It is the adventure of being far away and still feeling at home....

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martes, 27 de abril de 2010

Monday 9th May, 6.30pm - BUENOS AIRES GOES MULTICULTURAL - How much do you know about multicultural teams? Join us!


Limited seats. Please confirm attendance via email ASAP at info@nomadasglobales.com.ar

Day: Monday 3rd May, 6.30pm
Length: 2 hours 30 minutes
Place: Café Lopez. Scalabrini Ortiz 2401. Corner of Güemes – 1st Floor. Palermo
Attendance fee: 40 Ar$/ person.
If you book 2 seats (you and a colleague/ friend): 70 Ar$/both

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Nómadas Globales Argentina, Argentine-based Consulting firm specialized in Intercultural Training, offers Cross-cultural training and coffee sessions in Palermo every week, alternating between Spanish and English sessions to promote cultural learning among Spanish- and English-speaking professionals from different nationalities and industries.

From a dynamic perspective that combines theory and practice, our next workshop (in English) focuses on:
• Raise awareness on the impact of culture on our perception of reality, our decisions and behaviors, both on a personal and professional level

• Identify essential differences among a variety of business practices across cultures, focusing on the Argentine workstyle and possible difficulties when working with Argentines

• Raise awareness on hidden stereotypes and judgments about our own cultural background and other cultural groups that impact negatively on effective communication across cultures

• Develop listening and conversational skills to resolve conflicts in multicultural settings

Speaker and Moderator: Lic Natalia Sarro

• Argentine Psychologist & Intercultural Trainer
• Founder of Nómadas Globales Argentina
• Coordinator of Cultural immersion, pre-departure and arrival orientation programs for global executives and international students.
• Bilingual Therapist of Spanish and English-speaking patients.

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Why taking an intercultural training in Buenos Aires?


Times change. And our challenges as global professionals change with them.

Today it is not uncommon to hear multiple languages and accents around the streets of Buenos Aires.
While the nostalgic Italian or Spanish Accent of our European ancestors is part of the past, today an increasing number of qualified foreigners, mainly Europeans and North-americans, find in Argentina their new home: a good place to live, study or work and develop their international careers.

So Argentine- based organizations are now incorporating new voices and nationalities to their workforces, bringing a multicultural flavor to their teams.

As professionals interacting with foreign colleagues, clients, partners and managers, we need to explore new ways of connecting across cultural boundaries.
How can we take advantage of cultural differences in workplace and use them to improve effectiveness of our teams?


JOIN US!

miércoles, 21 de abril de 2010

Lunes 26/04: Taller de Capacitación Intercultural (en español): "Equipos de Trabajo Multiculturales: relaciones efectivas más allá de las diferencias" - Abierta la inscripción

Por que un taller de capacitación intercultural?

Los tiempos cambian. Y nuestros desafíos como profesionales también.

Impensado hasta hace algunas décadas, hoy no es extraño escuchar un crisol de múltiples lenguas por las calles de Buenos Aires.
Ya no se trata únicamente del nostálgico acento italiano y español de nuestros abuelos inmigrados, sino de un nuevo segmento de extranjeros calificados, mayormente europeos y norteamericanos, que encuentran en Argentina su nuevo lugar de residencia y trabajo.
El número de expatriados transferidos por compañías multinacionales a sus oficinas en Buenos Aires crece exponencialmente, y con él nuestro desafío de incorporar nuevas prácticas inclusivas de la diversidad cultural en nuestras organizaciones globales.

Cómo podemos lograr que las diferencias culturales generen un valor agregado a nuestra organizaciones y a nuestros equipos de trabajo?

Nómadas Globales Argentina, consultora argentina especializada en capacitación intercultural,  propone el 1er Ciclo de Talleres de Capacitación Intercultural en Buenos Aires (en español).

Desde una dinámica teórico-práctica de estilo taller, el objetivo del primer encuentro es:

-  generar conciencia acerca del impacto de la cultura en nuestra percepción de la realidad, así como en nuestras decisiones y  comportamientos, en el ámbito personal y de negocios.


- reconocer prácticas de negocios y estilos de trabajo vinculados a nuestro estilo cultural argentino


- identificar prácticas de negocios de colegas extranjeros, reinterpretándolas a la luz de los valores y normas culturales del país de origen y influencia del expatriado


- desarrollar habilidades de escucha y resolución de conflictos en el ámbito laboral que surgen como producto de nuestros modos culturales diversos - y a la vez únicos- de percibir la realidad


- utilizar la riqueza de la diversidad cultural en los equipos de trabajos multiculturales como un valor agregado a su efectividad, y no como un obstáculo al ejercicio de buenas prácticas

Dia: Lunes 26 de Abril, 18.30hs
Duración: 2hs 30 min.
Lugar: Café Lopez. Scalabrini Ortiz 2401. Palermo

Costo de asistencia: 40Ar$/persona
Reservando 2 vacantes: 70Ar$/ ambas
Presentación y coordinación del Taller:  Lic Natalia Sarro.
  • Psicóloga y Consultora Intercultural.
  • Fundadora de Nómadas Globales Argentina - Consultoría en capacitación intercultural. Bs As, Argentina.         
  • Coordinadora de Programas de inmersión y capacitación intercultural a ejecutivos y estudiantes internacionales.
  • Terapeuta bilingüe de pacientes extranjeros.
Vacantes limitadas. Confirmar asistencia via email a info@nomadasglobales.com.ar o nomadasglobales@gmail.com




martes, 13 de abril de 2010

Why cross-cultural training? Learning to look at the Argentines closer


Many Argentines and expats living in Argentina are curious about our Weekly Cross-Cultural Training & Coffee Sessions in Palermo. They often ask us “What is this whole cross-cultural training thing about? Are you a Meet & chat group? Do you practise English with foreigners?” The answer is no… what we do is something totally different. That´s basically because we work with diversity.

So, to be able to explain you what we do, let´s start talking  about yourself. Touchy topic, right? Take it easy. The journey is simply amazing, trust us.

Culture has a significant impact in everything you do: how you behave, how you perceive reality, yourself and others, what you consider right or wrong, or even what you find ugly or beautiful. You, as everybody else, are influenced by multiple cultural elements: the place where you were born and raised, the books you read, the religion you follow, the school you attended, among others. One of the most important influences in who you are is… your national culture. It is not the same whether you grew up in Argentina, Germany or China. And it´s definitely not the same if you spent your childhood years in Spain, US or India.
Thank God it´s not the same!... Being diverse is what makes us rich.


Learning the Argentine way

If you are Argentino or live or work with Argentines, then you need to ask yourself an essential question: Do you really know how Argentines think, feel and perceive reality? What is important to them? What do they fear, enjoy, respect or admire? Have you ever wondered why sometimes you see their habits and behaviors as awkward or illogical?

As any other culture, Argentinos have their own system of cultural preferences, values and beliefs. Through years and years, they lived in the same geographical region, developed common habits and  learnt to solve problems in a similar way. Their cultural response to reality is what makes them unique and different from other groups. We are unable to perceive those common values, beliefs and cultural responses at first sight. We only have access to the results at an observable level (how they dress up, what food they eat, how they communicate with each other etc). But we would be too naive if we thought that we can easily explain the Argentine world - or any other cultural world- based on simple, first-sight observations of their reality.

Look closer. 

The roots that explain Argentines´ observable reality remain untouched below the surface. You need to get involved with your own roots first, and with other people´s roots later, to be able to explain what motivates you and them to behave how you behave, and why you prefer to choose certain ways of solving problems, instead of others. Culture is about finding local solutions to universal problems every human being has.
Isn´t that simply amazing?


By learning to identify your own cultural orientation and your Argentine friends/colleagues/ Managers´s cultural background, you´ll be able to understand:

1- what motivates your behaviors and decisions
2- what motivates other people´s behaviors and decisions
3- how to bridge the gap across cultures and differences, and improve your relationship with people from other cultures.



As you see, if you live in this world, developing cross-cultural skills is an everyday need! This is what brought us to create our Weekly Tranings in Palermo.

And what can you expect from a cross-cultural training session?  By developing cross-cultural awareness, you will learn to:

Practice empathy: be able to see the world as other people see it! People prefer to work with those who are able to switch perspectives and perceive the world from different viewpoints.

Respect others: learn to tolerate what is different or unknown is a valuable attitude for effective communicators. Have you ever realized that YOU are also a “stranger” or “different” from other people´s perspective?

Tolerate ambiguity: intercultural situations are usually ambiguous and uncertain. This causes stress and frustration. Cross the bridge...get involved!

Avoid being judgmental: we tend naturally to use our own frames of reference to evaluate people´s behaviors. This leads to misunderstandings!

Become a global citizen: we are all world nomads, crossing cultures every day, always in transition. We are foreigners in our own world. Are you learning to be a global nomad?

So, now it´s time to answer the question: Our Cross-cultural training and coffee sessions are an innovative, interactive and practical method of exploring Argentina´s culture and values and developing effective cross-cultural strategies to adapt successfully to living and working in Argentina. In our sessions, participants (both Argentines and extranjeros)  learn about Porteños mentality, challenges of living as a foreigner in BsAs and cultural differences between Argentina and other cultures represented in Buenos Aires. They share their personal and work experiences in Argentina, and help each other find possible strategies to cross cultural bridges.All in a relaxed and informal atmosphere – el Café Porteño!

Look closer. Join us.
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viernes, 2 de abril de 2010

Does "SI" mean "YES" in Argentina?

When I deliver intercultural trainings, my audience (travelers, expats and international students living in Buenos Aires) usually show a special interest in sharing their experiences on first interactions with Argentinos. A few of them are funny tales and stories of success, but many are chronicles of frustrating encounters, where communicating effectively with Porteños feels like trying to complete a 1000-piece puzzle and always missing the last piece. Expats claim that there is a kind of magic force preventing them from connecting with their Porteños collegues, flatmates or partners.





So why is that?

Sometimes it is the lack of motivation to mix with Porteños that leads to failed interactions. In other cases, Spanish still sounds like Mandarin Chinese to many NewComers who struggle with the local accent and the fast-speaking style of Porteños.

But when the motivation is there, and they have learnt to say more than “Si, gracias” in Spanish and “Qué Buena onda” in Lunfardo´s Buenos Aires slang, there is one more box to consider in BA expats´ checklist: communication style.
A frequent complaint is that locals "just don’t know how to answer a question straight to the point". Is it because all Porteños have suddenly lost their train of thought? Well, some of them possibly, but ... everyone?

Others moan that Porteños usually don´t say what they really mean. Does "Sí" mean "Yes" in Argentina? Or Spanish rules changed and “Sí” now means “Maybe not, but I won´t tell you that”?

The challenge is a bit more profound, and way more interesting to explore!

Cultures differ significantly on many dimensions, being one of the most important ones the level of directness and indirectness. Differences between these two poles account for a large number of cross-cultural misunderstandings.

According to Edward Hall, one of the most respected US Anthropologists and Cross-Cultural Researchers, cultures can have high-context and low context communication patterns.

In a low context culture (such as USA or Germany), communication tends to be direct. Most of the information is in the words and there is no need to read between lines. People say what they mean and they mean what they say.

On the other hand, in high-context cultures (such as Japan, Southeast Asia or China) most information is transmitted indirectly. It is usually implicit in the physical context (such as body language), while very little is contained in the verbal, explicit message. If telling the truth threatens harmony, then the truth should be adjusted or disguised. Preserving relationships and avoiding loss of face are main concerns. So if you forget to read between lines, you will be missing the largest portion of the message of your indirect counterpart.

Having said this – are you now ready to go one step farther in your appreciation of Argentinos´ communication style? Where do you think that Argentina stands between the low-context/ high context cultural orientation?

And last but not least - what kind of communication patterns do YOU have?




I look forward to your thoughts!


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Join our Presentation & Training session on
"Effective communication with Porteños"
Next Friday 9th April  - 6.30pm: Intercultural Coffee Meetings for Expats and Argentinos in BA

Limited seats. Book your place: nomadasglobales@gmail.com