Global Fitness for Global People: How to Manage and Leverage Cultural Diversity at Work

If you experience any kind of diversity in your working life and want to handle it with greater understanding, pleasure and success, this book is for you. It will take you on a professional development journey that will enable you to: Gain greater self-awareness and cultural insights Communicate more effectively, especially in intercultural contexts Enhance rapport and build stronger global relationships Collaborate and succeed in global teams Exercise global leadership in contexts of diversity Handle ethical challenges, maintaining integrity Mould the organisational environment to enhance well-being and promote learning Plan how to enhance global fitness (intercultural competence) in your organisation
The book is packed full of case studies, stories, reflection activities, explanations, and key takeaways, giving you the tools, skills and understanding to manage and leverage cultural diversity at work with success. It provides you with a set of core principles and tools that you can apply flexibly and dynamically to meet your own and your organisation’s needs. Whatever your sector – international business, not-for-profit, third-sector, education, healthcare, research, politics, government, diplomacy and more – this book will help you and your organisation to perform more successfully.
Reviews\nInspiring! Profound and insightful without being too academic. The authors use new and powerful tools to describe culture and its impact. I particularly liked the positive approach of Global Fitness. The authors take us on a learning journey and make it clear that the ability to deal with intercultural issues has a lot to do with one's own inner attitude towards leveraging diversity.
—Monika Krause, Intercultural trainer and coach, Vice-President SIETAR Germany\nGlobal Fitness for Global People is brimming with cutting edge research that is illuminated with real-world case studies and extensive activities for reflection and application. I highly recommend this resource to global workers everywhere who are looking for practical solutions for building a more culturally intelligent world.
—David Livermore, PhD, author and thought leader on cultural intelligence and global leadership
This book will help people who want to be successful working or leading in multi-cultural contexts to accurately diagnose what “cultural muscles” they need to strengthen and the most effective way to do that.
—Zhou Ning, CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia Parts Trading and Services Co., Ltd.
This book provides a treasure trove of insights and practical applications based on real-life case studies for succeeding within diverse workplaces as well as in daily living – this is a must-read for all those desiring to successfully navigate differences!
—Darla K. Deardorff, author and Founding President, World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence
In an ever-changing world where the most vulnerable often lose out, Global Fitness for Global People provides compelling solutions to challenges at home and abroad. Global interconnectivity is here to stay and this book provides the tools with which to make it work for all of us.
—Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Member of Parliament for Tottenham and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, UK
The beauty of this book is that it is so practical—dozens of case studies, numerous helpful charts and diagrams, down-to-earth prose – and so engaging that it will appeal even to people who may not be sure they need more cultural awareness. And for those keen to improve their cross-cultural skills, there are honest-to-goodness treasures on every page.
—Craig Storti, Intercultural trainer and author of The Art of Doing Business across Cultures