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Erin Meyer

Professor of Management Practice

Biography

Erin Meyer is Professor of Management Practice in the Organisational Behaviour Department at INSEAD and specialises in the field of cross-cultural management, organisational culture, intercultural negotiations, and multi-Cultural leadership. Erin is the Programme Director for Leading Across Borders and Cultures. She is the author of the best-selling book The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. She is also the co-author, with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, of the New York Times best-seller and FT short-listed best business book of 2020 No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention. Erin’s work focuses on how the world’s most successful leaders navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a global environment.

In 2021 Erin was selected by the Thinkers50 as one of the world’s 50 most influential business thinkers.

Living and working in Africa, Europe, and the United States prompted Erin Meyer’s study of the communication patterns and business systems of different parts of the world. Her culture mapping framework allows international executives to pinpoint their leadership preferences and compare their methods to the management styles of other cultures. Erin has taught thousands of executives from 5 continents to decode cross-cultural complexities impacting their work, and to lead more effectively across these differences.
Erin has published articles in Harvard Business Review magazine: “Being the Boss in Brussels, Boston, and Beijing (July 2017), Getting to Si, Ja Oui, Hai and Da (December 2015), When Culture Doesn’t Translate (October 2015,) Navigating the Cultural Minefield (May 2014), and Debunking China Myths (January 2010). Her work has been published in the New York Times Sunday paper “Looking Another Culture in the Eye” (September 2014), the Times of India “A Business-Man’s Guide to Manners” (September 2014), Forbes.Com “The Four Keys to Success with Virtual Teams” (September 2010), South China Morning Post “Eight-Scale Tool for Mapping Cultural Differences” (May 2014) and The Jakarta Post “When to Speak Up, When to Shut Up” (April 2014). She has been interviewed by Fareed Zakaria on CNN and by Scarlet Fu on Bloomberg Surveillance. Her case, “Leading Across Cultures at Michelin,” won the ECCH 2010 European case award for best human resources management case of the year.

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Latest posts

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Career

The Pitfalls of Giving Feedback Across Generations

Erin Meyer

Bridging generational divides may involve discomfort but can push a team towards excellence.

Leadership & Organisations

The Pitfalls of Giving Feedback Across Genders

Erin Meyer

To best navigate gender divides, pay attention to perceived power imbalances.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

Giving Feedback Across Cultures

Erin Meyer

A direct approach that’s welcomed at home can be easily misinterpreted as aggressive elsewhere.

Leadership & Organisations

Map Your Team’s Cultural Differences

Erin Meyer

The way we are conditioned to see the world in our own culture seems obvious and commonplace. To maximise a multicultural team, managers should identify what is typical in their culture but different from others to open a dialogue of sharing, learning and understanding.

Leadership & Organisations

Giving Negative Feedback Across Cultures

Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. Understanding why can help you critique more effectively.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

The Most Productive Ways to Disagree Across Cultures

Should you disagree openly or find private channels for feedback? It depends on the cultural backgrounds of your team.
7 comments