Improve communications and maximize team effectiveness

Even though we may work in one building and speak the same language, every team will have its own culture and language. The finance department’s “customs” will differ from say, Research and Development in a large organization. I will have priorities and cultural rituals (like developing annual financial statements or audits) that may quite foreign to the uninitiated. And as I speak in my native tongue, I may not feel understood. For example, as a doctor what I mean when I say “urgent” may be comprehended very differently by a member of my clinic’s registration or human resource departments.

Visiting from office to office can be as tricky as negotiating across international borders! Just to make it more difficult, our personal backgrounds will also test our abilities to make ourselves understood. For example, I might have been raised in New York City or New Delhi, where you may come from three generations of farmers in the Midwest. Or I may be a seasoned parent, where you may be single and fresh out of school. We use the same words, work on the same projects, but our experiences of common events may be very, very different.

Combs and Company provides organizational consulting, cross-cultural conflict management skills and facilitation to bridge these cultural divides so you can create breakthrough conversations, stronger relationships and innovative solutions. Based on the Way of Conflict philosophy, you learn how to better gather information and stay focused on answers instead of on differences. By combining organizational development services with communication training, Combs and Company arms your team to confront and resolve vexing issues with or without us.