A geographically international company sets its sights on becoming a globally-minded company through Inter-Cultural Intelligence.
TD Williamson is a global leader in pipeline product and service solutions for any pressurized pipeline system, anywhere in the world. TDW have about 2500 staff in 50 countries around the world, and in April 2015 TDW invited KnowledgeWorkx to its base in Stavanger, Norway, to coach its personnel in Inter-Cultural Intelligence.
Once completely dependent on the sardine industry, Stavanger is now the oil and gas capital of the North Sea. Many multi-national oil and gas companies have bases in Stavanger, and this has dramatically changed the population over the last 40 years, leading to its approximately 20% expatriate population today. Since TDW provides services to oil and gas companies, its highly-skilled teams must interact effectively with other engineers and technicians from all over the world, in a variety of international and multi-cultural contexts.
The team that KnowledgeWorkx coached through introductory ICI workshops in Norway consists of both engineers and personnel in management and leadership roles. Where ever they are based, and whatever their role within the company, TDW staff are likely to have international colleagues, international clients and projects that call them to various parts of the world.
ICI coaching both equips people and enables effective corporate change.
According to one leader there, however, TDW is convinced that being geographically international is not good enough -- TDW wants to become a thoroughly global firm; they want to globalize their corporate DNA, and the DNA of their people. TDW believes that KnowledgeWorkx can help them achieve both aims with ICI coaching: both equipping their people with ICI so they will have the skills and competencies to operate and navigate globally; and enabling the DNA of the business to become global in its outlook, processes and communication.
The ICI workshops in April were just the beginning of this process of globalization. But already the feedback indicates that the switched-on attendees are planning action based on the coaching received so far -- such as better prepping their techs and engineers as they travel the world. They found the coaching a "valuable, eye-opening experience that revealed strategies for reducing cultural barriers and increasing openness".
If you would like to discuss your own goals and the possibility of embarking on a corporate journey with KnowledgeWorkx, please contact us.
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