Cross-Cultural Advisory
International appointments require more than professional fit.
When executives take responsibility in new markets, or when international companies fill leadership roles in the DACH region, qualifications alone do not determine success. Different decision-making processes, communication styles, leadership expectations and ways of working all influence whether a leader can become effective in a new environment.
This perspective feeds into our search work from the outset: the target profile, the approach, candidate assessment and preparation for the specific role. We look at which person brings the right expertise, understands cultural differences and can lead effectively in the given market environment.
We support companies not with abstract cultural models, but with practical experience from markets, organisations and leadership situations in which cross-cultural fit determines impact and long-term success.
Cultural intelligence does not mean adapting until you are unrecognisable. It means meeting another culture with deep respect – and using your own values as a reliable compass.
Malte Oltmanns
Individual analytical modules for international appointments and leadership situations
Cross-cultural advisory at our firm does not follow a standard programme. Every organisation, every market and every leadership role brings its own requirements. That is why we work with modular analysis and advisory components, combining them according to the situation.
Whether international appointment, market entry, leadership transition, post-hire integration or collaboration between headquarters and a local team: we look at the cultural, organisational and personal factors that determine impact and acceptance.
Our advisory work is built on first-hand international leadership and lived experience. We know international collaboration not from theory, but from carrying responsibility ourselves — above all in China, but also in Korea, Japan, the USA and European markets.
How we support international appointments and leadership situations
In international appointments, investments or leadership decisions, expertise alone is not enough. What matters is whether leadership style, personality, cultural background and target environment fit together.
We analyse what a role or market genuinely requires: how decisions are made, how trust is built, what expectations exist around leadership, communication and responsibility — and which person can have a lasting impact in this environment.
Our assessment does not come from abstract cultural models, but from our own international leadership responsibility: from the experience of how collaboration between headquarters, local teams, clients and partners works in practice.
New markets have their own unwritten rules. These show up not only in language, law or processes, but above all in decision-making, trust, hierarchy, negotiation and collaboration.
Our Market Entry Cultural Briefings prepare executives and teams for that reality. The focus is on concrete questions: how are decisions made locally? What do clients, partners or employees expect? Which behaviours build trust — and which unintentionally create friction?
The briefings are tailored to the market, the role and the company situation. They are based on first-hand international leadership and lived experience — above all in China, but also in other Asian, European and international markets.
International leadership requires the ability to use your own leadership style deliberately and adapt it to different cultural contexts without losing clarity.
Our coaching supports executives before or during international roles. Topics may include communication, hierarchy, conflict management, building trust, working with local teams or the interface between headquarters and the local organisation.
The aim is not adaptation at any price, but effective leadership in an environment where expectations, decision-making processes and communication norms differ. The basis is practical experience from international leadership responsibility — not a generic training model.
Some friction points only become visible late in the selection process or in day-to-day collaboration. Often they do not stem from a lack of expertise, but from different expectations around leadership, responsibility, pace, communication or decision-making.
We make these factors visible and discuss them early. We consider personality, leadership style, organisational culture and target market together — with particular attention to the reality of international collaboration between headquarters and local organisation, local teams, clients, partners and decision-makers.
This creates an additional perspective on fit, integration and long-term effectiveness.
International leadership is a capability in its own right. Anyone leading across cultures must recognise expectations around hierarchy, communication, conflict resolution and responsibility — and respond to them appropriately.
Our Intercultural Leadership Assessment analyses how a leader is likely to be effective in international contexts: how adaptable are they? How clear do they remain under cultural ambiguity? How do they build trust? And how well can they mediate between different decision-making logics?
The analysis adds a cross-cultural leadership perspective to conventional selection processes — experience-based, practical and grounded in an understanding of real international organisations.
An international appointment is not complete once the contract is signed. The first months in particular determine whether an executive builds trust, gains clarity and becomes effective in the new environment.
We support this phase with a focus on cultural expectations, communication, role clarification and collaboration between the executive, the organisation, headquarters and the local team.
This is not about generic onboarding checklists, but about the concrete leadership reality of the market in question: how does acceptance emerge? Where is clarity needed? Which expectations should be discussed early? And how can collaboration be put on a solid footing?
International teams often work across countries, languages, functions and different leadership norms. Friction does not always arise openly — often it comes from unspoken expectations.
A Cultural Fit Audit shows where collaboration works particularly well — and where misunderstandings, decision-making processes or communication patterns are slowing impact.
The focus is on the everyday reality of international teams: leadership, coordination, responsibility, communication, trust and decision-making ability. The result is a set of practical starting points for better collaboration, clearer leadership and stronger mutual understanding.
Some aspects of international leadership are best discussed in a confidential setting. Our Closed-Door Roundtables bring together selected entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors and senior leaders.
The focus is on open conversation about market experience, cultural leadership, international appointments and the reality of entrepreneurial responsibility in different countries.
Access is by invitation and aimed at decision-makers seeking peer-level exchange — beyond abstract models and focused on what actually counts in international leadership.
A case in point: Germany and Switzerland
International appointments do not begin only in China, Japan or the USA. Even between Germany and Switzerland, leadership expectations, decision-making processes and communication norms differ noticeably.
While German organisations often place strong emphasis on direct decision-making and clearly assigned responsibility, Swiss organisations tend to give greater weight to involvement, consensus-building, stability and regional sensitivity. Applying German search logic unchanged may identify technically suitable people — and still miss the cultural impact the role requires.
That is precisely why we take cross-cultural factors into account from the outset: in the search profile, the approach and the assessment of fit.
Let’s talk about your international appointment.
Malte Oltmanns has held leadership responsibility in China for more than ten years and knows international organisations from first-hand experience. Together, we clarify which cultural and organisational factors are relevant for your appointment — and how they should inform search, selection and onboarding.
