I had a wonderful reunion last evening in Honolulu visiting a former colleague with whom I worked in China almost three decades ago. At the time we had just completed negotiating a joint venture in the PRC, and I needed to identify someone who could work with the JV partner (a Chinese electric company) in a structure where we were the 49% minority partner of an LPG import terminal. I looked at a list of folks in my company who had the right skills (worldly different than mine), and who possessed the right mindset to work with our JV partner.
Over a delightful dinner conversation with this friend and his wife (whom he met in China during his assignment) we reminisced about our experience as expats, the early days of the joint venture, subsequent challenges, and how, after more than twenty-five years, we looked back on one of the most formative experiences in our professional careers with great appreciation. This morning, upon reflecting on our conversation, I found myself feeling tremendously grateful, and happy to know that decisions made so long ago contributed not only to my friend’s very successful career, but to a retirement he is now so well-deservedly enjoying.
When I think back to those days when I was deciding on “which name to pick” to join me in China, I realize that above all other characteristics, I leaned toward “attitude” even more than “aptitude” when it came to my selection. In all cases (I chose three expats to join me in our first venture in the PRC) individuals were smart and experienced, but above all, possessed some important characteristics that were key to success as an expat.
Innate curiosity/Appetite for adventure
The willingness to embark on an overseas assignment requires a level of curiosity and adventure outside of one’s comfort zone. As exciting as it might sound, there are very few people who are willing to leave the comforts and stability of life in the US, board a plane (in some cases such as mine with a family in tow) and set up life in a location that doesn’t have the conveniences or trappings of life back home. If married, this requires a spouse or partner who is willing to do the same -- as a foreign assignment is experienced by more than employees themselves. Oftentimes the challenges experienced by a spouse are far greater than those of the employee as networks, support, and friendships have to be rebooted in the new location, not to mention language and culture barriers that the office environment can help overcome.
Respect for host country culture
As a guest in a foreign country, the importance of respecting the host country’s culture cannot be overestimated. This is particularly true for western business operating in the east, but even nuances of English-speaking countries can be underestimated by American expats. Nothing sets you up for failure more than demonstrating ambivalence for a country’s culture or disrespect for social norms. Taking time to genuinely understand culture, showing respect for history, having patience to hear and appreciate stories goes a long way in establishing much-needed trust to forge strong business relationships.
Adaptability
One of the most important characteristics of being a successful expat is adapting one’s style and business thinking to an approach that works in the new location. How business strategy is formulated, approved, and operationalized can be dramatically different than how it’s done back in the headquarters country. This is probably one of the greatest challenges for expat executives as in many countries the “road to success” can be tremendously opaque and legal constructs and regulations can significantly impact approval processes and market access. Oftentimes those back in headquarters can’t understand why things take so long, or why expats seem to face challenges that to them should be easy to overcome. As expats, the importance of adaptability, thinking on the fly, and adjusting our approach caused us to serve as “translators” far beyond those issues involving language.
In selecting candidates for expat assignments, many executives turn toward aptitude and experience, but in my case, all whom I chose had never lived outside of the US. In hindsight the characteristic that made difference to their success was the attitude they brought on the journey to learn, to explore, and to grow. If I had to do it all again, I don’t think I’d change a thing. Attitude trumps aptitude every day…you can train for the latter, but not the former.
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