Global Success: 7 Steps to Managing International Projects

 

Even project managers who do extremely well in their native countries can find that they run into unexpected problems when they start to manage international projects. The way project staff behave, the way they present their findings, and their underlying expectations all vary from the way things work back home. This problem affects large, resource-rich companies just as much as it affects smaller organizations. Even successful, well-managed companies like eBay, Toyota and Wal-Mart have run into exactly these kinds of problems when they have begun to manage international projects.

Part of the problem is language. Although English is the most widely spoken second language in the world, it varies significantly. American English is different from British English, which in turn varies from South African English, which again is not exactly the same as Trinidadian English, and so on. Of course, if you are using an interpreter or translator, that again raises the question of language+ this time in terms of how well any interpreter or translator can translate complex or technical topics into a different language.

However, the issues project managers face when they start to train internationally go way beyond language. In fact, the main reason why project managers can run into problems on international projects is not a linguistic one, but rather a …

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