Awareness · Perspective · PracticeIntercultural Development for Leaders and Teams
The most effective leaders can see a situation through more than one cultural lens and adapt.
Through IDI® assessment, experiential learning, and coaching, I help leaders and teams build that capacity and put it to work in everyday decisions and conversations.
trusted by leaders at these organizations:
Working across difference is a leadership skill.
Cultural differences shape everyday leadership: how a team runs meetings, makes decisions, gives feedback, and handles disagreement.
Developing intercultural capability helps leaders navigate these situations with more skill and confidence.
why it mattersNavigating differences in communication and expectations
Directness, silence, disagreement, and timelines carry different meanings for different people.
Recognizing assumptions and blind spots
Under pressure, everyone defaults to familiar interpretations. Noticing them makes a better response possible.
Leading increasingly diverse teams
Leaders need range: the ability to adjust their approach while keeping direction and standards clear.
Building trust across cultural differences
Trust grows when people feel understood, and the signals of respect vary across cultural contexts.
Developing flexibility in leadership and collaboration
Flexing your approach without losing your footing is one of the hardest skills to build. It develops through reflection, feedback, and repeated practice in real situations.
Ways to work togetherThree pathways within the intercultural development process
Each pathway can stand on its own, or work together. Many organizations begin with the IDI, continue into workshops, and use coaching to sustain the learning.
Together, we surface the biggest pain points and prioritize your most important opportunities for growth, strengthening the habits and relationships your team relies on when the stakes are high.
1. IDI® Assessments and Debriefs
Individual and group assessments with facilitated interpretation and developmental guidance. Participants understand their current intercultural orientation and identify meaningful next steps for growth.
2. Intercultural Workshops
Customized, experiential learning that helps leaders and teams explore cultural differences, examine assumptions, build understanding, and practice new approaches to communication and collaboration.
3. Intercultural Coaching
Individual or team coaching that helps participants translate assessment insights and learning experiences into ongoing leadership practice.
your guide to the idi®The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®)
The IDI® is a cross-culturally validated assessment of intercultural competence: the capability to shift cultural perspective and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities.
The IDI® describes how an individual or group currently tends to experience and respond to cultural difference. Its framework is developmental, so results point toward realistic next steps. Intercultural competence can be strengthened over time, and the IDI helps you see where to begin.
As a Qualified Administrator, I am licensed to administer the IDI®, interpret individual and group profiles, and lead confidential debriefs.
01
Assess
Understand current intercultural orientations and developmental opportunities. You get a clear, shared baseline for how you approach cultural difference, grounded in research and free of guesswork.
02
Develop
Individuals receive a personal profile and development plan. Group profiles show a team's or organization's collective orientation. Explore assumptions, experiences, and patterns through guided reflection.
03
Apply
Translate insights into everyday leadership and team interactions.
"Working with Bethany is an absolute delight. We hired her to coach associates through understanding their individual IDI results. We only received positive feedback from associates about Bethany, praise such as, 'Dr. Peters is incredible and I'd love to talk to her again.' She customized her approach to each person and, if it was appropriate, sent specific resources to further support their intercultural competence learning journey.
On the administrative side, Bethany is organized and proactive. From my perspective as project manager those skills are invaluable. 5 out of 5 stars. I wholeheartedly recommend Bethany."
— lindsay karson, learning & development manager
Meet Your team CoachHi, I’m Bethany Peters. I design and facilitate developmental experiences that help leaders move beyond awareness toward practical change in how they lead.
I hold a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a focus on international education, and I have spent several years teaching, coaching, and consulting with people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. That experience shapes how I approach intercultural development: as practical, relational work grounded in real conversations across difference.
I design and facilitate developmental experiences that help leaders move beyond awareness toward meaningful change in how they lead. As an IDI® Qualified Administrator and ICF Professional Certified Coach, I bring together assessment, reflection, experiential learning, and coaching. I have led and supported IDI engagements with school districts and large nonprofit teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) is a cross-culturally validated online assessment of intercultural competence. It describes how an individual or group currently tends to approach cultural differences and commonalities, and it is administered and debriefed by an IDI Qualified Administrator.
-
Intercultural competence is the capability to shift cultural perspective and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. It develops over time through experience, reflection, and intentional practice.
-
Personality assessments describe relatively stable traits or preferences. The IDI is developmental: it describes how a person currently approaches cultural difference, an orientation that can grow with intentional development.
-
Yes. Team members each complete the IDI and receive individual debriefs, and a Group Profile shows the team's collective orientation. The group debrief gives the team a shared starting point for development, while individual results remain confidential.
-
Each participant meets with me for a confidential debrief and receives an Intercultural Development Plan. From there, many organizations continue with workshops or coaching so insights turn into practice.
-
Yes. Workshops can be designed with or without the IDI. When the IDI is included, it gives participants a shared baseline and helps tailor the learning to where the group is developmentally.
-
Yes. Intercultural development often works best as one thread in a broader leadership development strategy, connected to the coaching, assessments, and learning your leaders already engage in.
"Dr. Bethany Peters provided invaluable culturally responsive coaching to the faculty and staff of the Concordia University Irvine School of Education, creating a transformative learning experience for our team.
Through both individual and group coaching sessions, she fostered meaningful reflection, growth, and practical strategies for enhancing our teaching and leadership. Her ability to create a safe and engaging space for dialogue empowered faculty to deepen their understanding of cultural responsiveness and apply it to their work with students.
Her professionalism, expertise, and commitment to fostering equity in education make her an outstanding resource for any institution seeking to advance culturally responsive practices. I highly recommend Dr. Bethany Peters to any organization in need of a knowledgeable and compassionate coach who can inspire meaningful change."
— timothy young, assistant faculty & program directoR
Is intercultural development right for you?
WHO THIS IS FORIntercultural development strengthens leadership effectiveness for any organization where people work across differences, with or without a formal diversity initiative.
Leaders managing culturally diverse teams
Leadership teams strengthening collaboration across differences
Organizations investing in inclusive leadership development
Higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations
Teams navigating differences in communication, values, or working styles
Let’s talk about building intercultural capability in your leadership
Tell me about your leaders and teams, the differences they navigate, and what you hope will change. Together we'll decide whether the IDI, a workshop, coaching, or a combination makes the most sense.