Work better together in 🇩🇰
and across cultures
Book Kay Xander Mellish for your event
Entertaining, practical presentations on working in Denmark, working with Danes, and Danish-American business culture.
Cross-cultural workshop Denmark – for internationals AND Danes
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Understanding your cultural expectations at work
Working together across cultures involves a great deal of managing expectations.
What does this person from a different culture expect of me, and why?
Once these expectations are out in the open, we can work together better.
Internationals in Denmark have expectations based on:
- their own country’s work culture
- their educational structure
- their previous jobs
Internationals may expect a strong, commanding boss. They may believe it is necessary to work long hours or skip vacations in order to prove their worth to the company.
But Danes have their own expectations, based on Danish working culture.
Danes expect that their colleagues will put the team first – not their own careers. And they expect colleagues to speak up when they disagree with an idea – even when the person advancing that idea is their own boss.
Does your company or organization have Danes and internationals working together?
Kay can create a presentation or cross-cultural workshop that will help everyone discuss their expectations in an entertaining, honest, and useful environment.
US work culture vs Danish work culture
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Danish–American Cultural Differences Presentation
How can Danes survive and thrive when working with the energetic, excitable Americans?
And how can Americans better understand Danish flat hierarchy, Janteloven, and humor?
Kay Xander Mellish – an American who has lived in Denmark for more than a decade – delivers insights and strategies for how the two nationalities can work better together.
Based on her books “Working with Americans: Tips for Danes” and “Working with Danes: Tips for Americans” Kay will help Danish and American teams, colleagues, and customers co-operate more smoothly.
Easy, enjoyable party event for multicultural teams
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The How to Live in Denmark Game Show
Looking for a fun event for your company or organization?
Kay’s very first presentation, originally launched in 2014, has been a hit from Aalborg to Esbjerg to Copenhagen.
We use the format of TV game shows – which are popular around the world – to put participants at their ease and get them interacting with each other.
“How To Live in Denmark Jeopardy” is one of our most popular games, along with “Who Wants to Pay Topskat?” (our version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”) and the mind-reading game, “What Would the Danes Say?”
The game is in English and can be tailored to last from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. We can also personalize the show for your group by making one of the question categories about your team, location, or company.
It’s a great way for internationals and Danes to relax and have fun together.
Onboarding for Groups of Newcomers
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Tailored Workshops for International Teams
Many Danish companies hire groups of newcomers all at once, particularly when there is a major but defined project to be completed, such as the construction of a factory.
These highly-trained specialists can feel lost in a Danish working environment.
- Bringing in Kay as part of the welcome process can help smooth the process of creating teamwork with their Danish colleagues.
- We can explain how Danes emphasize individual autonomy and downplay hierarchy – not every decision needs to be approved by the Danish big boss!
- When things go wrong, the Danish way is to figure out the cause and fix it, not figure out who can be blamed.
In addition, we can explain the social aspects of Danish work culture.
Danes tend to avoid small talk – at least, they like to work first and party later – but they also expect everyone to show up and enjoy the team lunches, which are often only 30 minutes long!
The Danish value of “trust” often means Danes trust newcomers to simply know the Danish way of doing things – which isn’t always the case.
Hiring Kay early in the process can help avoid misunderstandings later on.
Copenhagen-based keynote speaker, author, and Danish culture expert
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Hire me to speak to your group.
I can tailor a Danish work culture presentation to your group and your objectives.
I’ve spoken to more than 250 corporate, business, and tourist audiences and bring a combination of journalism, lived experience, research, humor, and storytelling to every presentation.
I’ve been explaining Denmark and Danish culture to international audiences since 2013. I’m the author of How to Work in Denmark, Working with Americans/Working with Danes, and How to Live in Denmark, and creator of the How to Live in Denmark podcast.
Let me energize your audience with an entertaining but educational keynote speech.
Book Kay Xander Mellish for Your Event
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