Involve your Partner or Spouse in the Expatriation Process

Involve your Partner or Spouse in the Process

After moving around the world, your partner or spouse is going to have to deal with many of the cultural awareness issues that you are facing. At every step of the process, get your partner involved. As your other half, they have a right to be just as prepared as you do. Partners should receive information on increasing cultural awareness and coaching about new cultural values. As fellow expatriates and global citizen, they need to be informed about the difficulties and challenges they will face. Partners form a vital part of an employee’s social support network. Being able to turn to them for help and trust them to come to your aid is a necessary part of adjusting to life abroad. Successful expats know this and trust their partners to form the backbone of the global leadership alongside them. Listen to your partner as you go through the process of becoming a part of the global citizenship.

Set Clear Expectations

Set Clear Expectations

Understanding the expectations out for you is the basis for being able to perform in any task. If you do not know what the job expects, it is exceptionally difficult to be able to perform it well. The first step for dealing with this problem is to request details about what exactly is expected of you. Clear outlines of what the mission and the job entail and the steps towards successfully completing it offer you the chance to know and fulfill your responsibilities.

Once the details of the mission are available, set about discovering what is locally available to help you in the assignment. Depending on the post, Internet access and other modern amenities may not be available. Learning how to work around these obstacles and thrive is of utmost importance in being able to perform any job and to adapt. People often make assumptions based on what was available in the United States.

When it comes to lifestyles abroad, these assumptions are just as dangerous. Although learning about your job’s demands is vitally important, being able to adjust your own expectation of life is even more significant. Life abroad will not be like it is at home. Although work life may be interesting and engaging, be prepared for your living situations to be different. In countries like Taiwan or Japan, expats can expect to live within smaller apartments and forego the use of ovens. This may not sound like a significant drawback, but it can compile over time with other incidents of culture shock.

Having clear expectations enables the expat and their family to easily meet and overcome challenges. With twenty-five to forty percent of international assignments being terminated early, expats need to be prepared for worst case scenarios and know how to meet their job requirements. Failing an assignment can affect your self-esteem and career detrimentally—as well as the image of applicants who follow you. Rise to the occasion and learn what is expected beforehand.

3 Essential Qualities To Make Sustainable Changes

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

From presidential candidates to the average main street citizen, change is in the air. At some point, everyone wants to make a change. The people that surround us in our community like friends, relatives, coworkers and politicians are all talking about the miraculous effect of making a change. As nations and organizations strive towards changing their image and manner of operating, they need to keep the concepts of courage, commitment and self-mastery at the forefront of their minds. Without these skills, people can never take the first step towards a sustainable difference in how they live their lives. The first step is the most difficult one and distractions are in abundance, but these values can help individuals and corporations to stay the course and affect a dramatic difference in their lives. Understanding how courage, commitment and self-mastery transform the individual and bring about a change enables us to lead ourselves, our organization and even our nations to success. Read More