Finding the missing piece for success in the U.S.

When I moved to the U.S., I made the same mistake most people do: I completely underestimated the differences between my home country and the U.S. And I overestimated how much I actually knew about American culture. At that point, I’d already spent two years in the U.S. through an exchange program, internships, and travel. I thought I had a pretty good idea of how things worked. Looking back now, I can’t help but chuckle.

I learned how work and everyday life function in the U.S. over the years—and through plenty of awkward moments along the way. Along that journey, I met many people from other countries who had similar experiences. What I didn’t realize for the longest time, though, was that I was still missing a crucial puzzle piece.

Later, I worked for an international company and regularly witnessed the challenges employees faced due to the many cultural differences—both big and small—between locations. Expat assignees transferred to the U.S. from their home country often tried to implement their usual working styles and methods in the American office, only to meet resistance. Cross-location projects frequently ran into misunderstandings between team members. At headquarters overseas, people were frustrated when standardized measures weren’t being followed consistently at every location. Instead, some teams secretly did their own thing. Overall, there was a lot of frustration.

One day, as I sat at my desk, I thought, “Isn’t there someone who could come in and explain these cultural differences to people?” I did a quick Google search—and sure enough, there was! They called themselves “intercultural trainers.” My supervisor was on board, and we organized our first intercultural training.