Unlocking Cultural Agility with Marco Blankenburgh

How did a small team from Northern Ireland create a world-renowned service and build up an international clientele winning multiple national and global awards for their excellence?

Find out as Marco talks with Iain Wilson the CEO of IBC- Music and a Certified Inter-Cultural Intelligence Practitioner.

IBC-Music specializes in helping international musical instrument brands find manufacturing and distribution partn...

Whether it's leading staff living around the world, navigating different cultural and personal workstyles, or working on teams across borders — leading globally keeps becoming more complex. Global leaders must guide their teams through local and regional instabilities, drastic industry changes, political upheaval, protests and strikes, and many other turbulent surprises.
 
In this episode, Marco and Shelley walk throug...

Most psychometric tools are created by researchers in the West. These tools are shaped by cultural human beings with Western biases.  Are these tools viable in non-Western settings?

How do you avoid marginalizing non-western team members if you do use those tools?

Listen as Linda Berlot shares deep insights to help managers and facilitators alike use psychometric assessments to help their intercultural teams thriv...

How do you create a thriving intercultural marriage or relationship?
 
The challenges of the last few years have taught us that quality relationships are crucial for success in work and life. Listen to these stories of relational success to learn how to build better relationships at home and work.

Bart and Julie Heiligenberg and Bryce and Thelma Dzirbik share their stories walking through life bringing together cul...

What is trust? What causes it to erode? How can a team build a resilient culture of trust?

In 2022, Gallup ran a poll and released statistics revealing that up to 70% of employees would leave their job if they could. Much of that dissatisfaction is rooted in distrust. A lack of trust creates misunderstanding and a breakdown in collaboration. Work culture turns toxic, resulting in a traumatized workforce. 

In thi...

We'll be back with more episodes of the Cultural Agility Podcast in November. In the meantime, I got to sit down with my good friend and host of the "Cup of Tea" podcast Chris O'Shaughnessy.

We explored all sorts of helpful topics to help you develop your own cultural agility. You can listen to this episode and more here.

The Cup of Tea Podcast is organized within the InterCultural Approach pro...

Join George Kesselaar and Marco as they explore the complexities of intercultural consulting and how to successfully facilitate positive behavior change in people in this global world.

George Kesselaar is a seasoned corporate transformation specialist with 25 years of executive level experience in Big 4 consulting firms and deep experience in managing strategic change, human resources transformation, high-performance learn...

Hasan Rafiq has worked as a senior Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) leader at some of the world's largest companies, including EY (Ernst and Young) and Facebook.

Join Hasan and Marco as they explore how to create a culture of belonging in organizations both large and small.

Currently, Hasan Rafiq is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging of Newsela, where he drive...

Our 10th episode features an authentic conversation with KnowledgeWorkx’s founder and International Director, Marco Blankenburgh.

Shelley Reinhart, KWx's Global Network Liaison, conducts this engaging interview. She asks Marco about his childhood in the Netherlands, his service in the Dutch Special Forces, his love of plants, and the story of the creation of KnowledgeWorkx.

Listen to Marco's journey an...

Join Ming-Jinn Tong, Andy Gray, and Marco as they unpack how cultural agility is building exciting new bridges in racial equity and diversity and inclusion work in Minneapolis.

Ming-Jinn Tong is a Certified Intercultural Intelligence Practitioner and owner of Cultivate, specialty consultation firm helping companies connect better across cultures. As an amateur chef, Ming-Jinn likes to equate culture with a good meal. He l...

Join Nic Labuschagne and Marco as they explore how cultural agility helps you adapt communication to fit audiences from many different cultures. 

Nic Labuschagne is a senior director of strategy at APCO Worldwide and is based in Dubai. He is a communications strategist with over 30 years’ experience in helping governments and organisations in emerging markets (Middle East and Africa), to successfully and sustainably manage...

Join, Learning and Development Professional and Certified Intercultural Coach Kerry Lee, as she and Marco explore how we position ourselves and our ideas in a way that connects across cultures.

Kerry is a life-long learner with an insatiable curiosity about people, potential, and cultures. She works with individuals and teams to develop their potential through coaching and customized learning experience design by embracing...

Join Michael and Shelley as they explore the ways teachers, parents, and school administrators can transform their schools and classrooms into culturally inclusive spaces. 

Michael Bartlett is the Head of School Partnerships at Suraasa. He has founded schools, served as an executive school principal, and consulted for international schools around the UAE. 

Shelley Reinhart is the Director of Knowledgeworkx Education. She ha...

Listen to stories of three Third Culture Kids (TCKs) growing up outside their home country, with all the challenges and amazing opportunities that come with it.

- Ahmed: Born and raised in Dubai, Ahmed’s home country is Tanzania. He is currently studying at the University of Toronto.
- Maggie: Born in Maryland, USA, Maggie moved to Dubai as a young teen. She studied Human Services at York College in Pennsylvania, an...

Join Chris and Marco as they explore the gifts and challenges unique to Third Culture Kids and how those parallel the realities of our globalized world. With his characteristic wit and engaging storytelling, Chris brings the intuitive into the intellectual so that we can all benefit from a shared language around our experiences. 

Christopher O'Shaughnessy is a speaker, comedian, and author who “gets to fly around and chat for a...

Join Apollo Perelini and Marco as they explore the bridge building power of rugby across cultures. 

Apollo Perelini is a former professional dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer. Now he is the High Performance Manager of the United Arab Emirates’ Rugby Federation. In 2021, he organized the first ever friendly match with the national rugby teams of Israel and the United Arab Emirates. 

Learn more about Apoll...

Join Corrina Cross as she explores how understanding empathy, personality, and intercultural wiring helps managers create powerfully productive teams. 

Corrina is a People Skills Consultant and Lead Facilitator at The People People.  She has been in Dubai for 27 years and in the middle east for many more years. She helps business owners and managers improve teamwork, increase productivity and reduce turnover through learning and dev...

Join Paul and Matt, leaders in coaching as they talk with Marco about the intersection of culture and coaching. Along the way, they share their own personal experiences in intercultural marriages and intercultural work environments. 

Matt is an internationally credentialed coach of 10 years experience, founder of North Point, and a past president of the Dubai chapter of the International Coach Federation. 

Paul’s career as an executi...

Dive in with Linda Berlot— Entrepreneur, Executive, and Certified Team Coach. She is the owner of an International Team Coaching Practice and an ICF accredited coach training school that provides professional and personal development for multicultural executives in the field of team dynamics and change management. 

Listen as she shares her story as a uniquely wired cultural human being. They will not just talk about the “what” of di...