Cultural Dimensions as Visible and Invisible Participants in the Coaching Process

Culture is constructed of unspoken rules and boundaries, and it is largely conveyed through people who enforce this through behavior. Often, these unspoken boundaries are only realized and recognized when they are crossed. As a result, culture is constantly evolving in its relationship with the individual and with the organization, in a nuanced and significant manner. Having spent the last decade coaching across Africa, presenter Nankhonde Kasonde-van den Broek has been curious about how middle managers filter their organizational experiences through peculiar cultural dimensions that are visible and invisible participants in the coaching process.

Culture shapes and molds us and anchors us to our identity. How we work is not separate from how we live, and a lack of insight into our culture may result in a limited understanding of why we think, interact, lead, and act the way we do. This could lead to an inability to truly grasp the aspects of culture that can work for us, and the aspects that may limit us in achieving set objectives in the workplace.