Finding an International Career and Culture Fit

By Marji McClure

What many executives are beginning to realize is that some of the strongest talent they are competing against for C-level positions is currently working at desks in another country. What they may not yet understand is that they can gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace by claiming their own desks in that country.

If your desk is currently situated in the C-suite or if you aspire to the top job, having an international position on your résumé could certainly help you advance your career at your current company and make you more marketable to future organizations. International experience in today’s global marketplace is becoming more of a “need to have” skill rather than a “nice to have” one.

But the road to international career success is certainly a challenging one. Of course, necessary requirements of accepting — and succeeding in — an international post are the possession of strong overall leadership skills (including peak performance in your specific job function) and an in-depth knowledge of your industry and its challenges. Such capabilities are obviously transferable regardless of job location. However, they provide a solid foundation for any executive ready to test his career in international waters.

Yet, they are not nearly as powerful if they are not combined with a strong cultural awareness of a foreign land. An executive can be the best leader in his native land, but this doesn’t guarantee him instant success overseas. Executives must know how to communicate their goals and visions and implement them in a way that is understood and accepted by a global workforce. If, as an executive, you truly wish to compete among your peers from Japan, for example, you must understand how they accomplish their business objectives; not just how you accomplish your own.

“Executives need to prepare themselves from a technical viewpoint of having expertise in their functional area as well as everything you expect an executive to offer in terms of leadership, knowledge, the ability to develop consensus, and appreciate how to integrate the needs and priorities of the different decision-making coalitions,” says Debra Feldman, a Connecticut-based executive talent agent and job search consultant.

“In addition, they need to have a real sensitivity and their antenna out for the fact that interactions are going to be influenced by cultural differences,” adds Feldman. “People are coming to the table with a different set of expectations of what is acceptable and what is right or wrong.”

Testing the International Waters

Are you ready for such a challenge? The first step in deciding if you would ever want to accept an international position is to cautiously test your cross-cultural capabilities without leaving your current office or company. For a U.S.- based executive, one way to test those waters without stepping on a plane is to get a job with a European company that has offices based in the U.S., suggests Feldman.

Another option is to leave the office and travel to a particular region on business, says Jeff Kaye, president and CEO of Kaye/Bassman International, a retained search firm in Plano, Texas. This is a good way in which to become familiar with how business works in that country and get used to the environment. If you want to then investigate actual career opportunities at that point, international search firms (based in the U.S.) and those based in countries in which you would like to work can help you identify potential job openings.

A Sign of Trust, Confidence

Executives who take on international assignments are either recruited into such a post by their current employer or they find such an opportunity with a new organization. Either way, executives must demonstrate the confidence to lead in any culture. For the executive being transferred by his employer, he already has. He is also already comfortable with the company’s overall corporate culture.

If you’re tapped for an international position by your current employer, consider it a true sign of confidence. “Most companies will move somebody they will trust in an outpost,” says Brian Drum, CEO of Drum Associates, a New York City-based global executive search firm. “The international move is an expensive one. They’re going to be looking for success and payback. That’s the reason you’re going.”

Andy Wong, executive director of 104China, a human resources consulting firm in Shanghai, China, concurs that the trust factor is a main reason why companies will transfer executives from one region to another. “Companies are more willing to relocate [executives] to oversee [an international operation] than hire someone fresh off the street who doesn’t have the network back in corporate,” says Wong. “They know you.”

In this scenario, your company is certain that you have the skills and capabilities to succeed abroad. But you also have to be certain you have those skills in place. “[Executives] need to know the management expertise that is needed over there [in an international location] and the technical skills,” adds Wong.

Wong served as a business development manager for Ashland Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif. for three years before being transferred by the company to Taiwan in 2001. “I was sent to Taiwan because I had the local skills and the local knowledge,” he says. He also had corporate knowledge. “When I moved out to Taiwan, any time I had a problem, I could call back [to Santa Clara] and I knew the right guy to talk to, because I built the relationships,” says Wong. “That’s a network the local employees don’t have.”

Securing an International Post: The Discovery Process

For executives contemplating an international post at a new company, there is a bit more uncertainty because they naturally don’t know as much about a new company’s overall culture. Executives seeking an international assignment need to gather as much, or more, information about a potential employer and corporate culture than they would when researching one in their native land. They also need to learn as much as possible about the local region’s cultural nuances — how they do business and how it may differ from processes they are accustomed to. Due diligence under these circumstances is crucial.

“During the interview process, they don’t want to just meet the bosses and direct reports,” says Feldman. “They need to scour the organization and get a sense of the place.” For instance, if it’s a manufacturing company, they should walk the plant floor to see how people work, advises Feldman, who suggests also asking the human resources representatives about their goals to improve the working conditions.

One of the most obvious obstacles executives can face is a language barrier. But how important is it for executives to know the language of a foreign land in order to work there? Opinion is mixed on the answer, and sometimes it depends on the region. Many countries do speak predominately English, while others do not. Feldman notes how communicating in a store is different from communicating at a business meeting, and advises against enlisting the help of translators because they may not be able to communicate your points as precisely as you would on your own.

Acclimating to a New Culture

Even before an executive is in place at his new position in a new land (either in an outpost of his current employer or within a completely new organization), the acclimation process must begin. While executives start such positions already armed with superior leadership and management skills, the reality is their business knowledge won’t be enough to help them succeed in a foreign land. They need to acquire a deep knowledge of the cultural nuances of their adoptive country in order to truly be successful. Experts agree that this is especially challenging because countries — as well as regions within the counties — can oftentimes have very unique cultural differences. Research is not an option, but a must.

Experts agree that some form of coaching or mentoring can also help executives overcome any cultural obstacles and become successful leaders in an international setting. “You have to rely on people who are more familiar with the environment and culture,” says Feldman. Kaye concurs that a close confidant is an important relationship to create as soon as possible. “The best thing is to get a right arm [assistant] assigned to you to give the lay of the land,” says Kaye. He adds that a business consultant could also be helpful.

“Executives want to instill the same corporate culture across the world,” says Wong. “You have to be yourself, but you have to be culturally sensitive.” Immersing themselves in their new culture is really the only way in which to accomplish this.

Networking within a new region can also help an executive become acclimated to his new country. “Executives can create an international network by getting connected with executives in similar roles in different locations,” says Chandan Pant, a senior HR recruitment consultant for DKP Solutions, an executive search firm in New Delhi, India. Yet, Wong says that networking can be more challenging in a foreign land. He suggests speaking at conferences and volunteering for community work to help build a network.

Building a Global Team

As an executive becomes comfortable in her new role and surroundings, her attention has to turn toward her team — either building one or maintaining the team she inherited. Experts say that traditional methods, such as networking and local job boards, are effective strategies regardless of your location. Kaye says there is an abundance of headhunters overseas, including thousands who are sole proprietors in Asia. “The best recruited talent is local. Local talent can teach a U.S. [executive] more,” says Kaye.

“If they want to position themselves for success, executives have to surround themselves with the right resources,” says Feldman. “They have to be smart enough to know what they need and know what they need to know.”

The equation gets a bit more complicated when your direct reports work in a different country, with perhaps a different work ethic. So a complete understanding of your employees’ culture and environment is also very important.

Feldman says, in these circumstances, face time is important. Executives need to act more like superiors who are located in the same region — and office. It’s vital to ensure employees don’t feel like they are literally alone on an island. “Executives need to be prepared to show up when there is a crisis,” says Feldman. “It’s not enough to send emails. It’s that spontaneity that deepens the feelings of trust.”

Your Global Future

For many executives, their future after an international assignment has much promise. They can bring their skills to another company seeking to “go global” and overall, their international experience makes them more marketable in an increasingly more global workforce. “An expansion to a better market for any firm would be beneficial and [an executive] can show how beneficial it is to [transition] to a global scenario,” says Pant.

“Once you develop the experience, you might be able to offer an organization that seeks to move to that area the understanding of what it will take to be able to do it from scratch,” says Kaye.

“When you get back, you tend to stand out,” adds Wong. “[For instance], you’ve brought back an Asian perspective, an Asian experience. You built a local network [in that region].”

Yet, Feldman cautions that not all international assignments can end well; and executives must be aware of that in order to avoid a letdown at the end of their tour of duty.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” says Feldman, of perhaps one of the scariest aspects of an international assignment for any executive. “If you’re too far from the home office, you might not be recognized for what you’re doing,” she says. “Executives have to be their own champions and [illustrate] what it took to get those results and the actions behind them. You may be overseas and may be viewed as indispensable and not be given another assignment. The company is not going to manage your career. You have to make sure that happens.”