INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF FUTURE MANAGERS: FROM DEFINITION TO MEASURABLE TRAINING OUTCOMES

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of defining and structuring intercultural communication skills as measurable learning outcomes in the professional training of future managers. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing cultural, linguistic, organizational, and digital diversity of managerial work. In multicultural teams, international projects, virtual cooperation, and cross-border business interactions, a future manager needs more than general cultural awareness or functional foreign-language proficiency. They need practical skills to interpret culturally conditioned meanings, adapt communication, prevent misunderstandings, support inclusive interaction, and make ethically appropriate decisions in uncertain communicative situations. The purpose of the article is to substantiate a measurable framework of intercultural communication skills for future managers on the basis of contemporary scientific research. The study uses theoretical methods: analysis, comparison, generalization, systematization, and categorization of scientific sources on intercultural competence, cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, multicultural team management, inclusive leadership, and digital intercultural interaction. The article clarifies that intercultural communication skills should be considered an applied, observable component of intercultural competence. They are manifested in specific managerial actions: active listening, clarification of meanings, adaptation of messages, emotional self-regulation, mediation of communicative tensions, coordination of multicultural teamwork, and ethical use of digital communication tools. The proposed framework includes eight groups of skills: cultural self-awareness and reflection; interpretation of culturally conditioned meanings; adaptive verbal and non-verbal communication; emotional self-regulation and empathy; management of intercultural interaction; conflict prevention and mediation; digital intercultural communication; and inclusive managerial decision-making. Each group can be described using observable indicators and used to design educational components, training tasks, assessment criteria, and diagnostic tools in management education.