#5 (EN): International IT Teams – Part 1

# #5 (EN): International IT Teams – Part 1

In this episode of *Me, Myself & IT Leadership*, Daniel and Nova explore why international IT teams often misunderstand each other — even when everyone is speaking English and working toward the same goal.

Using Erin Meyer’s *The Culture Map* as a framework, this first part focuses on four cultural mechanics that directly shape IT leadership and collaboration:

- communicating: low-context vs. high-context communication

- disagreeing: how cultures handle conflict and direct feedback

- deciding: consensus, hierarchy, alignment and decision ownership

- persuading: principles-first vs. applications-first, plus the hidden advantage of language and selling culture

Daniel shares practical observations from almost twenty years of international work: the “yes” that is not a commitment, why German directness can be misunderstood, how decisions get reopened, and why cultural friction is often wrongly interpreted as a performance problem.

The core message: international collaboration is not about stereotypes. It is about understanding mechanisms — and making them visible enough that teams can work with them instead of against them.

This is part one of a two-part conversation on cultural differences in international IT teams.