Kirsten Weiss

She addresses the differences between the Nordic countries and delivers balanced wake-up calls about Nordic leadership and international teamwork. Kirsten Weiss is the author of the books ’Living with Vikings – How to Live and Work in the Nordic Countries’ and ’Når vikinger slås – Hvorfor skandinaviske virksomheder har det så svært med hinanden (When Vikings clash – why Scandinavian companies have a tough time with each other)´.

“Thank you very much for a fantastic presentation in English and for your good ability to get the group involved so that it became a participating audience. You hit the target audience really well. And there was a lot of pleasant conversation later with links to your presentation. The Nordic theme also works in English – you just did it super and in a way that you won and connected all the audience.” -Gert Pedersen Aamand, Executive Director, Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation

Kirsten Weiss explores Nordic and Scandinavian values related to teamwork, leadership and management in Nordic and global organisations and is a widely used keynote speaker in companies with cross-cultural and Nordic teams.

Working in the Nordics – Cultural Perspective

• Introduction to Nordic collaborations: Why is awareness of our values and the cultural perspective a key point when we want to collaborate and cooperate – and become more innovative.
  ”Them and us” – knowledge, facts, myths and stereotypes in the Nordic countries. Short introduction to the relevant countries – with focus on the small but significant differences between us. What does Nordic organization- and leadership style look like compared to other countries? Incl. examples from other companies, expat views etc.
• The Nordic brand and leadership style, e.g. innovation, respect for the individual, international perspective, teamwork, low power distance, empowerment, sharing ideas, anti-authority, equality, work life balance etc. Plus the Nordic downside = being so satisfied with ourselves …
• Best pieces of advice, e.g. Be curious and clever: Keep an open mind but not an empty head. Use the differences – instead of turning them into obstacles. Our big chance here being the many shared values – and the differences to learn from. Don’t blame it all on the culture!