While our clients have long given us the feedback that our academic backgrounds, practical experience, analytic skills, systemic thinking and continuing self-development provide that special CIELARKO value, this year has repeatedly reminded us that our language and cultural backgrounds are among the greatest assets that we bring to our work.
The CIELARKO coaching team has qualities that are particularly important for people who work in South African – German environments:
- All CIELARKO coaches are fluent in English and German. Our ability to speak and think in German helps German clients express the subtleties of complex emotional issues as precisely as they wish to in their mother tongue.
- We feel equally comfortable with the German and South African cultures. Our multi-cultural experience allows us to identify cultural components in the issues discussed during coaching. A particular situation might have at it’s core a sincere difference of opinion, which is overshadowed by cultural misunderstandings. We can help clients become conscious of these dynamics, which is the first step towards resolving intercultural conflict.
- We know from personal experience what it feels like to belong to majority or minority groups and the challenges that either entails. We are also familiar with the frustration you feel when you cannot fully express your expertise because you are communicating in a foreign language. This helps us to empathise with our clients and to support them in moving beyond the barriers they perceive.
We provide intercultural coaching for individuals as well as teams, bringing all of who we are to the task. Please contact us, if you’d like to find out more.