Are you leading teams across cultures but feeling like you're constantly misreading the room? You're not alone. Most executives I work with struggle with the same challenge—they know cultural differences matter, but they don't know how to move beyond surface-level awareness to actual competence.
What if I told you the biggest barrier to global leadership success isn't language or time zones, but the invisible assumptions we carry about how work should get done? Today's conversation with Maria Angela Calmet will completely shift how you approach cross-cultural leadership.
Maria Angela is the CEO and founder of Allopoli, international bestselling author of LIDERESA, and someone who has led projects across five continents. With over 15 years of experience building teams from South America to Asia, from Africa to North America, she's witnessed both spectacular cultural failures and breakthrough successes.
But here's what makes this conversation different. Maria Angela isn't just teaching cultural awareness—she's showing us how to identify the hidden biases that sabotage our leadership effectiveness. She reveals why directness in Dutch culture is actually an act of kindness, and how understanding this changes everything about giving feedback across cultures.
This isn't about learning proper greetings or email etiquette. It's about something far more critical—recognizing the unconscious assumptions that prevent us from reaching our full potential as global leaders.
What You'll Gain From This Episode:
Discover the "Tree Analogy" framework that reveals why cultural conflicts happen and how to prevent themLearn the four essential leadership competencies that transcend cultural boundaries while respecting differencesUnderstand why relationship-focused cultures ask "How is he as a person?" before discussing technical skillsRecognize the difference between cultural flowers and cultural roots—and why focusing on roots changes everythingGet practical strategies for leading up, down, and sideways without having formal authority over diverse teams
If you've ever felt frustrated by miscommunication across cultures or wondered why your leadership style doesn't translate globally, this conversation provides the missing framework. Maria Angela shares exactly where most leaders go wrong—and shows you how to turn cultural differences into competitive advantages.
The leaders who master this won't just survive in our interconnected world. They'll shape it.
00:00:00Introduction and Cultural Leadership Overview
00:03:02Maria Angela's Multicultural Background
00:08:15Creating Allopoli and Cultural Competence
00:00:00The Power of Direct Communication: A Cultural Leadership Awakening
00:02:56From Peru to Silicon Valley: A Multicultural Leadership Journey
00:04:08Three Cultures That Shaped a Global Leader
00:06:20Building Allopoli: Creating Communities Across Cultural Differences
00:11:39Why Cultural Competence is the Future of Leadership
00:16:00Task vs Relationship: When Cultural Worldviews Clash in Business
00:20:48Four Essential Leadership Competencies for Global Success
00:25:44Breaking Barriers: Women Leaders in Latin America's Cultural Context
00:33:11From Offense to Understanding: How Dutch Directness Changed Everything
00:37:06Beyond Surface Culture: Understanding the Roots of Cultural Competence
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