By Zdenka Samson, Communications Committee Team Member

On May 21, 2026, the world observes World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, highlighting the importance of intercultural dialogue, inclusion, and collaboration across cultures. In an increasingly interconnected world, cultural diversity plays a vital role in fostering innovation, mutual understanding, and sustainable development. The observance also reminds us that achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals depends on engaging diverse perspectives and ensuring all members of society can contribute and thrive.

Learn more: United Nations – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

By Ernie Gundling

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving at an incredibly rapid pace, bringing with it a changing set of opportunities and potential risks. The global rollout of agentic AI across business functions, including customer service, software development, finance, and corporate communications, presents critical risks related to piracy, errors, and workplace disruption.

This two-part series examines these risks and provides strategies organizations can implement to respond to and mitigate potentially costly liabilities.

The Risks of AI Piracy

Major AI firms in the U.S. and China have sourced their training data with few constraints. A shifting legal environment, with major lawsuits against Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity, for example, has marked a turning point in the use of copyrighted data. Amidst these growing legal battles, business users of AI platforms face an emerging threat as well.

The AI Legal Landscape

A prominent class action lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic, was settled in late 2025 when Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement payment, the largest in copyright history. The judge in this case found that Anthropic had acquired data through illegal means, downloading enormous shadow libraries that contain vast quantities of pirated books. In response to the complaint brought on behalf of publishers and authors whose works had been stolen, the judge ruled that creating a permanent library of pirated works was not fair use.

The firms providing shadow libraries, such as LibGen or PiLiMi, with no official headquarters, are associated with servers in places like Russia and the Netherlands. They themselves have been the target of legal actions in various countries, including Germany, Denmark, France, Russia, and the U.K., with numerous cases resulting in domain seizures.

Anthropic’s legal challenges continue, as several authors have opted out of the settlement and are pursuing a separate legal action that includes a broader set of AI companies. The lawsuit’s language is harsh:

“This case concerns a straightforward and deliberate act of theft that constitutes copyright infringement. Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity illegally copied vast quantities of copyrighted books without permission and then used those stolen copies to build and train their commercial large language models (‘LLMs’) and/or optimize their product.”

Meanwhile, Reddit has also sued Anthropic for unauthorized scraping of material from its site without licensing or payment. Reddit’s Chief Legal Officer stated, “We will not tolerate profit-seeking entities like Anthropic commercially exploiting Reddit content for billions of dollars without any return for redditors or respect for their privacy.”

Similar legal actions are mounting elsewhere. In addition to The New York Times’lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, they have filed a new suit against Perplexity for copyright infringement of their content. Regulators in other countries are piling on, with French fines against Google for breaching intellectual property agreements. Ironically, Anthropic itself has now accused Chinese AI firms DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax of intellectual property theft through the use of thousands of fake accounts to download massive quantities of information.

Corporate Legal Responsibility of AI Use

Companies that use AI-generated content, even if they are unaware that it has been pirated, can be held liable for materials alleged to infringe copyrights or be defamatory or inaccurate.

Not only organizations but their executives may also be charged: “In many cases, individual executives and decision-makers can face personal liability for AI-related legal violations, especially in cases involving willful misconduct or negligent oversight.” Attempts to shift blame by claiming that “AI did it” no longer serve as a valid defense

How Organizations Can Avoid Copyright Infringement

This increasingly hazardous legal landscape makes it imperative for companies to take precautions when using AI to source content.

• The most reliable countermeasure is direct licensing arrangements with authors, publishers, and content platforms featuring original materials.

• Organizations using AI should practice lawful sourcing by securing contractual guarantees “that the AI System developer has conducted thorough reviews of its AI training inputs and has eliminated any reliance on questionable datasets.”

• Establishing employee guidelines for AI use, requiring human oversight and documentation of content creation, and deploying AI screening tools to identify potential copyright issues also help mitigate legal risks.

In addition to providing protection against possible legal hazards, these measures help companies ensure that the intellectual property their employees generate with AI support actually belongs to them.

The Risks of AI Errors

Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data on which it has been trained and the rules it has been given to process information.
The limits of algorithmic logic

AI models, as at least some will admit, don’t actually “understand” culture; they follow statistical patterns and programmed instructions. AI often struggles with grey areas where the data is insufficient or rules conflict. In many situations, it also still lacks the human sensibility to know what might be perceived as offensive or nonsensical.

Systematic Distortion in AI Models

Earlier forms of AI were criticized for obvious flaws, such as high error rates in facial recognition of non-white individuals resulting from limited training samples. Attempts to address this lack of representation later led to over-corrections such as AI-generated images of Black and Asian people as WWII German soldiers, a woman of color as a U.S. founding father and another as a pope, and a South Asian person as a Viking. In these cases, rules intended to ensure representational diversity overrode other rules for historical accuracy, with ludicrous results.

AI errors of this type have now generally become more subtle. Current trends include the development of more context-aware and indigenous models that incorporate broader data sets from specific communities and are programmed to ask users questions about their circumstances and intent. AI inquiries about context might include, for instance, a question about how a requested image would be used—for example, a Chinese wedding would require quite different garments, colors, and participants than a wedding in Italy.

The movement toward “native alignment,” or training AI on more indigenous datasets from the start, is still nascent. Most countries contain tremendous diversity in regional differences, languages, ethnic groups, socioeconomic gaps, education, and customs that are not included in current AI training materials. An example of indigenization is an effort in India to incorporate the country’s incredibly rich local data into AI training, including its 22 official languages and cultural information on history, traditions, images, idioms, holidays, and so on.

However, even AI models programmed to ask users for additional contextual information and trained on more diverse data sets still have major flaws. Among these are homogenization (e.g., grouping Native Americans into a single generic category), condescension toward less fluent language inquiries, and perpetuating negative stereotypes about people based on the country, state, or city where they reside. As one research study concluded, “this bias is fundamentally structural, and no amount of fine-tuning fully removes the geopolitical hierarchies baked into their data and design.”

Definition: Cultural Skew

Persistent issues with the accuracy of AI models can be attributed in part to “cultural skew.” Google’s Gemini defines this term as:

“Systematic distortion in an AI model’s outputs that favors the values, logic, and social norms of the dominant culture present in its training data (historically Western, English-speaking, and individualistic).

Because most Large Language Models (LLMs) are trained on massive scrapes of the Western internet, they inherit ‘invisible defaults.’ Even if the AI is functionally accurate, its ‘perspective’ is skewed, which creates significant risks for global businesses.”

Deeply embedded systemic distortion in the output of AI agents may still affect crucial global business activities such as evaluating job candidates, providing tailored customer service, developing accurate personas for product marketing, determining the best approach to high-stakes negotiations, or ensuring legal compliance with national or state laws to avoid “algorithmic discrimination.”

How Organizations Can Prevent AI Errors

Companies must ensure that information generated by their AI applications for employees and customers is as accurate and refined as possible to avoid generic stereotypes or ethnocentric assumptions. Possible countermeasures include:

• Supporting the ongoing refinement of AI models that are able to ask for context and have been trained on indigenous information sources.

• Using proprietary or licensed AI systems that enable users to add customized details and background information, along with rule sets that may be important in serving customers or engaging employees from various backgrounds.

• Addressing cultural skew by engaging employees from key locations—especially non-Western cultural environments—to assess AI output for validation or correction. These employees can provide important perspectives and help shape communications with colleagues and customers based on their knowledge of local cultural norms.

Organizations and teams that identify and address both AI piracy and AI errors will be able to both mitigate legal risks and leverage AI effectively to better achieve their own objectives.

About the Author

Dr. Ernest Gundling is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Aperian, and has been involved with the organization since its inception in 1990. He partners with multinational clients to develop strategic global approaches to leadership development, teambuilding, and change management. He has lived, worked and traveled abroad for much of his career in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including six years' residence in Japan. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the author of six books — the most recent is Inclusive Leadership: Global Impact — as well as numerous other publications.

(Adapted with permission from an article originally published on Aperian.com.)

By Neal Goodman, Ph.D.

Few challenges are as important—or as delicate—as facilitating training that helps participants become aware of their blind spots because blind spots are, by definition, invisible to the person who has them. Effective facilitation requires intentional design, psychological safety, and a focus on both awareness and action.

REFRAMING BLIND SPOTS

Facilitators must “normalize blind spots.” Leaders often equate blind spots with failure or incompetence, which can trigger defensiveness. Reframing blind spots as a natural by-product of expertise, authority, and cognitive efficiency helps reduce resistance. Emphasize that everyone has blind spots, and that leadership effectiveness depends less on eliminating them and more on learning how to “see” them and manage their impact.

It is also useful to distinguish between intent and impact. Many leaders care deeply about being effective and inclusive yet may be unaware of how their behavior or decisions are perceived by others. Focusing on impact allows facilitators to move the discussion away from blame and toward responsibility and learning. The purpose of the training should not be to “fix” anyone but to help leaders, managers, and individual contributors make more effective rational decisions.

Discussions on decisions should focus on all aspects of business decision-making, including people, management, business practices and processes, marketing, investments, innovations, and customer relations.

USE ACTIVITIES INSTEAD OF THEORY

Adults learn best when insight is connected to experience. Rather than starting with theory, facilitators can design activities that surface blind spots. Simulations, role-plays, case studies, and decision-making exercises can reveal patterns in how leaders listen, decide, or respond under pressure. When leaders see their own behavior reflected through an exercise, awareness becomes personal and harder to dismiss.

Peer dialogue is another powerful tool. Structured small-group conversations, when well-facilitated, allow leaders to hear how others experience similar challenges. Establish clear norms for confidentiality, curiosity, and respect to ensure psychological safety. Facilitators should model non-defensive listening and reinforce that feedback is information, not judgment.

Blind spot training depends on access to honest feedback. Facilitators can help leaders understand that feedback is a capability to build over time. Tools such as 360-degree feedback, stakeholder interviews, or pulse surveys can be effective—but only when paired with guided reflection or peer feedback.

Facilitators must help leaders translate insight into practical strategies. Encourage leaders to focus on one or two high-impact blind spots rather than trying to “fix everything.”

Blind spot work is not a one-time intervention. Facilitators should design learning journeys that include follow-up sessions, peer learning groups, or coaching touchpoints. This reinforces the idea that self-awareness is an ongoing leadership practice, not a box to check.

Equally important is helping leaders see the organizational value of this work. When leaders understand how managing their blind spots improves trust, decision quality, and team performance, they are more likely to stay engaged and model the behavior for others.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

What situations or types of feedback tend to trigger defensiveness in me, and what might those reactions reveal about my blind spots?

Whose perspectives am I least likely to seek out, and how might that limit my understanding of my impact?

What specific behavior will I experiment with over the next month to address one identified blind spot, and how will I know if it’s working?

About the Author

Dr. Neal Goodman is an internationally recognized authority and speaker on global leadership, global mindset, cultural intelligence, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). His guidance is sought by organizations based on four continents. He is the founder and former CEO of Global Dynamics Inc. He is CEO of the Neal Goodman Group.

(Reprinted from Training Magazine with permission.)

By Edward Dunbar

Edited by Aliona Yermalayeva, Communications Committee Team Member

SIETAR USA is excited to share an upcoming roundtable event and scholarship opportunity as part of the The New Authoritarian Project which was presented at our most recent conference in Portland, OR.

Roundtable Event on The New Authoritarianism

The heightened concern for many people today centers around the loss of democratic representation that is occurring at a time of heightened climate change, international warfare, and the looming societal dominance by artificial intelligence. The reemergence of authoritarianism calls for attention and critical thought that engages both social scientists and the general public.

On May 27th, in Barcelona, there will be a review and discussion of the new authoritarianism of the 21st century. The presenters will consist of researchers and practitioners who are contributing to a new book series, to be published by Springer press, devoted to the study of and response to antidemocratic regimes globally.

The presenters include Milton Bennett, Ida Castiglioni, Edward Dunbar, and Shahar Gindi. They will address the emerging trends of authoritarianism, detailing its impact on political liberties and citizen well-being, while highlighting the challenges this regression from a civil society poses for peace, the climate, and social stability. What: in person and broadcast meeting on the new authoritarianism

When: May 27, 17:00 to 19:00 CET (11:00am to 1:00pm EDT)

More information on the program is available at: https://www.idrinstitute.org/activities/the-new-authoritarian-project/

To join this event online, please use the Zoom link that will be provided on the IDRInstitute’s official page. For in-person attendance, please RSVP by contacting Edward Dunbar.

The New Authoritarianism: Soliciting Scholarship

In the twenty-first century, we are witnessing “new authoritarianism." This evolving landscape demands renewed, rigorous study. A broader analytical lens and an expanded scholarly community are essential to understanding and countering this global anti‑democratic surge.

Solicitation of Contributions

We invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to join a growing, multi‑disciplinary initiative dedicated to understanding and confronting the new authoritarianism. Through a series of volumes to be published by Springer Press, this project brings together voices from the behavioral and social sciences, political theory, cultural studies, economics, and law to illuminate one of the defining global challenges of our time. By assembling diverse perspectives, we hope to generate a contemporary body of scholarship that informs resistance, resilience, and policy innovation during a period of profound global transformation.

Book One in the series is now in pre‑release. We are currently soliciting contributions for Books Two and Three.

For Book Two, we especially welcome work addressing:

• AI‑driven authoritarian compliance and surveillance,
• Leader–follower dynamics in autocratic systems,
• Complex systems theory as applied to modern autocracy.

For Book Three, priority will be given to studies examining:

• Communities targeted by state‑sponsored or quasi‑governmental oppression (e.g., ICE and similar entities),
• Mental‑health impacts of regime‑backed coercion and intimidation,
• Forms of social resilience emerging within subaltern or marginalized communities,
• Advocacy strategies that challenge autocratic structures.

If you are interested in contributing to this evolving body of work, please contact Dr. Edward Dunbar.

By Syed Zafar

We grew up in the same house in Pakistan, just three years apart. My younger brother and I shared the same childhood, but our adult lives went in different directions. He moved to Saudi Arabia. I eventually moved to the United States.

One day, he called me. The conversation began warmly.

“How are you doing? How’s your wife? How are the kids? How’s their school? How’s everyone’s health?”

I answered all his questions.

“How’s work?” he asked.

“All good,” I said. “Everything is fine.”

He then asked for the information he needed. I told him, “Give me five minutes and I’ll find it.”

Five minutes later, the phone rang again.

And once more, he began with the same gentle questions. “How are you doing? How’s your wife? How are the kids?”

This time I snapped. “My situation hasn’t changed in five minutes!”

For me, living in the U.S., it felt like wasted time. For him, it was natural. He was reestablishing the relationship before moving to the task.

The Business Frustration

Not long ago, an oil distribution company in Sherman, Texas asked me to train their staff. The owner’s frustration was clear.

“These Pakistanis,” he said, “they come and they talk and they talk. They drink coffee, and then they leave. No contract. No deal.”

For years his customers were mostly American gas station owners. He knew how to work with them. You met, you exchanged a few words, then you signed the contract.

But as more and more gas stations were bought by Pakistanis, his old style no longer worked. The meetings stretched on, but the business never closed.

What he saw as delay was, in fact, relationship building. In Pakistan and many other societies, trust has to be earned before business moves forward. In the U.S., trust is assumed from the start and

protected by contracts and systems. In a relationship-first culture, trust grows only after you know the person.

Two Different Scripts

These two stories point to the same cultural pattern.

• In relationship-first cultures, people affirm connection before getting down to business.
• In task-first cultures, efficiency and speed are the default.

Neither is right or wrong. But when they meet, misunderstandings are almost certain.

A Final Thought

I sometimes laugh when I think back to that repeat call from my brother. And I remember the oil

distributor shaking his head at all the coffee drinking. Both were seeing wasted time. Both were

missing the point.

Because what looks like inefficiency is often an investment in trust. And trust, once earned, is the real contract.

About the Author

Syed Zafar is dedicated to improving intercultural communication. Born in Pakistan, Syed later worked in Saudi Arabia before immigrating to the United States where he began to see how his experiences integrating into different cultures could benefit his new home of Houston, Texas. Syed is a passionate advocate for equality, clear communication, and education. As a trainer, presenter, published writer, and speaker, Syed has worked to improve intercultural communication for more than 25 years. He is the co-author of, "Crossing Cultures with Grace and Humor" published in 2021.

By Doreen Cumberford

Nomadic Diaries is the podcast that lives at the intersection of intercultural theory and real life, that’s the place where the frameworks meet the feelings, and where the research finally hits the pavement.

Hosted by Scottish-born intercultural trainer, author and coach Doreen Cumberford, Nomadic Diaries is celebrating 200 episodes doing something deceptively simple: seeking to take the rich, rigorous world of intercultural scholarship and translating it into the language of daily lived experience. That’s the language in which we expats, dream in or lie awake at 2am, wondering who we are. Or the repatriate who comes home and finds it isn’t home anymore. Or the third culture kid who is trying to explain themselves to peers who have only grown up in one local environment.

Guests have included some of the most respected voices in the intercultural field, among them Kathy Ellis, Daniel Yalowitz (upcoming), Saehee Chang, Megan Norton-Newbanks, Lois Bushong and Ruth Van Reken, alongside coaches, therapists, storytellers and globally mobile people from every corner of the world. What unites them is a commitment to making intercultural intelligence not just understood but felt.

...Because the theory matters! And so does knowing what to do on a Tuesday morning when everything feels foreign and you can’t remember who you used to be.

With listeners in 127 countries and more than 200 episodes across five content pillars —Belonging, Identity, Repatriation, Adaptation and Culture Crossing — Nomadic Diaries has become a trusted resource for anyone navigating the interior journey of international life.

We would love for you to be a part of it. We can be found anywhere you love to listen to podcasts:

Nomadic Diaries Website

Apple Podcasts

By Aliona Yermayaleva, International Correspondent

Updated by Allison Iurato on Feb 8, 2026

Attending the SIETAR USA conference in Portland in November 2025 was a truly transformational experience for me. It offered a unique opportunity to meet in person many of the colleagues from the intercultural field I had previously only known through virtual workshops and meetups. Having members from other SIETAR chapters truly enriched the dialogue. The conference confirmed my belief that both virtual and face-to-face connections are vital for expanding our horizons and gaining fresh perspectives. With that spirit of connection in mind, I am looking forward to attending future SIETAR USA webinars and am thrilled to share several opportunities to engage with our global community in this issue.

Online Events & Exchanges

SIETAR Europa Leadership Changes & Congress Update

There have been significant developments within SIETAR Europa that we would like to share with you. First, we acknowledge the resignation of the SIETAR Europa President Papa Balla Ndong after over 2 years of service. George Simons was appointed as the interim President of SEU until elections in June.

Second, the Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel the Congress planned for Valencia in June 2026. The Board is now focused on a transition period and is planning a new Congress for late 2026 or 2027.

Calls for Papers & Participation

Bilingual Conference: "Intercultural Competence: Practices, Innovations and Controversies"

Université Paris Cité, Paris, France March 25, 2026

Université Paris Cité & SIETAR France invite researchers, practitioners and early-career scholars to submit proposals for this one-day conference exploring how intercultural competence is defined practiced, challenged, and re-imagined across educational, professional, political, and social contexts.

Submission deadline: February 20, 2026

Languages: French / English

TOIT+ 2026 

Université Bourgogne Europe, Dijon, France, May 2026

The Training of Intercultural Trainers (TOIT+) is looking for contributors and dedicated volunteers to help shape the 2026 conference. Young SIETAR members and supporters are invited to explore two essential questions for the future of our field: whose voices shape intercultural practice, and what futures are we collectively building?

Submission deadline: February 25, 2026

As always, we encourage you to explore what else other SIETAR Global groups have to offer. For more information, please feel free to reach out to Sue Shinomiya – our point of contact for SIETAR Global.

Stay connected and continue building bridges with us!

By Dr. Ernest Gundling

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in corporate settings have undergone enormous changes. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against university affirmative action policies, numerous lawsuits have been filed by activist legal firms seeking to expand this ruling into the corporate world. The executive order against DEI programs and policies by U.S. federal contractors as well as agencies has further raised the stakes for the broad range of companies that do business with the government, including those based in other countries. A key issue for these organizations has become how to avoid potential charges of “reverse discrimination” while also complying with established Equal Employment Opportunity laws that forbid discrimination against protected groups.

There have been numerous consequences of these legal and political shifts:

As DEI has become increasingly engulfed in the heated rhetoric of culture wars and a costly tangle of legal conflicts, this acronym is often tarred with a single broad brush. Yet in many organizations there remains an underlying ethical and social commitment to hire, develop, and promote capable employees from any background, and there is an ongoing debate regarding how these aims are best achieved. It is worth carefully considering each element of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion triad to ensure that truly vital practices are preserved and enhanced. Here we will focus on the topic of Inclusion.

Why Inclusion

Inclusion is best defined as a match between employee capabilities and contributions. With DEI under scrutiny in nearly every organization, leaders still cannot give up on workplace inclusion, which is closely linked with employee engagement and is in fact the core value proposition of democratic societies everywhere. Most executives know that employees who are fully engaged in the workplace are more likely to stay and to go the extra mile to get things done. People tend to have a stronger sense of belonging, loyalty, and commitment to their firms when they are included in key workplace activities (communications, meetings, decision-making, project planning, problem-solving) wherever their skills, experience, and potential for development permit. The “who,” “what,” and “how” of inclusion require ongoing policy discussions and decisions, but inclusion itself continues to be a key ingredient of a healthy workplace.

Inclusion is a perpetual human challenge, a feature of the in-group/out-group dynamic that has been part of human societies from the beginning of recorded history. Part of our basic survival makeup has been to immediately identify others as “friend” or “foe” based on their perceived degree of similarity to us. Over time, with changes in technology and forms of social organization, human groups have sought to extend their reach beyond family, clan, tribe, village, region, state, or country in order to create a more prosperous, just, and peaceful world. In the worst cases, exclusion is linked with armed conflicts and even genocide, especially when accompanied by stereotypes that demonize others and rob them of their full humanity. Unless we wish to give up on larger human societies and devolve into smaller warring factions, we must continue to expand the “in-group” beyond our immediate circle.

Three Circles of Inclusion

Rather than seeing “Inclusion” as merely the “I” in DEI, or as a loaded code word for various “isms,” it is more useful to view it as a series of concentric circles that affect every part of our lives, from our work with people from other cultural backgrounds, to local diversity issues, to our interpersonal relationships. The constituents of each circle are different, but the challenges and necessary inclusion skills overlap. There are practical, kind, and courageous actions we can take at each level to create a more inclusive environment, embracing not just those who are like us, but those who are different.

Global Inclusion

It is often easiest to perceive differences between ourselves and people from other cultures. Such cross-cultural contacts have become increasingly frequent, even with rising geopolitical tensions. Organizations need to be able to attract and retain the best global talent, ensure smooth and effective collaboration across national and cultural boundaries, and ultimately enable employees to rise to higher-level roles based on their performance rather than their personal background or location. Anyone who is traveling or living abroad on business, part of a global team, dealing virtually with an offshore shared services employee, or working with colleagues down the hallway who are originally from other countries is likely to get far better results through intentional acts of inclusion. Here are a few sample inclusive practices that nearly every organization can benefit from:

Domestic Inclusion

On a more local level, it is important to consider what groups or individuals have been marginalized in your environment based on some aspect of their background: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, region, education, socioeconomic status, language, and so on. There are relatively straightforward actions that organizations and employees can safely take to address these marginalization issues:

Interpersonal Inclusion

It is natural to enjoy the comfort of being around like-minded people with similar backgrounds. Reaching out to others who are different in some way requires greater effort. Yet if we only associate with those who are like us, our world may become increasingly narrow, rigid, and fearful. How broad are our social circles? How can we gain access to new information? What kind of person do we aspire to be? Successful societies and their economies balance individual interests with altruism, and high-performing leaders tend to be surprisingly humble and willing to give credit to others (see Jim Collins on Level 5 Leadership). In our own daily lives we can become more inclusive of differences in a way that primes us to be champions of global and domestic workplace inclusion as well:

The Goal of Inclusion

Inclusion continues to be an ever-present challenge, and organizations that are not inclusive of people from different backgrounds will likely find that this affects their business outcomes in a negative way. No employee wants to feel excluded or treated as a second-class citizen. Inclusion is connected to basic human desires to be a full-fledged group member and to have workplace opportunities to grow and prosper like anyone else. Difficult and contentious though inclusion sometimes may be, a world without it would be one with little promise or hope.

We can’t include everyone all the time—there are always limits to our physical and mental resources, clashing views about how much inclusion is enough, and legitimate questions about how we can work together most efficiently. On the other hand, as the number of people on our planet increases toward nine billion, with most of this population growth occurring in emerging markets, we all have to stretch ourselves to live together in ways that are peaceful and mutually beneficial. What John F. Kennedy said more than sixty years ago about the then wildly ambitious goal of traveling to the moon could also be said about inclusion today. “Why choose this as our goal?” We do these things “not because they are easy, but because they are hard…because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.”

Dr. Ernest Gundling is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Aperian, and has been involved with the organization since its inception in 1990. He partners with multinational clients to develop strategic global approaches to leadership development, teambuilding, and change management. He has lived, worked and traveled abroad for much of his career in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including six years' residence in Japan. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the author of six books — the most recent is Inclusive Leadership: Global Impact — as well as numerous other publications.

(Adapted with permission from an article originally published on aperian.com on 2/16/2024.)

By Neal Goodman, Ph.D.

At its best, a trainer’s high becomes a virtuous cycle: The more a trainer helps others thrive, the more they are personally fulfilled, and the more fulfilled they are, the more effective and passionate they become—which helps others thrive….

Have you ever experienced a “runner’s high,” a euphoric state you achieve during prolonged aerobic activity? Equally powerful is what I refer to as “trainer’s high,” a psychological and emotional state experienced by trainers, facilitators, coaches, and instructors when they help others achieve breakthroughs in their professional skills or mental acuity and performance. After a brief hiatus from training, I realized that what I missed most was the euphoria from helping others learn, being the catalyst for new awareness, creating “aha moments,” and reviewing the comments and action items after a workshop. A trainer’s high is a profound and motivating experience that blends professional fulfillment, emotional connection, and physiological feedback into a unique state of elevated well-being. Ironically, I did not appreciate my trainer’s high until I stopped training. “You don’t know what you lost until it is gone.”

A trainer’s high includes the sense of exhilaration, satisfaction, and connection that trainers feel when they witness their participants succeed, overcome mental barriers, or make tangible progress. It is that rush of pride when participants report how they have applied what they learned (even after 20 years), and you know you were an integral part of someone’s transformation.

Components of a Trainer’s High

A trainer’s high is rooted in multiple psychological principles. One of the primary factors is vicarious achievement, where the trainer experiences joy and satisfaction through the accomplishments of their clients. This is often accompanied by vicarious empathy, where the emotions of the students’ pride, excitement, and sense of accomplishment are mirrored within the trainer, creating a shared emotional high. Over time, these repeated emotional experiences build a sense of deep purpose and reward. One of my most memorable moments was when a former participant stopped by a new offering of the same program to report to the new group of participants how she was able end a potentially serious issue at a global VP meeting by applying cross-cultural skills from my program. She saw what others could not see. As a new VP, she was able to demonstrate her newly acquired skills and knowledge, which the other VPs did not possess.

Another component of the trainer’s high is the intrinsic motivation trainers often possess. Many trainers and coaches enter the profession not just to make a living but because they believe in the power of expanding awareness, building business skills, personal growth, and improved interpersonal skills. When a client experiences a breakthrough, it validates the trainer’s belief system and reinforces their sense of identity and mission. This connection between professional purpose and personal values is a potent source of psychological reward.

From a physiological perspective, a trainer’s high also may involve biochemical feedback. Watching their participants applying their new skills and providing encouragement and emotional support can trigger the release of dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins—neurochemicals associated with pleasure, bonding, and stress relief. This is especially true in high-engagement training such as group classes, teambuilding, or one-on-one sessions where motivation, encouragement, and interaction are constant. Just as athletes “feed off the crowd,” trainers “feed off their students,” especially in moments of emotional intensity.

A trainer’s high also is amplified by social reward mechanisms. Human beings are wired to value connection and contribution. When a trainer plays a role in someone’s success, they receive both verbal and non-verbal appreciation, smiles, hugs (when culturally appropriate), gratitude, and positive feedback. These responses activate reward centers in the brain and create strong emotional memories. For many trainers, these moments become the fuel that sustains them through the long hours of preparation, physical demands, and occasional unexpected situations that come with the job, such as cancelled flights, fire alarms, medical emergencies, active shooter drills, and other surprises.

The Flip Side

Benefits aside, a trainer’s high is not without its complexities. The emotional investment required can lead to burnout if not managed carefully. Trainers may place high expectations on themselves or feel responsible for client outcomes beyond their control. When progress stalls or clients drop out, it can lead to frustration or self-doubt. This emotional rollercoaster highlights the importance of emotional boundaries, self-care, a holistic perspective, and professional development to sustain a healthy and fulfilling career in training.

The trainer’s high is evolving in the digital age, where trainers often work through online platforms or social media. Virtual applause, likes, comments, and online testimonials can provide a boost, but they also may feel more fleeting and less personal than in-person interactions. There may be a generational difference, as many younger trainers and trainees have been learning and teaching virtually for a greater percentage of their lives. Nonetheless, many trainers find fulfillment through Webinars, storytelling, podcasts, and digital coaching successes, showing that the essence of a trainer’s high may adapt to different modalities.

Importantly, a trainer’s high isn’t reserved solely for corporate training professionals. Volunteer training for community groups and coaching or mentoring members of the community can result in similar states of fulfillment. What unites these experiences is the act of facilitating growth in others and finding joy in shared progress.

The In-Person Rush

While virtual training is fulfilling for me, nothing beats the rush of going into a room and sharing experiences, and learning together and the serendipitous learning and connections that come from interacting during breaks, having lunch or dinner together, participating in informal one-on-one meetings with students after a session when a participant may have a question or situation they want to discuss privately instead of with the class.

The trainer’s high is a powerful, multifaceted experience that blends emotional, psychological, and physiological elements. It is the unspoken reward behind the tireless commitment and dedication shown by training professionals and mentors. At its best, a trainer’s high becomes a virtuous cycle: The more a trainer helps others thrive, the more they are personally fulfilled, and the more fulfilled they are, the more effective and passionate they become. In a world where stress and burnout are common, a trainer’s high experience offers a hopeful reminder that joy, meaning, and connection can still be found in the act of helping others grow.

Have you experienced a trainer’s high? If you have any experiences or stories to share or questions about the trainer’s high, please send them to me at Neal@NealGoodmanGroup.com.

Dr. Neal Goodman is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, and coach on DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion), global leadership, global mindset, and cultural intelligence. Organizations based on four continents seek his guidance to build and sustain their global and multicultural success. He is the CEO of the Neal Goodman Group and can be reached at Neal@NealGoodmanGroup.com. Dr. Goodman is the founder and former CEO of Global Dynamics Inc. Dr. Goodman is the 2025 recipient of the Margaret D. Pusch Founders Award for his lifetime contributions to SIETAR USA, the intercultural field, and his commitment to the intercultural and greater community.

(Reprinted from Training Magazine with permission - https://trainingmag.com/experiencing-a-trainers-high/)

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