Strengthening Cross-Cultural Collaboration in a
Growing Non-Profit
A rapidly expanding public health-focused NGO faced cross-cultural challenges with a distributed
team across multiple countries. Differences in communication styles, collaboration norms, and
workplace expectations created friction and inefficiencies.
Mariana Strategies approach:
Culture reset: partnered with the organization to establish shared norms and communication
expectations.All-hands engagements: designed and facilitated team-wide events to foster connection and alignment.
Tools for difficult conversations: provided frameworks for addressing challenges openly and
constructively.
Results and impact:
Stronger workplace culture: team members feel respected and supported in their work.
Psychological safety: staff do not perceive the workplace as permissive of harmful behaviors.
Improved team communication: teams have robust practices for discussing mistakes and setbacks,
leading to greater learning and adaptability.