Intercultural Competence as a Core Competency of Coaching: Uncovering the gap between coaching intention and the reality of practice – Akiko Maeker
This workshop addresses the following two questions:
- Why should intercultural competence be a coaching core competency?
- What is the “gap” between intercultural awareness and intercultural practice?
Findings from the presenter’s PhD dissertation research will ground the learners understanding of intercultural competence as a vital coaching competency. Being an “experienced” or “highly credentialed” coach does not necessarily translate to being interculturally competent. This realization allows us to accept the reality of having the gap between how we intend to coach and how we actually coach. This gap can be disturbing when unknown and ignored, however, when recognized and utilized, it is this gap that provides the potential for our exponential growth as an interculturally effective coach and coach educator.
The session will first define key concepts such as culture, diversity, inclusion, and intercultural competence, then discuss a core theoretical framework, Intercultural Development Continuum as well as our “gap” in intercultural development, and finally discuss what all of this learning intersects with coaching and coach training.
To ensure ALL participants gain valuable insight, this session will be facilitated in an interactive workshop-style, utilizing multiple learning activity formats, including lecturettes, individual reflections, small group discussions, and large group interactive exercises.
Akiko Maeker, Ph.D. is Principal and Founding Owner at Interculturalist, LLC. She is an executive coach and a faculty member of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualifying Seminar that certifies IDI administrators. She is also an Emotional Intelligence and Diversity Institute certified trainer. Akiko holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota with her research focusing on the relationship between intercultural competence and professional coaching. Akiko works with clients in corporate, education, government, faith-based, and other not-for-profit sectors. Akiko brings a strong knowledge base as well as dynamic facilitation skills. She is valued by her clients for engaging them in thoughtful, affirming, and powerful learning processes that aim to maximize potential.