International IT Teams – Part 2: Trust, Feedback, Hierarchy, and Time

In part two of this double episode on international IT teams, Daniel and Nova explore the cultural mechanisms that are often less visible in day-to-day work, but have a massive impact on collaboration: trust, feedback, leadership, and the way different cultures understand time.

After part one focused on communication, decisions, disagreement, and persuasion, this episode turns to the “slower layers” of international collaboration: How is trust built? Why is a contract sometimes not enough? Why can feedback be understood so differently across cultures? What role does hierarchy play in everyday leadership? And why does punctuality not always send the same signal everywhere?

Topics in this episode:

- Trusting: task-based vs. relationship-based trust

- Why personal relationships can become productivity-critical in offshore and international setups

- Feedback across cultures: direct, indirect, and easily misunderstood

- The feedback sandwich, French directness, and German fact-orientation

- Leading: hierarchy, expectations toward leaders, and situational leadership presence

- Scheduling: linear and flexible time — and why German clarity can sometimes help

- Practical recommendations for IT leaders working with global teams

The takeaway: Cultural differences are not folklore and not a soft-skill side topic. They are operating systems of collaboration. Leaders who recognize and address them consciously reduce friction, misunderstandings, and hidden productivity losses.

Me, Myself & IT Leadership – the podcast for IT leaders navigating technology, strategy, and humanity.