Sign up for The Happy Letteryour weekly boost for life and work in the Netherlands
Blogs | The Happy Expats | Stories, Tips & Strategies
When Your International Talent Isn't Thriving
Lower engagement. Unexpected sick leave. Difficult conversations that go nowhere. Sound familiar?
Dutch leaders often miss the invisible cultural friction holding their international talent back.
Get clarity with our Team Communication Scan for teams of
3-25 people.
Why feedback training for international teams is different
Standard feedback training doesn't work in international teams. Team coach Allard Klok shares insights from 20 years of experience on why Dutch directness isn't the solution, how cultural triggers sabotage feedback conversations, and what real team development looks like.
She walked into a room where half the people already knew her name. She hadn't met any of them.
Nathália Cortez came to the Netherlands from Brazil in 2018 to do a master's in international law. No Dutch. No local network. A niche field that most companies still treated as a marketing exercise.
Seven years later, strangers at industry events say: "Oh, you're the girl from LinkedIn."