IDI applications - cultural competence for team building, diversity training, leadership development

Home > Diversity Services > IDI Applications

Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)

Applications with Individuals, Teams, and Entire Organizations

Index to the MDB Group Intercultural Competence Section
Introduction and intercultural terminology The benefits of working with MDB Group
IDI Applications - individual, team, organization productivity & innovation	You are here!
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) - the theory
Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) - the assessment tool
Sample IDI feedback report - to see the profound nature of the feedback

The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) helps people, teams, and entire organizations become more effective

communicating and working with,
leading,
and understanding the needs of people from different cultural backgrounds.

In today's global marketplace for talent and business IDI is an essential business productivity tool. IDI helps you accomplish these types of results:

Build intercultural competence
Implement team building and development tailored to each diverse team's needs
Deliver high-impact executive coaching that builds personal effectiveness
Improve communication, effectiveness, and productivity for individuals, teams, and entire organizations
Leadership development for increasingly-diverse organizations
Design and deliver diversity training matched to the participants' readiness
Assess organization intercultural competence and readiness for change

Call us to discuss how we can help you achieve the specific results you seek.

The ability to communicate effectively with people of different backgrounds, cultures, or perspectives is essential to creating an inclusive, productive, and innovative work environment. This capability, called well-developed intercultural competence, is the basis for leveraging peoples’ inputs to improve profitability and business results.

IDI measures and guides development of intercultural competence for individuals, teams, and organizations. Developed by Dr. Mitchell Hammer and Dr. Milton Bennett, IDI is based on Dr. Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).

Training, coaching, and development are more effective when done using the IDI. Why? Interventions may take either of two approaches. They can “meet” the participants at their current developmental readiness and use stage-appropriate techniques to encourage development. Alternatively, the intervention can attempt transformation by confronting the participants with significantly more advanced concepts of inclusion and cultural sensitivity than they likely are ready to process.

Research and experience show that the developmental approach is more likely to have a constructive outcome whereas the transformational approach carries with it a higher risk of creating upset and backlash.

Using IDI, the participants' current level of intercultural competence can be measured accurately. This enables the preferred stage-appropriate developmental approach for each participant or group of participants.

MDB Group is pleased to provide certified IDI administrators to work with you in any capacity needed. We provide complete coaching and developmental interventions based on the IDI. We also provide administration and interpretation services to other consultants in support of their work with their clients.

Please call us; we will be happy to discuss how you may realize the full benefits of the Intercultural Development Inventory.

IDI is used with individuals, teams, and organizations. Table 1 summarizes typical applications:

Scope	Objectives	IDI Applications
Individual	• Coaching and development - Executive, leader, manager - More inclusive decision making and leadership - Building cross cultural communication effectiveness	• Assess intercultural competence • Basis for - Intervention design - Ongoing coaching and development
Team	• Facilitated team building and development; leadership development - Intercultural communication - Team productivity - Conflict resolution • Diversity training	• Assess individual and team intercultural competence • Diagnose ineffective relationships and communications • Basis for - Improved intervention design - Ongoing learning
Organization	• Build productivity, innovation, and creativity • Develop competencies and skills; create a more inclusive, supportive, productive work environment • Diversity training	• Assess overall organizational intercultural competence - “Pre” and “post” learning intervention •Basis for - Diversity strategy design - Organization training design

Related links
The Intercultural Development Inventory is a valuable diagnostic and development tool. It has applications in building individual and team effectiveness, improving cross cultural communication and teamwork, conflict management, executive coaching, and general workplace assessments.

Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity description	DMIS is the theoretical basis for the IDI.
Intercultural Development Inventory description	The IDI instrument is a culture-general instrument. It measures intercultural competence relating to cultural difference stemming from all aspects of diversity.
Workforce productivity, innovation, and creativity	Building cross cultural communication competence, or the ability to communicate with other people, helps build team effectiveness.
Executive coaching and leadership development	When an executive takes on new challenges, success frequently hinges upon building new abilities to communicate and work with people having different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.
Conflict resolution	Diagnosing and addressing ineffective communications is frequently at the heart of resolving workplace conflict.
Workplace assessments	Workplace assessments involve diagnosing individual, team, or organizational intercultural sensitivity and communications competence. These assessments facilitate designing strategies, action plans, development, and training matched to peoples’ current state of development. This helps ensure a successful business-related outcome.

Next steps
Please call us so that together we can start increasing your workforce’s productivity and innovation.

Your business success is our most important objective.