Four Mindsets of Successful Expatriates

Globalization of our world has made it a smaller place.  People need to have a high level of cultural sensitivity as they are travelling to and spending more time in new countries and cultures.  Expatriates may experience challenges with integrating into a new culture which lead to professional and personal challenges, productivity costs as well as hard costs for the sponsoring organization.

Successful Expatriates have these Four Mindsets:

• Curiosity
• Humility
• Agility and
• High EQ

The first theme, curiosity, was not the most obvious at first but over time, stood out as the most important.  The behavior of “seeking” is related to this concept.  Successful expatriates  go beyond their genuine curiosity about their next international assignment and will proactively seek out questions and answers.  When I speak to first time expatriates and their families prior to departure, successful cases will always have a battery of questions about the lifestyle, the city and history of the culture.  They also take the initiative to thoroughly prepare for their move by doing things such as researching details and customs, speaking to other expatriates, and trying food from the new culture.

In addition to seeking and asking questions, there are other behaviours that underline this theme of curiosity.  These individuals lean into new or uncomfortable situations and are the first to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know.  Underlying all of these behaviours exists a confidence, an open mind and a sincerity to understand and appreciate diversity to let go of preconceived notions and assumptions.

Clients who have successfully navigated cross cultural relationships have an intellectual wonderment about the “newness” of the international assignment on which they are about to embark.  While these individuals may have a strong affinity to their home culture, they also understand and more importantly, embrace, that there are multiple and different experiences to which they have not been exposed to yet.  They recognize that the scope of the world is beyond their set of blinders.

I had coached a newly stationed business head from Germany.  Upon his arrival, Gerhard and I spoke about his adjustment to China.  To his credit, Gerhard did not take his previous expatriate experiences in Europe for granted and was deliberate in structuring his integration in China.  Before we had our first meeting, I could tell that he was constantly looking around his new environs, exploring the city, talking to people.  We eventually came to the conclusion that for Gerhard to successfully lead a large Chinese team and business (with associated relationships with local nationals), he had to understand how they thought and what motivated their behaviour.  The best way to understand was to invest time and effort outside of the workplace to build professional and personal relationships, further explore the city through food, culture and local people.  His effort to understand, learn and immerse in the culture with such reckless abandon, courage and enthusiasm, endeared himself to his team and local business partners.

Stories around the other themes will follow in subsequent weeks.