We develop people and the culture around them. That is how an organization in Japan actually works globally.
Develop your people. Then build the system that keeps them growing.
Speaking English is one thing. Getting results in English is another.
What actually changes after the program.
Better English is the starting point, not the goal. What matters is that the business results change — and that change is felt by everyone who works with the person, not just the person. Here is what companies typically see.
Why English training alone gets you nowhere.
TOEIC scores are up. More of your people can read, listen and hold a conversation. And yet this list probably still looks familiar.
- In meetings with overseas colleagues they say nothing and end up as spectatorsAll
- People who reason clearly in Japanese lose the thread in EnglishAll
- Machine-translated email misses the nuance and the relationship soursAll
- They never use English day to day, so nothing comes out when it countsAll
- Head office says it never hears a point of view from JapanGlobal companies in Japan
- Projects get handed to other sites in AsiaGlobal companies in Japan
- The team cannot decide as fast as overseas customers expectJapanese multinationals
- They lose ground in negotiations with overseas customers and suppliersJapanese multinationals
English is only one of three causes.
training
English training only touches the first one.
If someone’s real problem is the second or the third, more English training will change nothing. That is why people who chat easily in English still fall silent in a meeting. Logical thinking training does not fix it either. Someone can know they should lead with the answer, push back and cut in — and still not manage it in English, in the moment. That is a different skill.
How we differ from language schools, training firms and consultancies
| Language school | Training firm | Consultancy | LeadGL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | English | English plus skills | Structure and systems | English, global discussion norms, and the culture around them |
| Who it reaches | Participants only | Participants only | Executives only | Participants, plus executives and HR |
| Assessment | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Delivery | ✓ | ✓ | Advice only | ✓ |
| Who delivers it | Language teachers | Professional trainers | Consultants | Business leaders from global companies |
| Material used | Textbooks | Case studies | — | Your own live projects |
We assess first. Then we design the program.
We interview the people you have in mind and work out which of the three is holding each of them back: the English, the way global discussions run, or the culture around them. Sometimes the answer is that no training will help at all, because nobody has any real occasion to use English at work. Then we build the workshops and one-on-ones around what we found, and we tell you plainly whether the organization itself has to change. Sometimes the assessment says that English is not what they need first — training in how global discussions actually work is. If that is the answer, that is what you will hear from us.
The program for your people
Format
Workshops plus 1-on-1 coaching. This is for the people who actually deal with the other side. It covers how global discussions run, negotiation, and getting people to move when they do not report to you. We work from your own live projects, and we keep at it until they can push back on the spot, make their case and move the other side without having to think about it.
Sessions are led by people who have managed in global companies and know from experience which skills actually work globally.
The cycle
Workshop
- Everything runs in English Workshops and 1-on-1s are run entirely in English. This is not time spent learning the language; it is time spent working in it. People meet the pressure of the real thing here first, where failure costs nothing.
- The material is your own live work The negotiation on your desk right now, next week’s meeting, the email that is half written. Not case studies — the business you are actually trying to move.
- Group size depends on the course Some courses are capped at five, so that everyone gets enough airtime. Others run to twenty, so that people learn from how the others think.
- More time using it than studying it Essentials of Global Communication & Influence (EGI), for example, has six 1-on-1s to five workshops. The coaching stays with people until it works in their own job.
We add consulting only when it is needed
That is the program for your people. On top of it, we sometimes propose work with executives and HR. The assessment decides whether we do, not a sales conversation.
We keep the two separate for a simple reason. Someone who changes tends to stand out awkwardly back at their own desk, and what they have learned only pays off in an organization that welcomes it. Many companies already have that, and need nothing from us on this side.
What this looks like, by function
Every course stands alone, so you can take only what you need — or combine a few into a short program built around your situation.
Outmuscled on price by overseas customers
Discounts conceded on the spot. No case made for their own company’s value. The phone avoided in favor of email.
Proposals to head office and overseas sites do not land
What makes the Japanese market different never quite gets across. The argument does not carry, and they are overruled in the approval meeting.
Strong presentation, lost in the Q&A
They can prepare a presentation. They cannot come back under questioning, so they concede the argument — and the expertise never converts into standing.
Talks with overseas sites and suppliers go nowhere
When something breaks, the whole call goes on establishing facts. They go passive the moment responsibility comes up. The local team does not move.
Japan has no voice in global meetings
They cannot steer a discussion or carry weight where decisions get made. Head office and the other sites say they never hear what Japan actually thinks.
Ready before they land, not a year after
Booking conversation lessons once the posting is confirmed is too late. We get people ready so the first year is not spent entirely on introductions.
All 14 courses, and the order we would recommend for each function
Objective, learning outcomes, contents, standard structure and group size for every course — ready to circulate internally as it is.
The method is built on language acquisition research and behavioral science
Exactly which second language acquisition research the method rests on — as a short plain-language guide, and as an academic paper with full citations.
Coaches who know global companies from the inside.
Every one of them has held a management role in a global company.
33 years in global technical leadership at P&G, Sumitomo Dow and BASF. Has given guest lectures at the National University of Singapore.
2 years in the US, 9 in Singapore
25 years in R&D at P&G, 8 at Coca-Cola. End-to-end project management. Project leader for Global Communication & Influence.
2 years in the US, 6 in Singapore
Over 30 years in management and leadership at Beiersdorf, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Unilever. ICF ACC certified professional coach.
Executive coaching
Vice President and division Director at the US subsidiary of an apparel materials manufacturer, running operations hands-on.
13 years in the US, 4 in Germany, 2 in Thailand and elsewhere
Microsoft, BlackBerry, Skype, Fujitsu and a Sumitomo Corporation subsidiary. Over 40 years in internet and software.
Fluent in both business and technology
What participants say
It is like learning to swim in a pool where you cannot touch the bottom. I stopped reaching for a dictionary and got used to communicating with the words I already had. The English started coming.
This is not TOEIC prep, and it is not a hard MBA course taught by native speakers. It understands exactly where Japanese professionals come up short, and closes the gap that keeps them from having impact.
The role-play sessions trained me to organize an argument and get it across. It has carried straight over into my English MBA, which is all discussion.
I learned what to watch for in making a case clearly and persuasively. The quality of my discussions changed.
Case study | Japan operation of a global flavors and fragrances company
One company. Three participants, at three levels, with three different problems — and three different outcomes.
Well liked, but unsure he carried the weight the role needed. Often negative, and leading mainly by visibly loving the work.
Now leads from conviction, built on his own strengths. He has put the company’s vision, mission and core values into words, and moved to a “Challenge & Care” style with his people.
Even in the 1-on-1 the words would not come.
By the second 1-on-1 he was holding a business discussion in English. He now picks up unexpected calls from overseas without hesitating, has won a price increase from a customer in English, and writes short email. His team says the meetings run better.
Surviving on email and chat, copying his manager in out of nerves. He went along with whatever the other side wanted, and would not use the phone.
Three weeks in, with both his counterpart and his own manager unreachable, he called the decision-maker directly and got the terms he wanted.
How we start
report to the board
Start with one department, or with your next-generation leaders. Confirm it works, then roll out. We report to your executive team on what changed between before and after, and how.
Frequently asked questions
We already use another English training provider. Can we run both?
Is the executive and HR consulting compulsory?
What level of English do participants need?
Can we buy the assessment on its own?
How many people, and can it run online?
What does it cost?
How do we know it worked?
Tell us where you stand.
Two companies can share the same symptom and not the cause.
We assess first, then propose the program that actually fits.