Who We Are

Jeff Bayley

I have moved from one continent to another four times, moving between Guyana, South America, UK and Canada, and then settled in the UK about 25 years ago. From the UK base I have been fortunate to be able to experience business all over Western Europe, working for international companies.

It was only later, looking back, that I came to appreciate just how long it can take to adjust to new ways of thinking and working as one moves from one country to another. At the time I only ever expected to carry on as before and hit the ground running. I suffered some surprises!

Later on, working around Europe, I knew that various foreign languages would present challenges, and indeed knowledge of French and German was very useful to me as I travelled to different countries almost every week.

In the early days I worked on international marketing communications for much of the time, seeking international advertising campaigns that would resonate, be memorable and ultimately sell products. I learned quickly how one message might work across several countries but the way of getting it across had to be relevant and appropriate on a country-by-country basis. Quite subtle changes in communication could render a campaign ineffective.

I was fascinated by the intricacies of marketing across borders, but then I went on to discover - the hard way - the difficulties of building close working relationships with people from other cultures speaking different languages. The issue was much bigger than advertising communications.

A Few Examples

Spanish attitudes towards time are quite well known, but the issues are not just punctuality but also a wholly different way of structuring the working day. Hierarchy and decision-making in Italian family firms present a challenge, especially to those of us with an Anglo Saxon concept of a meeting, with a beginning, middle and end. In Germany the way of speaking to people seems, superficially, like the American style - direct, to the point, straight into business, even brusque, and sometimes considered rude by the British. For their part, the British are often not understood precisely, insistent as they are on frequently dressing up words into language they consider diplomatic. Sometimes the main message gets lost.

Over the years my interest in crosscultural issues deepened. Business moves quickly these days, with unremitting pressure to get new products out into the international market place. To succeed one needs to build good relations, understand and respect differences, and communicate clearly so that all can work towards agreed goals.

Things can go wrong. Having seen so much and made most of the mistakes myself, my thoughts turned to solutions: what can be done to support people facing these challenges?

I felt that coaching would be the most relevant intervention, providing the right kind of confidential support, just in time, week after week, with 100% commitment to an individual client.

I sought out other coaches to see if there was interest in the subject and found coaching colleagues who were not only passionate about the subject but also fully able to develop the thinking further and create a compelling and practical method for bringing crosscultural coaching to any international business, anywhere.

I now look forward to working with people determined to make diversity an asset, not a liability.

Jeff Bayley

Formal Education and Training

MBA - International Marketing University of Western Ontario, Canada
BA (Hons) Economics and Politics - McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Prof training in business coaching - Corp Coach U, USA
Member - International Coach Federation, USA

Languages

English, plus good working knowledge of French and German
Basic knowledge of Spanish and Italian

Personal

British. Married, with 2 grown children