Introduction to the 5 Essential Skillsets for Managing International Teams Power Skills Mai Tran VP of Membership PMI Orange County Deborah Gibbs Director of Digital Media PMI Orange County |
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About the Presentation Successful management of international teams requires a broad range of skills, over and above the standard skillset required for US-only project management. International project management requires advanced skills in emotional intelligence and communication, negotiation, cultural competencies, workflow design and resourcing. There are practical skills every PM can cultivate to enhance the success of their international team, regardless of whether they have a cross-cultural background themselves. In this presentation, we will cover five (5) key skill sets required for effective international team management. These skills apply to international teams that are co-located (a mixture of cultures working together in a single country), or remote (many cultures distributed across many countries). Learning Objectives: · 1-Introduce an understanding of cross-cultural team challenges. · 2-Identify 5 key skillsets that effective multi-cultural PMs use to improve the performance of their teams. · 3-Share our experience working with co-located and remote international teams. · 4-Provide PMs who need to learn international project management with suggested resources where they can continue to hone their cross-cultural skills. About Mai Tran Mai Tran is a senior project manager with 20+ years of progressive leadership and project management expertise in high-profile capital projects and strategic network optimization. She has worked in multiple Fortune 500 international companies and coordinated several multicultural project teams in Europe, South America, and China. Her corporate career included senior project manager positions with Siemens Water Technology, Kraft Foods (UK) and Nabisco. She has volunteered at PMI-OC for over 9 years, as Director of Volunteers, VP of Strategy, chapter President and currently VP of Membership. She is a strategic thinker and leader with a passion for organization building where she uses her skills and experience to help guide and develop future chapter leaders. She is currently semi-retired and dedicates time to chapter volunteer work, with focus on membership growth, members’ professional development and fostering a collaborative local PM community. About Deborah Gibbs Deborah Gibbs is a global portfolio and program manager who has led cross-functional teams, digital marketing programs and go-to-market (GTM) initiatives for over 10 years. Her entrepreneurial experience includes the oversight of Digital Marketing business units in both domestic and international agencies. At TA Digital, she managed a portfolio with 3 revenue centers: growing revenue 5,379% in 5 years. Deborah empowers teams to produce scalable growth and successful campaigns. She specializes in Global Demand Centers, which are programs that unify marketing technology governance, strategic planning, and multi-lingual content execution. For example, she managed a Demand Center for a global manufacturer that produced over 5,000 requests/ year for 70 stakeholders. Deborah has volunteered with the PMI-OC’s Digital Media team since 2023 and assumed the Director of Digital Media role in 2024. |