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Why do talented people from non-Western backgrounds get overlooked in Western-led organisations – even when they're doing great work?

In this episode of Cultural Friction, I talk with Biljana Tasetovikj, founder of Invisible Rules. Biljana spent 18 years in international education, including running a U.S. State Department cultural programme, and helped Macedonian students secure more than $5.1M in scholarships. Then, five years into her role, a promotion was turned down – and she started to notice the unwritten rules she'd been missing.

We talk about:
• The long emails that buried her request – and the two-line replies from her bosses
• Why being exposed to another culture doesn't make you good at working across it
• The silent room: why people from some cultures wait to be asked before they speak
• What managers often misread as "passive" or "disengaged"
• Practical steps for Western managers leading teams from the Balkans and Eastern Europe
• The hidden cost of cultural friction – people bringing only half of themselves to work

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🎓 BASIS LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME
Do you lead a team where people don't all work the same way? BASIS is my one-to-one leadership programme for managers of multicultural and international teams – feedback, delegation, meetings, trust, conflict and performance, all built around leading people who work differently.

• Three levels: first-time team leaders, experienced managers, and directors/CEOs
• Six sessions per level – online, in person in Barcelona, or as an intensive week at your office
• Founding prices for the first five participants

Book a free 30-minute discovery call:
👉 https://brendanthomasquinn.com/leadership-programme
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CONNECT WITH BILJANA
🌐 Invisible Rules: https://theinvisiblerules.com/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biljana-kuzmanovska-tasetovikj/
📅 Book a free session with Biljana: https://cal.com/biljana-tasetovikj-wblqwh/30min
✍️ Substack: https://invisiblerules.substack.com/

CONNECT WITH BRENDAN
🌐 https://brendanthomasquinn.com
Cross-cultural communication workshops, multicultural team training and leadership advisory for organisations working across cultures.

CHAPTERS (approximate)
Introduction
How Biljana got into international education
The promotion that revealed the invisible rules
Exposure isn't a skill
Relationship first vs task first – and planning a year ahead
Adapting without losing yourself
What non-Western professionals often misread
The silent room
Advice for Western managers
The hidden cost of cultural friction
How to find Biljana and Invisible Rules

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Cultural Friction is hosted by Brendan Thomas Quinn who works with leaders and teams navigating cultural friction within teams that work together or are dispersed around the world — as an advisor, coach, and workshop facilitator, and as Adjunct Lecturer on an International Business Masters programme teaching Cross-Cultural Communication, Cultural Friction brings that same real-world, research-backed approach to your ears in 20 minutes.

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