The Cross-Cultural Coaching Kaleidoscope

Coaching has emerged from a Western, largely Anglo-American, perspective that may not be appropriate across cultures, given the multi-cultural nature of societies and workplaces today and the working practice of virtual teams. This has repercussions for the coaching profession. There is little knowledge about the constituent factors of cross-cultural coaching; or the attitudes, skills and knowledge required to practice in a global market. Therefore, there is little sharing of best practice that in turn has an impact upon coaching competency.This book shows a unique approach to describing the impact of culture in the coaching relationship. It demonstrates how culture can affect our perceptions, thoughts and emotions, influence our choices and impact our behaviour. It identifies the need for the coach to become adept at raising awareness of cultural influences and to reframe psychological constructs often thought to have universal meaning; such as responsibility. Consequently, it moves way beyond studies of culture which draw on national characteristics, cultural dimensions or orientations, and proposes that our culture has individual and distinct meanings for each and every one of us.The book is based upon research conducted by the author during her Masters study. It also draws upon case studies from global practitioners who have been using the Cross-Cultural Kaleidoscope model, upon which the book draws its title. Appealing to executive coaching practitioners and academics alike, this book is intended to offer a fresh approach to coaching in an increasingly complex, mobile and intercultural world.