Module 01

Why cultural competency matters at Beyond

Our global team is one of our greatest strengths. But collaboration across cultures requires intention — and it starts with awareness.

⏱ ~5 minutes

📍 Foundation

🎯 Awareness

🌍

Beyond by the numbers

Our global footprint as of 2026

19

Countries

30

Nationalities

20

Languages

Teams work across North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC — collaborating daily via Slack, Google Meet, Gong, Loom, Jira, and more.

💬

What Beyonders told us

Q2 2026 Belong@ Committee survey findings

! Tone is often difficult to interpret in written communication, especially in Slack or async workflows
! Different communication norms create misunderstandings around urgency, ownership, or directness
! Language differences and translation barriers make fast-moving conversations harder to navigate
! Employees sometimes worry about sounding "too blunt," "too passive," or "too aggressive"

💡

What this training is — and isn't

Setting the right expectations

This is not about getting everyone to communicate the "right" way. It's about building awareness, improving clarity, and helping all of us collaborate more effectively across different styles and norms.

✓ Communicate with clarity and respect across cultures
✓ Stay curious instead of making assumptions
✓ Adapt when needed — without losing your authentic voice
✓ Create space for different perspectives and working styles

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Module 02

Communication styles

Understanding the spectrum from direct to indirect — and everything in between — helps reduce misunderstandings and build trust across teams.

⏱ ~7 minutes

📍 Core skills

🎯 Adapt & connect

↔️

The direct–indirect spectrum

Neither end is inherently better or worse

DirectIndirect

Direct style

"This sales strategy is not going to work. Let's revise."

Indirect style

"This is a strong start. Perhaps we could work to refine this approach."

Both styles reflect professionalism and expertise. The difference lies in cultural norms, relationship familiarity, context, and urgency — not intent.

🧭

Other communication dimensions

The spectrum is just one of many dimensions at play

Formal ↔ informal tone

High-context ↔ low-context

Collaborative ↔ individual decisions

Fast-paced ↔ reflective responses

Public ↔ private feedback

Relationship-first ↔ task-first

Context matters. Most people switch styles depending on urgency, seniority, relationship familiarity, whether it's a meeting vs. async, and customer-facing vs. internal.

🗺

Global frameworks to know

Two research models that help explain why we communicate differently

These aren't abstract academic concepts — they're practical lenses that explain patterns you've likely already experienced at Beyond. Understanding them helps you interpret behavior without jumping to the wrong conclusion.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Geert Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist — research from 1980, updated through 2010

Geert Hofstede was a Dutch social psychologist who studied IBM employees across 50+ countries and identified six cultural dimensions — measurable ways that national cultures differ in how people think about power, identity, uncertainty, and time. Each dimension is a spectrum, not a binary. No position is better or worse.

1 · Power Distance

How much do people expect and accept unequal distribution of power? High PD (Malaysia, Philippines, Mexico): defer to authority. Low PD (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands): flat structures, open challenge expected.

At Beyond: A teammate from a high-PD background may hesitate to push back on a senior leader's idea — even if they see a flaw.

2 · Individualism vs. Collectivism

Individualist (US, UK, Australia): personal goals and direct communication. Collectivist (China, Colombia, Indonesia): group harmony first, direct disagreement may be avoided to preserve relationships.

At Beyond: A collectivist teammate may phrase disagreement very softly — which can be misread as agreement.

3 · Uncertainty Avoidance

How comfortable are people with ambiguity? High UA (Greece, Japan, France): prefer clear rules and detailed briefs. Low UA (Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark): comfortable with improvisation and open-ended situations.

At Beyond: A teammate from a high-UA culture may seem slow to act on a vague Slack message — they may be waiting for a clearer brief, not procrastinating.

4 · Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

Long-term (China, Japan, South Korea): persistence, saving, and relationship investment. Short-term (US, Australia, many African nations): quick results, tradition, immediate social obligations.

At Beyond: Different approaches to quarterly OKRs vs. long-term customer relationship-building may reflect this dimension.

5 · Masculinity vs. Femininity

Masculine (Japan, Austria, Germany): cultures value competition, achievement, and assertiveness. Feminine (Sweden, Norway, Netherlands): cultures value cooperation, care, and quality of life over status.

At Beyond: This may show up in how aggressively teammates pursue individual recognition vs. team credit.

6 · Indulgence vs. Restraint

Indulgent (US, Australia, UK): freely express enjoyment, humor, and personal desires. Restrained (Russia, China, Eastern Europe): suppress gratification, stricter social norms around expressing positive emotions at work.

At Beyond: A teammate who seems reserved in casual conversation may simply come from a more restrained culture — it's not disinterest.

Erin Meyer — The Culture Map

INSEAD professor, 2014

Meyer's model focuses specifically on business communication and management. It maps cultures across eight scales that directly affect how global teams collaborate day-to-day — making it especially relevant for Beyond.

Communicating

Low-context (US, Australia, Netherlands): say exactly what you mean. High-context (Japan, China, much of LATAM): meaning is embedded in tone, silence, and what's not said. At Beyond, a US teammate's directness can feel blunt to a Japanese colleague; a Japanese colleague's indirectness can seem unclear to a US teammate — even when both are communicating professionally.

Evaluating

Direct negative feedback (Netherlands, Russia, Germany): criticism is frank and given openly. Indirect negative feedback (UK, France, Thailand): criticism is softened, sandwiched, or given privately. Note: this scale does NOT correlate with the communicating scale — the British are high-context communicators but give extremely indirect negative feedback.

Deciding

Consensual (Sweden, Japan): decisions are made after broad alignment and are slow to reverse. Top-down (India, China, France): a senior leader decides, and the team executes. This affects how long decisions take and who needs to be involved — mismatched expectations here frequently cause frustration on cross-functional projects.

Trusting

Task-based (US, UK, Scandinavia): trust is built through professional reliability — deliver results and trust follows. Relationship-based (Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia): trust is built through personal connection first — shared meals, small talk, time — before business can flow. Jumping straight to the agenda can feel cold in relationship-based cultures.

Disagreeing

Confrontational (France, Israel, Netherlands): open debate is healthy and sharpens ideas — disagreeing with a colleague is not personal. Avoids confrontation (Thailand, Indonesia, Japan): open conflict is uncomfortable and damages relationships. Meyer notes that teams mixing these styles often misread each other badly.

Scheduling

Linear-time (Germany, Switzerland, US): stick to the plan, one thing at a time, punctuality is respect. Flexible-time (India, Brazil, much of MENA): schedules adapt to relationships and circumstances, multi-tasking is natural. A German teammate's frustration with a late start may feel rude to a Brazilian colleague who sees relationship-building as the meeting.

Leading

Egalitarian (Denmark, Netherlands, Australia): leaders are first among equals, approachable, titles matter little. Hierarchical (Japan, Nigeria, Russia): leaders set direction and expect deference — bypassing your manager to go to their manager is a serious breach. This connects directly to how feedback travels up and down the org.

Use these as lenses, not labels. These frameworks describe statistical tendencies across large populations — individual people vary enormously within any culture. Never use a framework to predict or stereotype a colleague. Instead, use them to expand your range of possible interpretations when something feels off — and then ask a clarifying question.

✅

What should Beyonders do?

✓ Aim for clarity and respect in every interaction
✓ Adjust your communication style based on audience and context
✓ Ask clarifying questions instead of assuming tone or intent
✓ Recognize that different styles still reflect professionalism and expertise

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Module 03

Feedback & hierarchy

Two of the most common sources of cross-cultural friction at work — and how to navigate them with clarity and empathy.

⏱ ~6 minutes

📍 Collaboration

🎯 Build trust

🔄

The feedback ambiguity trap

A real pattern from Beyond's Belong@ survey

Real scenario

A CSM shares a proposal for outreach to persuade customers to upgrade to Pro. A teammate responds: "This looks great." Later, that same teammate makes several edits and changes are suggested. The CSM feels confused — the original response sounded like full approval.

In some communication styles, "This looks great" actually means:

→ "This is a strong start."
→ "I appreciate the effort here."
→ "I still have a few suggestions but won't lead with them."

Better approach: Ask clarifying questions proactively — "Are there any areas you'd like adjusted?" or "Would you recommend any revisions before finalizing?"

🏛

Hierarchy & decision-making

Expectations around authority differ across cultures

🟢 Flat / egalitarian cultures

Employees are encouraged to challenge ideas openly. Decisions are collaborative. Speaking up shows initiative. Silence may indicate confusion.

Common examples at Beyond:

🇩🇰 Denmark · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · 🇸🇪 Sweden · 🇳🇴 Norway · 🇦🇺 Australia · 🇳🇿 New Zealand · 🇺🇸 US (especially tech/startup culture)

🟡 Hierarchical cultures

Employees may wait for manager direction. Public disagreement may feel disrespectful. Silence often signals respect or active reflection — not agreement.

Common examples at Beyond:

🇯🇵 Japan · 🇰🇷 South Korea · 🇨🇳 China · 🇮🇳 India · 🇲🇾 Malaysia · 🇧🇷 Brazil · 🇲🇽 Mexico · 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · 🇫🇷 France (formal hierarchy even in flat-seeming orgs)

Remember: These are tendencies, not rules. A person's individual style, company exposure, and personal background often diverge from their country's average. Use this as a starting point for curiosity — not a label.

Key insight: Silence does not always mean agreement. Direct disagreement does not always mean conflict. Both are shaped by cultural norms — not character.

💼

Guidance for managers at Beyond

Research shows effective managers adapt their approach

✓ Be explicit about expectations and decision-making processes upfront
✓ Create space for both live and async feedback after meetings
✓ Don't judge confidence or engagement based on communication style alone
✓ Invite feedback — "Does anyone see concerns we should discuss?"
✓ Encourage respectful discussion of ideas, not just tasks
✓ Adapt your communication style while maintaining clarity

👥

Having a manager from a different background

Success in one region or communication style does not automatically translate to another. One of the most important leadership skills at Beyond is the ability to manage people with different cultural backgrounds and workplace expectations.

— Beyond Cultural Competency Playbook, 2026

If you receive brief feedback like "Please revise this section" — one person may see this as normal and efficient, while another may perceive it as cold or critical. Neither reaction is wrong. The key is to ask a follow-up question to clarify intent before drawing conclusions.

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Module 04

Slack & async communication

Slack is where tone gets lost most easily. Fast, text-only, and asynchronous — one message can land very differently depending on who reads it and when.

⏱ ~5 minutes

📍 Daily practice

🎯 Reduce friction

💬

Say this, not that

Small rewrites that make a big difference

Avoid

"Need this updated."

Better

"Hi! Could you please update this when you get a chance today?"

The second version adds context, politeness cues, a timeframe, and a collaborative tone.

Avoid

"Can you do this right now?"

Better

"Is it possible to prioritize this today? Let me know if the timing is tight."

Without clear timelines, employees may misjudge priorities or feel unnecessary pressure — especially across time zones.

✅

Before sending, ask yourself

1

Who is receiving this?

Consider their communication style, time zone, workload, and how your message may land without tone of voice or body language.

2

Is this urgent, or can it wait?

Be explicit about urgency. "ASAP" means different things to different people — specify a time or day whenever possible.

3

Would more context help?

Write async messages as if the reader has zero prior context. What's obvious to you may not be to someone in a different role or region.

4

Could this be interpreted differently?

Read your message from the perspective of someone who doesn't know you well. Would any part of it seem demanding, cold, or unclear?

🌐

Async-first best practices

Working across time zones at Beyond

Remember this

Response time ≠ commitment level. A colleague in APAC replying at their start of day may be just as engaged as one replying in minutes. Avoid interpreting delayed responses as disinterest or disengagement.

Remember this

Over-communicate context in async. Slack messages, Jira tickets, and Loom recordings are often read in isolation. Include enough background that someone coming in fresh can act on your message without needing to ask follow-up questions.

Tip: If you feel your message might be misread, try adding a sentence of intent — "Just flagging this FYI, no action needed right now" — and watch friction drop.

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Module 05

Quiz & reflection

Four scenario-based questions to test and reinforce what you've learned. Select an answer to reveal the explanation.

⏱ ~5 minutes

📍 Assessment

🎯 4 questions

Question 1 of 4

A teammate from a high-context culture says "That's an interesting approach" about your proposal. What's the most culturally aware interpretation?

Question 2 of 4

During a team meeting, a colleague from a different culture stays completely quiet while the manager presents a new process. What should you assume?

Question 3 of 4

Which Slack message is most likely to land well across different cultural communication styles?

Question 4 of 4

A manager gives very terse feedback: "Revise this section." An employee from a different cultural background finds this unsettling. What's the most culturally aware way for the employee to respond?

✍️

Reflection prompt

Take a moment to connect this to your own experience

Think of a recent async interaction where a message — yours or someone else's — may have been misinterpreted. Consider:

→ What communication styles were at play?
→ What cultural context might have shaped how the message was written or received?
→ What could have been done differently — on either side?

Have ideas or feedback? Share them in #belong-at-beyond on Slack or submit via the anonymous Belong@ form →

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Cultural Competency Training

Why cultural competency matters at Beyond

Communication styles

Feedback & hierarchy

🟢 Flat / egalitarian cultures

🟡 Hierarchical cultures

Slack & async communication

Quiz & reflection

Training complete!