Collaboration and Leadership in Multicultural Teams – Insights and Practical Tools for Successful Intercultural Communication
Postdoc Talk |
Date: July 08, 2026
Format: Online, 16:00-18:00
Description: Communication can be challenging even in homogeneous groups and under the most favorable conditions. How much more challenging does communication become in multicultural teams, where different communicative and academic traditions shape how people speak, decide, and collaborate, especially when you add time constraints, leadership styles and tight budgets into the mix?
This interactive session introduces key ideas from intercultural communication and awareness to help postdocs better understand these dynamics and navigate them more effectively. Participants will explore how culture influences communication and will learn how to communicate clearly and purposefully, when confronted with different communicative patterns and cultural expectations. The workshop is particularly relevant for postdocs who lead or work within international research groups and are looking for practical tools to handle everyday situations in multicultural teams.
Objectives:
Understand how cultural background can influence communication, expectations, and teamwork
Recognize different communication styles and communicative patterns in multicultural environments
Learn practical strategies for effective, clear, and goal-oriented communication in diverse teams
Increase awareness of potential misunderstandings and develop constructive ways to address them
Reflect on one’s own communication style and leadership approach in an international academic context
Speaker: Birgit Nierhoff-King is Head of the German Department at TUM Language Center and an Intercultural Trainer specializing in supporting international professionals in settling in Germany and building fulfilling professional and personal lives. Birgit has many years of professional experience in intercultural training and has lived in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
Cooperation Partner: Munich Postdoc Network
Registration: The series is open to all postdocs in the Munich area and we do not limit the number of participants. You can register until Tuesday noon before the respective Talk via the registration form and will receive the login data shortly before the talk. For this format, there is no selection process and you do not need to inform us if you are unable to participate.