This article continues to explore the synthesis of culture and coaching and is based on the new book by Philippe Rosinski, ‘Coaching Across Cultures’ - New Tools for Leveraging National, Corporate and Professional Differences published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Where coaching has come from

Until recently, coaches have relied on common sense, communication techniques, and psychological perspectives (such as behavioral psychology and emotional intelligence). Given the amazing challenges in a global and turbulent environment at home and abroad, this is no longer sufficient. Traditional coaching has assumed a worldview (i.e., American and, to some extent, Western European) that doesn’t hold true universally. Culture must now become part of the equation.

An integrated approach

By integrating the cultural dimension, coaches will unleash more human potential to achieve meaningful objectives and will be better equipped to fulfill their commitment to extend people’s worldviews, bridge cultural gaps, and enable successful work across cultures.

Whether you are a manager using coaching or a professional coach, whether you are coaching other people or just yourself, you cannot ignore these cultural components in communication. Moreover and beyond communication, culture has an impact on every human activity: how we view time, think, organize ourselves, define our purpose, relate to power, and so on.

Case study

Let us take a look at an example where a merger has taken place.

Leveraging Unilever and Bestfoods Cultures

Research has shown that “over one merger out of two fails. Two out of three do not produce the value creation promised during the operation. The question of people and company culture is by far the number one failure factor.” In 2000, Unilever acquired Bestfoods for just over US$25 billion. The operation was among the twenty largest mergers and acquisitions worldwide that year.

Rather than de facto imposing its culture, Unilever understood that to make the merger work, cultural differences between the two companies had to be well understood. A task force, with the help of the Hay Group, identified the following differences, realizing that there were many exceptions to those generalizations:

The integration team recognized that all the orientations had potential merits. They considered amalgamating the best of both cultures but soon realized that a context was necessary to make that evaluation. The overall vision and strategy provided that context. What was called for was a new corporate culture that would draw characteristics from Unilever and Bestfoods.

To that end, an enriched cultural repertoire has started to develop, leveraging Unilever and Bestfoods cultures. For example, Unilever executives are learning to make quicker decisions whenever extra analysis would only impede action. Bestfoods executives are developing a habit of constructively challenging decisions to avoid engaging in a hasty, inadequate course of action.

The intellectual versus operational focus was noticed by the coach with several senior executives being coached from both companies. They were urged to learn from the other culture to enrich their original company culture. For example, one Unilever executive was challenged to describe his vision in more specific terms and to spell out his operational priorities. Meanwhile, a Bestfoods executive was invited to articulate a general philosophy and a compelling business case, building on his intuitive ideas and concrete initiatives in order to bring his colleagues on board with his novel approach.

Time will tell how successful the Bestfoods acquisition will prove to be. But it is clear that this eagerness to learn from the other merging company has already strengthened Unilever–Bestfoods. Talent from the acquired Bestfoods has been retained and developed, rather than alienated, as is too often the case.

Smooth sailing?

Of course whilst coaching across cultures is a source of richness, it does come

with a price. It is much more comforting and reassuring to stay within your familiar coaching and work environment. In working internationally it is inevitable that you will experience alternative worldviews and mix with people from different cultures. This will often feel challenging and you may experience higher stress. After all, you are venturing into new territories. Who said expanding our horizons was easy? The benevolent presence of a cross-cultural coach and a support network can help you on that journey. The promise of a richer future and the excitement of learning should also help you accept and surmount the obstacles along the way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the coaching requirements of both individuals, section & department heads, global team managers as well as senior executives involved in succession planning will increasingly need to be viewed thorough an interculturalist lens. Mono-cultural coaching will only be applicable for those not involved in any way whatsoever with the global market. As anyone in the world of business will tell you, this number is steadily decreasing. In the future, coaching, in what ever form it may take in an organisation, will need to take account of different cultural perspectives and worldviews simply to be effective and for the business to be profitable. The quicker we achieve this – the better for everyone.

The author of Coaching Across Cultures can be contacted at: philippe@philrosinski.com