The Framework

Three stages. Dialogue runs as a vein through each.

This framework demonstrates intercultural competence as a practical tool to navigate in diverse cultural contexts for organisations collaborating across cultures. Dialogue functions as the strategy that enables it and nourishes trust — woven through each stage.

Tree diagram: Foundation as roots, Dialogue as the trunk, Mediation as branches, Alignment as canopy
The framework visualised as a tree — roots representing Foundation, trunk as Dialogue as Strategy, branches as Mediation and canopy as Alignment
01

Foundation

Before trust can grow, the seeds must be planted. Foundation explores why trust matters, how dialogue bridges difference and why cultural awareness shapes every collaboration.

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Mediation

Mediation is where the work begins. It equips you to navigate cultural difference through dialogue — creating moments of genuine human connection.

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Alignment

Once trust takes shape it can be sustained, negotiated and sometimes repaired — as the collaboration and the people within it continue to evolve.

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This framework draws on and synthesises existing theoretical frameworks. Central to this framework is Ang and Van Dyne's Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Additional theoretical contributions from Luhmann, Meyer, Molinsky, Ting-Toomey, UNESCO and Harvard Business Review.

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