Victoria Rennoldson explores cultural intelligence (also known as CQ) as an active process rooted in self-awareness, strategy, and action. She shares how coaches can develop CQ to build trust, navigate communication differences, and support leaders working across diverse cultures.

In each episode of Neuroscience of Coaching, host Dr. Irena O’Brien explains the science-based insights behind a particular concept and interviews a coach to discuss how these apply in the real world. Just as she does in her professional programs, Irena “un-complicates” neuroscience and teaches practical, evidence-based tools and strategies that listeners can use in their coaching practices.

“Cultural intelligence is strategy and action. It’s doing rather than knowing.”

— Victoria Rennoldson

Victoria Rennoldson is an award-winning cultural intelligence and communication coach and the founder of Culture Cuppa. She is a born native of London, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, with more than 300 languages spoken.

In her previous career working in international teams within global multinational organizations, Victoria observed that many talented professionals did not always contribute their full expertise to the team or the business. This was often because they did not feel confident speaking up and sharing their voice. As a result, they did not fully shine, became less visible than their colleagues, and their teams missed out on the benefit of their knowledge and skills.

Victoria believes that this communication and cultural gap represents a significant waste of talent and valuable ideas for teams and organizations. This belief fuels her passion for helping create an equal share of voice for everyone in multicultural and multilingual teams.

Today, she works with talented and ambitious individuals and teams around the world who need support with leadership communication skills, communicating with confidence, and navigating the cultural challenges of collaborating successfully and building trust with global teams, international customers, and partners.

Dr. Irena O’Brien teaches coaches and care professionals how to achieve better results for their clients through neuroscience.

She is the founder of Neuroscience School, which helps practitioners understand and apply insights from cutting-edge neuroscience research. She loves seeing her students gain confidence in their ability to evaluate neuroscience findings and use them successfully in their own practices. Her Certificate Program in Neuroscience is certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for Continuing Coaching Education credit.

Dr. O’Brien has studied neuroscience for 25 years and holds a Ph.D. in the field from the Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM), where she did brain-imaging studies. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Language, Mind, and Brain at McGill University.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Mirasee
Dr. Irena O’Brien’s website: The Neuroscience School
Victoria’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-rennoldson
Victoria’s website: https://culturecuppa.com/

Credits:
Host: Dr. Irena O’Brien
Producer: Andrew Chapman
Audio Editor: Marvin del Rosario
Executive Producer: Danny Iny
Music Soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely
Making our hosts sound great: Home Brew Audio

Music credits:
Track Title: Sneaker Smeaker
Artist: Avocado Junkie
Writer: Sander Kalmeijer
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Coo Coos
Artist: Dresden, The Flamingo
Writer: Matthew Wigton
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: In This Light
Artist: Sounds Like Sander
Writer: Sander Kalmeijer
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Special effects credits:
24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.

To catch the great episodes coming up on Neuroscience of Coaching, please follow us on Mirasee FM’s YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It’s the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.