With over 25 years of progressive experience in technical communication, Manoj Bokil is a Senior Manager leading the Teradata India team for Technical Content Strategy and Design. Throughout his career, he has worked with industry giants such as Oracle, Symantec, and Persistent, helping teams shape impactful content strategies and solutions. An active contributor to the technical communication community, Manoj Bokil has been a long-standing participant and speaker at various STC India events and conferences for over two decades. Beyond his professional expertise, he is passionate about social causes, championing animal rights and a strong ally for the LGBTQ+ community.

Bridging Continents: Managing Product Content Teams Across Cultures and Borders

In the globalized world of technical content, managing teams across different regions presents both opportunities and challenges. Drawing on over 19 years of experience leading technical documentation teams in both the U.S. and India, this session explores the cultural differences and leadership approaches that can influence the success of globally distributed teams. The speaker’s learnings are primarily aimed at high-context cultures, where communication relies more on nuance and shared understanding. However, these insights can be fine-tuned and adapted to apply across diverse geographies, including low-context cultures, by adjusting communication styles to fit the local context.

Through real-world case studies and personal insights, attendees will gain practical strategies for overcoming cultural barriers, streamlining communication, and ensuring seamless transfer of product knowledge across geographies.

In this session, attendees will learn:

Attendees will leave with actionable tips on:

• Adapting leadership and communication styles to align with cultural expectations across continents
  
• Fostering effective collaboration between distributed teams
  
• Navigating challenges such as time zone differences, cultural barriers, and other subtler aspects
  
• Ensuring a successful product and content knowledge transfer process between teams in the U.S. and India
  Managing team sentiment and dynamics in the context of shifting work arrangements, whether navigating return-to-office mandates or embracing remote-first approaches

This session will help global product content leaders build cohesive, high-performing teams regardless of geographic location and help content creators work better across all their teams.