Your Best Investment:
The A.S.C.E.N.D. Global Leadership Program
Invest in Leaders Who Turn Cultural Complexity into Competitive Advantage
In today’s globalized, diverse workplaces, technical skills alone are no longer enough. Organizations need leaders who can bridge cultures, build trust, reduce friction, and unlock the full potential of their teams. The ASCEND Global Leadership Program, led by Dr. Mathew Vroman, delivers a practical, proven framework that equips professionals to rise above cultural and organizational challenges—driving measurable business results.
Purpose of the ASCEND Global Leadership Program
The purpose of this program is to equip professionals with a practical, integrated leadership framework that enables them to rise above cultural and organizational challenges while creating meaningful impact within increasingly diverse workplaces.
Built upon the principles of Cultural Intelligence (CQ), the ASCEND framework helps participants develop greater self-awareness, stronger interpersonal relationships, improved communication, and more effective leadership across cultures.
Why This Program Matters
Modern organizations operate in an environment defined by globalization, digital collaboration, workforce diversity, and rapidly changing business conditions.
Success now requires leaders who can:
Build trust across cultures
Communicate with empathy and clarity
Navigate cultural differences effectively
Foster collaboration and inclusion
Lead high-performing, diverse teams
Adapt confidently to change
Leaders who develop these capabilities create stronger organizational cultures, improve employee engagement, reduce conflict, and deliver superior business performance.
The Business Case for Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
Extensive international research shows that Cultural Intelligence is a powerful predictor of leadership effectiveness and organizational success.
A comprehensive meta-analysis of 199 independent studies involving more than 44,000 participants found that CQ significantly predicts leadership effectiveness, intercultural performance, team collaboration, workplace adaptability, and cross-cultural communication.
Additional research reinforces the bottom-line impact:
High diversity + CQ drives profitability: Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are significantly more likely to outperform industry peers financially (McKinsey & Company findings consistently show 35%+ advantages in earlier studies, with even stronger correlations in recent data).
Greater cash flow and innovation: Organizations with strong inclusive practices (tied to CQ development) report 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee, are 1.8 times more likely to be prepared for change, and 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders (Bersin by Deloitte).
Team performance gains: Culturally intelligent leadership can improve team engagement and performance by up to 35% in diverse settings.
Board-level impact: Boards prioritizing CQ see performance improvements of up to 20%.
Avoiding costly failures: Research indicates a high percentage (often cited around 70-80%) of international ventures fail due to cultural differences—losses that CQ training directly mitigates.
As David Livermore of the Cultural Intelligence Center notes, when CQ levels are high, diverse teams consistently outperform homogeneous ones in productivity, engagement, profitability, and innovation. Diversity alone doesn’t guarantee success—Cultural Intelligence unlocks its full value.
A Leadership Philosophy Rooted in Relationships
The ASCEND philosophy also draws from the timeless African concept of Ubuntu: “A person becomes a person through and with others.” This reminds us that leadership is ultimately about relationships, mutual respect, shared responsibility, and collective success.
Why Bring Dr. Mathew Vroman?
Dr. Vroman brings more than frameworks—he brings lived experience. With decades of cross-cultural ministry and leadership across Alaska’s diverse communities and international contexts (including extended time in Turkey), he has navigated real-world cultural dynamics in high-stakes environments. His unique blend of pastoral insight, practical training expertise, and a doctorate-level approach delivers training that is:
Engaging and memorable — blending research with relatable stories from global settings and everyday leadership challenges.
Practical and actionable — focused on immediate application in your workplace.
Tailored — available in both corporate/secular and ministry-adapted versions of the ASCEND Global Leadership Manual.
Organizations that invest in this program gain leaders equipped not just to manage diversity, but to thrive because of it.
The Clear Choice for Forward-Thinking Organizations
Investing in the ASCEND Global Leadership Program is one of the highest-ROI decisions you can make for your team and bottom line. You will reduce risks from cultural misunderstandings, strengthen collaboration, boost innovation, and build inclusive cultures that attract and retain top talent.
Ready to make your best investment?
Contact Dr. Mathew Vroman today to bring the ASCEND Global Leadership Program to your organization. Let’s equip your leaders to ascend above challenges and deliver lasting impact
1. Harvard Business Review (Earley & Mosakowski, “Cultural Intelligence,” HBR): “In an increasingly diverse business environment, managers must be able to navigate through the thicket of habits, gestures, and assumptions that define their coworkers and clients. Cultural intelligence, or CQ, is the ability to make sense of unfamiliar cultural settings and then use that knowledge to interact appropriately with people from other cultures.” In today’s global climate, you really need this capability—or risk losing deals, talent, and market share.
2. Robert E. Moritz (former Chairman & Senior Partner, PwC US / Global Chairman): “CQ [cultural intelligence] is a critical capability for navigating today’s increasingly global and diverse business environment. It’s so important that we made it one of our core behaviors at PwC.” In this interconnected global climate, you really need leaders and teams with high CQ to attract the best talent, drive results, and outperform competitors.
3. From McKinsey & Company (widely cited by executives): “Companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity on executive teams were 39% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.” In today’s volatile global climate, you really need cultural intelligence to unlock these financial gains through better innovation, decision-making, and market adaptation.
4. Business leaders via David Livermore (Cultural Intelligence Center): “If we aren’t careful, it’s easy to see cultural intelligence as a nice lofty ideal and miss its connection to our P&L reports.” In the current global climate of rapid internationalization and cultural complexity, you really need CQ—it directly impacts profitability, negotiation success, and cost savings.
5. Forbes / Executive Consensus: “Cultural Intelligence Is A Competitive Advantage… [It impacts] the bottom line; widening horizons for trade, improving employee engagement, and driving innovation.” In today’s global climate, you really need this edge—especially when expanding into new markets or leading diverse teams—to avoid costly missteps and capture real ROI.
