Working with American Leadership from Europe

Who it is for

Who needs a workshop on working with US headquarters?

Anyone whose plan, budget or promotion depends on a decision made eight time zones away by people who communicate differently than their own team does.

Managers in business services centres

SSC, BPO, IT and R&D centres in Poland and CEE that report into a US head office. Team leads and site leaders who present, escalate and negotiate upwards in English every week.

European teams of US companies

Sales, customer success, delivery and product teams in the European subsidiaries of American companies, where the manager is in the US and the customer is in Europe.

Project leads in matrixed organisations

People who report sideways and upwards across countries, with no line authority over the stakeholders they most need to move.

Booked by Heads of L&D, HR Directors, site leaders and training firms. Also runs as a leadership-team session for the management board of a European subsidiary.

Case first, framework second

What happens in the room?

I open with a real situation from my own years reporting into American leadership. I do not publish it here, because it works best when the room diagnoses it cold. Participants work out what went wrong, who misread whom and where, before I show any model.

Then one light model, never five. Then the part that matters: participants bring the situation they are actually in, a message that was ignored, a decision that keeps slipping, a "great" that did not feel great, and work on it in trios. One gives, one receives, one observes with a checklist. The session ends with a plan for Monday, not a certificate.

1. The caseA real situation from inside a US tech company. The room diagnoses it.

2. One modelLight enough to use on Monday. Read as a map of your own stakeholders, not a stereotype of Americans.

3. Your situationsTrios: giver, receiver, observer with a checklist. Your real messages, your real meetings.

4. Plan for MondayOne prepared conversation with a US stakeholder, and what you will do differently this week.

What we work on

What does the workshop cover?

Three things, in this order. Each one comes from something I did, or got wrong, while reporting into the US from Dublin and Dubai.

01

Reading the US side

How feedback, priorities and urgency sound when they come from an American manager, and what they actually mean. What a "yes" in a call is worth, and what "let's circle back" is telling you.

Practised on: a real message or meeting each participant brings

02

Being heard from Europe

Asks, status, risks and bad news, written and said so the US side hears what you meant. Fewer words, earlier, with the decision you need at the top of the message instead of the bottom.

Practised on: one update or ask each participant has to send this month

03

Pushing back without being written off

How to disagree with head office early and plainly, say no without burning the relationship, and recognise disagreement that is never said out loud. This part also runs as its own workshop, Disagreement across cultures, and travels well to teams in the Gulf.

As Head of LinkedIn Learning for MENA, she brought a rare blend of strategic clarity, empathy, and adaptability that transformed our team.Amin Atwa, reported to Alicja at LinkedIn

Built on 12 years working for US tech companies, reporting into American leadership from Europe and the Middle East, and leading teams made up of people from more than 20 cultures.

Outcomes

What do participants leave with?

One prepared conversation

With a named US stakeholder, scripted and rehearsed in the room, about the thing that is stuck right now.

The model on one page

Their own stakeholders mapped on it, so they can reread a message before they send it.

A plan for Monday

Three things they will do differently this week, written down and shared with a partner from the room.

For the sponsor: a short note after the session on what the room struggled with most, and what I would do next if it were my team.

Formats

How long, and in what format?

Group size and scope are agreed on a short diagnosis call with the sponsor before anything is designed.

60 to 90 minOnline or in person

Masterclass

The case, the model and one exercise. For a leadership event, an internal leadership series or an ABSL-style community session.

3 sessions2.5 to 3 hours each, online

Online programme

Between sessions participants practise on their own situations and come back with what worked and what did not.

Full dayIn person

Workshop

The full programme with trios on every topic. In Poland, Dubai or wherever your team sits.

Delivered in English or Polish. Polish groups usually book it as "współpraca z centralą w USA".

Why this one

What makes this different from intercultural training?

Most cross-cultural training is academic, or delivered by trainers who never carried a number. I reported into American leadership while carrying a number in Europe and the Middle East, worked closely with Vista Equity Partners, and led teams from more than 20 cultures. This is the US relationship from the inside.

Her knowledge is exceptional, and her experience working at LinkedIn gave us insights you simply won't get from a typical trainer. …One thing everyone noticed was that Alicja personally greeted every attendee before the workshop started.

Paulina Schulte, IMCMSenior Client Advisor · team workshop via LinkedIn

She ran the business like a true sales leader: clear GTM, smart coverage, clean operating rhythm, and a forecast I could trust.

Arda AtalayRegional Director at LinkedIn · managed Alicja

For your boss

Need something to forward internally?

Most workshops are bought by one person and approved by another. The one-page overview is written for the second person: what the workshop is, who it is for, what people leave with, the three formats and who I am. One PDF, no slides.

Workshop overview on one page, in English
Ready to forward to HR, the site leader or the budget owner
Polish version and BUR-format description on request

I use your email to send the PDF and, if you reply, to continue the conversation. No newsletter, no sequence.

Thank you. Open the one-page overview (PDF). I will also email it to you.

Start here

Tell me about the team

Who reports into whom, what keeps going wrong, and when you would want to run it. I read every brief myself and reply with a first idea and an honest view on whether I am the right person for it. The full 60-second brief builder is on the workshops page.

Frequently asked questions

Questions L&D and HR leaders ask first

How do European managers work effectively with American leadership?

By learning how the US side hears what they say, and saying it that way on purpose. In practice that means three things: reading feedback, priorities and urgency the way they are meant rather than the way they sound in Warsaw or Dublin; putting the decision you need at the top of every message instead of the bottom; and disagreeing early and plainly rather than late and quietly. That is what this workshop practises, on participants' own situations, with one light model and a plan for Monday.

Who is this workshop for?

Managers and teams in international companies in Europe who report into, or work every day with, a US headquarters and American stakeholders. In Poland that is most often business services centres (SSC, BPO, IT and R&D), the European subsidiaries of US tech companies, and project and delivery leads in matrixed organisations. The people who book it are usually Heads of L&D, HR Directors, site leaders and training firms.

Czy prowadzisz to szkolenie po polsku? Is it available in Polish?

Tak. The workshop runs in English or Polish. Polish groups usually ask for it as "współpraca z centralą w USA" or "praca z amerykańskim kierownictwem", and Polish sessions are built natively in Polish, not translated. Mixed groups run in English.

How long is the workshop, and in what format?

Three formats: a 60 to 90 minute masterclass for an event or an internal leadership series; three online sessions of 2.5 to 3 hours with practice between them; or one full day in person. Group size and scope are agreed on a short diagnosis call with the sponsor before anything is designed.

Which cultural model do you use?

One light model, never five. I open with a real situation from my own years reporting into American leadership and let the room diagnose it before I show anything. Then participants work on their own situations in trios: one gives, one receives, one observes with a checklist. Most cross-cultural training is academic, or delivered by trainers who never carried a number. This one is practitioner-led and commercial.

Can a training firm book you to deliver this as an associate trainer?

Yes. I deliver this workshop directly and as an associate for training companies, in English and Polish. For Polish training firms I supply the description in the BUR format: educational goal, observable learning outcomes, how they are verified, agenda and hours. The full catalogue is in my workshop portfolio.

Where do you deliver it?

In person in Poland (Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków and other business services hubs), in Dubai and across the UAE and GCC, and in the rest of Europe and the UK. Online worldwide. I am based in Dubai and travel to Poland regularly.

Working with American leadership from Europe: a workshop for managers who report into the US.