| Questions frequently
asked by individuals
Q: Is an international assignment right for me?
A: That depends. Many of us are excited
by the prospect of living and working overseas. Living
overseas can be a powerful, life-changing experience
on par with the birth of a child. (That's why all of
us at The Global Effectiveness Group are so passionate
about the topic — we're all current or former expatriates.)
That being said, not everyone is in the right place
in their lives or careers where an international assignment
makes sense.
Generally, the first guideline is that
your family should enthusiastically support the assignment,
whether you go on it by yourself or take them along.
You might have a tremendously rewarding job in the new
country, but if your family is miserable, your assignment
will almost certainly be cut short. Factors such as
having teenage children or ailing parents can add complications.
The spouse may have to put his or her career on hold
during the assignment. Thus, we recommend that the assignment
be approached as a family decision.
Second, you need to assess whether you
have a personality that can withstand the strains and
ambiguities of working overseas. You need a strong sense
of identity. At the same time, you need to be able to
question the unconscious assumptions you make about
the way things "should be". You must be curious, willing
to make mistakes and learn from them. You must be proactive
in managing yourself and your communications with your
home company. You must be flexible and willing to change
your behaviors. Ironically, what enabled you to succeed
in your home country might actually hinder your performance
overseas. You also need to be able to laugh at yourself
on occasion.
Third, the assignment should make sense
in the context of your career. What skills or competencies
do you expect to develop on the assignment? How will
you use them when you return? What job do you expect
to have when you come back?
Finally, you need a good support network.
Do you know anyone who recently worked in the country
you are considering? Who will you rely upon to keep
you informed about events and politics in your company
while you are overseas? Who will be looking out for
you and your development?
The Global Effectiveness Group has a portfolio
of assessment tools that will help you determine if
the time is right for you to accept an international
assignment. Our coaching services will help you build
upon your strengths, hone your ability to observe and
deal with subtleties in interpersonal interactions,
and to trust your curiosity. We can help you identify
and solidify the skills that will propel you to even
greater success when you return home. Finally, coaching
helps build such a strong sense of "what really matters"
that your assignment is almost guaranteed to provide
experiences that you will cherish the rest of your life.
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Q: What challenges
can I expect in interacting with people in another country?
A: Language is the source of many frustrations
and breakdowns. Even if both parties are speaking English,
the cultural connotations and regional subtleties in
meaning are frequent causes of misunderstandings. Imagine
the frustration that an American expatriate manager
might experience if she did not realize that to her
South African colleague, "now" actually means "later"
in common usage!
Cultural differences can lead to bewildering
outcomes to the person who is not prepared to deal with
them. Without a grounding in the assumptions and worldviews
in the host culture, the expatriate manager is left
to guess why she is not communicating well with her
counterparts. Is she being too personal, or not personal
enough? When they say "yes," do they really mean "no"?
Should she ask everyone for his or her opinion in a
group meeting, or should she poll each person individually?
The Global Effectiveness Group is prepared
to help you understand the cultural "lenses" that color
every person's thoughts, words, and actions. This includes
recognizing the assumptions that you make about how
people "should" act and think. Your coach will help
you design observations and practices that will build
your cultural fluency — a skill that will benefit you
everywhere in the world, even in your home country.
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Q: How can
I use the assignment to build my leadership skills?
A: International companies frequently send
an up-and-coming leader to a new operation in another
country as a developmental experience. Because of the
smaller size of the operation relative to the home company,
the expatriate will have a broader scope of job responsibilities.
For example, someone who is currently an operations
manager might be identified to head both business development
and operations in his expatriate assignment. Such assignments
will stretch the assignee's perspective and potentially
qualify him to become a general manager when he returns
to his home country.
International assignments will also build
other valuable leadership skills. For example, fluency
in cross-cultural relations will greatly enhance your
communications and persuasiveness abilitiess, through
your increased ability to get your message across to
diverse audiences. You will improve your ability to
build and maintain relationships. Navigating the uncharted
waters of the new assignment will improve your skill
in functioning effectively amidst ambiguity.
Succeeding in an international assignment
is a sure-fire way to prove to yourself and to others
that you are skilled and resourceful person.
Working with you before and during your
assignment, your coach can help you identify developmental
objectives, put together and work through a development
plan, and master your new skills. You will be well prepared
to assume a position of greater authority when you return
from your assignment.
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Q: How can
I make the most of this assignment as a career opportunity?
A: As stated in the discussion above, your
international assignment can be a prime opportunity
to develop competencies that will enable you to succeed
as a general manager.
Using your assignment as a career opportunity
within your company requires your active attention before,
during, and after the assignment. Work with your management
and your HR and leadership development staffs to develop
specific objectives for the assignment, and get consensus
on what your position upon return might be. Ensure that
a senior manager in your home organisation commits to
keeping you informed during your assignment. Actively
seek ways to keep yourself in touch with peers and senior
management.
Begin planning your return at least six
months in advance. Ensure that your management understands
the competencies and knowledge you have developed on
your assignment. Don't settle for a job that is too
similar to what you did before you left for your assignment;
otherwise, you will likely become quickly dissatisfied.
Once you return, seek out ways to share
your learnings and build organizational knowledge so
that others can benefit from your experience. Be a mentor
to other expatriates.
We at The Global Effectiveness Group are
highly skilled in leadership development. We can work
with you in development planning and can coach you as
you progress toward meeting your goals.
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Q: How can
my spouse and my family use this assignment to enrich
their lives and careers?
A: For the spouse who was working in the
home country, but who cannot obtain a work permit or
cannot work in their profession in the host country,
an international assignment represents a career interruption.
While this interruption is real and must be acknowledged,
there are ways for the spouse to use the time overseas
to their advantage.
First, the spouse and family can gain facility
in intercultural skills (see the response above). The
assignment provides a marvelous opportunity for the
family to experience first-hand the richness of history
and culture in the host country. These will be valuable
additions to the spouse's repertoire of knowledge and
competencies upon return to the home country and resumption
of his or her career.
The spouse also has the opportunity to
network with other expatriate families. The spouse can
do research at local libraries, undertake volunteer
work, mentor other expatriates (including host country
nationals who are planning to travel to the spouse's
home country), or find other activities to which the
spouse's special knowledge and talents will be applicable.
The Internet and e-mail provide an easy and inexpensive
way to maintain contact with areas of interest and people
at home.
It is also a prime opportunity for the
spouse to be coached. Without the press of daily priorities
as in the home job, the spouse can use the services
of The Global Effectiveness Group to assist in settling
into the host country, career redefinition, development
planning, skill building, or any number of areas which
will facilitate resuming a more rewarding career when
the spouse returns to the home country.
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Contact us at inquiries@globaleffectiveness.com
