Cultural Friction
Cultural Friction is a podcast for managers and executives who lead international, multicultural teams — and want fewer miscommunications, misunderstandings, and conflict getting in the way of good work.
Each episode breaks down a real workplace friction point in 20 minutes or less: what's really going on beneath the surface, why it happens across cultures, and what to do about it. No theory for its own sake — practical fixes you can use with your team today.
Hosted by Brendan Thomas Quinn, a cross-cultural consultant based in Barcelona with 25+ years of intercultural experience, including nine years leading NGOs in West Africa. Brendan helps international organisations reduce cultural friction through cross-cultural training, workshops, coaching, and advisory, and lectures in Cross-Cultural Communication at SBS Swiss Business School.
If your teams span cultures, time zones, or both, this show is for you.
Learn more, read the show notes, or work with Brendan: https://brendanthomasquinn.com
Cultural Friction
Latest Episodes
The Local Hire Quits
Why Our Best Regional Hire Leaves Sooner Than We ThinkWe hired well. It took them the best part of a year to find their feet — and then, just as they got good, they resigned. The exit interview said "a better opportunity," so it w...
One Merger, Two Cultures
Two Companies Merged. Two Cultures Didn't.The deal closed. The org chart was redrawn. On paper, two companies became one. So why, eighteen months on, are there still two of everything — two systems, two chat channels, two sets of ...
Sophisticated Stereotypes
Cultural stereotypes at work rarely arrive as prejudice. They arrive as preparation — and that's exactly what makes them so hard to spot.You did the reading. A new colleague was joining from a region you hadn't worked with much, so you l...
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