum and distribution of books

 

Licensed Partnerships

Gaining a licensed partnership agreement is one possible outcome of the courses, but it is not obligatory and there are some countries in which we do not grant new partnerships. If the main purpose of attending a course is to become a Licensed Partner (LP), please contact us to check the current situation for your area.

In addition to the materials provided on the courses, Licensed Partners get access to our full library of PowerPoint materials, reduced rates for CultureActive licenses and for the Cross-Cultural Dialogue Mat, and support in designing and preparing their own programmes and in marketing them.

 

The Trainers

 

Richard D. Lewis, Chairman of Richard Lewis Communications
Richard D Lewis is one of the world’s most renowned cross-cultural thinkers, writers and trainers. He pioneered the Linear-, Multi- and Reactive Lewis Model of Culture 25 years ago. He also writes on, and teaches, in most business areas related to culture, such as presentation, negotiation, leadership and teams. Most recently he was invited to present his model to top commanders at NATO’s headquarters in the United States.

 

Michael Gates, Vice Chairman of Richard Lewis Communications, Finland

Michael Gates is Vice Chairman of Richard Lewis Communications and an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He has given cross-cultural training around the world for more than 20 years and published numerous articles on cross-cultural issues. He specialises in helping clients get better results in cross-cultural negotiation, and from diverse teams.

 

 

Caroline Lewis, Director of Riversdown House & Cross-Cultural Trainer

Caroline Lewis is one of the UK’s foremost consultants on Japanese culture and the Director of the Riversdown House residential training centre. Caroline’s training approach is characterised by two objectives: to help participants learn not just how people from other cultures behave, but to understand the factors that influence this, and to help them develop a range of strategies to deal with issues effectively.

 

Enrolment

If you are interested in attending a TCC course, or you would like more information, please contact us to express an interest and receive information about upcoming dates and special offers.

To attend this course, it is helpful to have some understanding of the Lewis Model or experience in behavioural skills training, but it is not absolutely necessary. We will ask you to complete your CultureActive personal cultural assessment prior coming to Riversdown and exploring your feedback will give you a good insight into our approach.

Acceptance onto the course is entirely at Richard Lewis Communications’ discretion.

Price

What is included?

• Training with leading experts and specialists in the field
• All training materials – including practical experience with the unique Cross-Cultural Dialogue Mat
• Four nights’ accommodation at Riversdown House or in a nearby hotel (Check-in on Monday & Check-out on Friday) **
• Morning and afternoon tea and coffee
• Excellent dining (breakfast, lunch and dinner, including wine with dinner)
• A copy of one of Richard Lewis’ published books on intercultural issues.
• Airport transfers to and from Southampton, Bournemouth, Heathrow or Gatwick
• Unlimited access to all sporting and leisure facilities at Riversdown House including a 9-hole golf course, tennis courts, gym, sauna and outdoor pool (in summer)
• Wireless internet access
• Evening social activities and networking
• The opportunity to become a Licensed Partner
• Continued advice and support on how to market and use the Lewis Model

 

Course Fee	VAT	Total
£1,675	£335.00	£2,010.00

 

**If you would like to request additional nights, these will be charged at £120 + VAT per night.

 

What participants have said about our courses…

 

“I benefited massively from the outstanding quality of instruction and now incorporate the concepts into teaching negotiation. The marvellous atmosphere of Riversdown and the stimulating conversations with fellow participants and the RLC team, made the whole experience truly memorable.” – Tim Cullen, Associate Fellow/Programme Director, The Oxford Programme on Negotiation, Saïd Business School, Oxford

 

“The training course in Cross-cultural communication helped me to be successful in my global strategy assignment at Nokia Siemens Networks.” – Nancy Chen, former Nokia Siemens Global Strategy team member, currently leadership coach at Leadership Coaching China, Shanghai

 

 

“I fully enjoyed the Train the Trainer course at Riversdown. The training was enlivened with videos and real-life experiences illustrating the potential pitfalls of cross-cultural communication. For me the course was also an excellent way of expanding both my training toolkit and my international network.” – Marianne Mol, Licensed Partner for The Netherlands, formerly with NCR Ltd Eurocentral, Scotland

 

“Everything about the facilities and operations at Riversdown is top notch: the food, the staff, the camaraderie, the incredible home and grounds. The training and associated tools are also unrivaled in the field. Training with RLC has proven to be the single most wise and impactful decision I have made in my career as a cross-culturalist.” – Dr Timothy Flood, Associate Professor of Management [Global] & Corporate Communication, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, USA

 

“With an existing interest in culture, a background in psychology and long experience as a teambuilder and leadership trainer, I was still amazed and overwhelmed by the quality and innovative approaches. I was quickly able to run cross-cultural workshops on my own, inside my company, and am especially impressed by the fantastic 24-hour support from the RLC and CultureActive teams.” – Marit Imeland Gjesme, Head of Academy, CCO Corp Human Resources, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Zurich

 

“Participating in the Train the Trainer course at Riversdown was not only an exceptionally pleasant and inspiring experience, it also provided me with invaluable tools and skills to further develop my International HRM career.” – Maarten Stal, former Professional Development Manager at IBM Global Services.