SIETAR Polska Recap!
Melissa recaps her workshop with SIETAR Polska:
Dziękuję bardzo to the SIETAR Polska Congress Team for hosting the 2021 Virtual Congress, Identities in Uncertain Times. It was such a pleasure to join my cofacilitator Kinga Białek and participants from Poland and beyond for this timely and engaging event.
Session Recap
Our workshop session was entitled How to adapt to a new culture without losing your identity? An introduction to the Global Dexterity Method. In it, we introduced the first component of Professor Andy Molinsky’s Global Dexterity methodology, Diagnosing the Cultural Code. This differs from the dimensions found in other models in two key ways:
First, it is situation-based, so rather than looking at how people in a country behave in general, we examine how they behave in a particular interaction.
Second, Global Dexterity makes room for exceptions to the rule and variations which may be relevant. It acknowledges that a person is not merely Polish or German, but may be a high school student, a parent, an entrepreneur, etc., and may have past experiences, needs, concerns, prerogatives, and personalities which influence their response.
In our session, we divided participants into breakout rooms where they examined one of four case studies and attempted to identify where the heroes in their stories fell on the continuum for each dimension. Lively discussions ensued as participants realized that what at first appeared to be an easy or obvious answer revealed itself to be deeper, more nuanced, and more complex. We returned to the full class for a forum discussion, where participants remarked that they appreciated how practical, down-to-earth, and easy to use the method was. We all wished that we had time to explore the rest of the method, but alas, after a few questions, our time came to an end.
Takeaways
One of our takeaways was that there is a hunger for a method which goes beyond talking about and mapping difference to helping clients adapt and change in light of that difference. Another takeaway was that although this model was designed by an American professor, and thus may reflect some U.S. ideas about culture, it is nonetheless very useful and applicable in other contexts.
Next Steps
In light of this feedback, we are as motivated as ever to share the Global Dexterity Method with professionals in the intercultural field and those adjacent to it. If you are interested in learning more, we invite you to attend our free informational webinar on Tuesday, March 9 at 10 am Los Angeles/1 pm Boston/7 pm Warsaw. (The course itself will begin on April 15 at 9 am LA/12 pm Boston/6 pm Warsaw). You can also reach out to us via the contact button on this site, or on LinkedIn.
Thank you again to SIETAR Polska’s Congress committee, the participants who made it so lively and thought-provoking, and of course, to Kinga Białek!