Successful Expatriates have these Four Mindsets:
- Curiosity;
- Humility;
- Agility and;
- High EQ.
The second theme, humility, shares a number of behaviours with curiosity. Humble individuals recognize that knowledge is infinite and an open mind is a prerequisite to understand different perspectives. Humble individuals also seek first to understand before making themselves understood; they listen and ask questions to learn rather than pontificate.
There used to be an assumed practice that hiring Mandarin-speaking Asian nationals to serve as expatriates for organizations in China was the most effective. This was predicated on the assumption that Asian cultures were similar to China’s and that speaking Mandarin made communication and management easier. While this generally can be a predictor of success, the element to increase its probability still lies with the individual.
I was in a position to observe and work with a number of successful Asian nationals but also coach and mentor Asian nationals who were not effective. The overseas Chinese who were most successful in their careers in China were extremely humble. They saw themselves as part of the host country’s team, not as an outsider parachuted in to lead.
Ineffective overseas Chinese leaders separated themselves from their Mainland Chinese coworkers and business partners. These individuals came from Asian countries that, at the time, had a higher level of commercial development than China. On multiple occasions, these Asian expatriates operated under the notion that their Chinese counterparts did not know any better. In our conversations, these professionals would be heard asking, “what can I learn from the Chinese?”. The judgment behind this question blocked them from endearing themselves with local teams and business partners. The majority of these Asian expatriates were unable to release these underlying beliefs or it was too late for them to do so; their careers in China never recovered.
The theme of humility reminds me of a highly successful senior executive that I recruited to China from the American Midwest. Peter had travelled and worked elsewhere in the world, but had limited experience in China. He became recognized as one of Shanghai’s most effective executives and was highly sought after by executive search consultants during his 15+ year tenure in China. His success could have been foreshadowed in his first meeting with the executive team, when he declared early on, “I have as much to learn from you as you have from me.” He admitted to me that he asked this question to all of his new teams, that it wasn’t intended for his China team. He was quick to admit to his new team that this was his first assignment in China, that he was fascinated by the what he had heard about doing business in China and was eager to learn everything he could during his assignment.
The example of the transplanted executive illustrates both curiosity and humility. His initial interactions with Chinese employees and customers were geared towards listening and learning rather than speaking and persuading. His approach ultimately was the first important step to prevent judgment and towards establishing trust. While this was clearly an expat success story in China, the lesson can be translated to success in other host countries.