Pucik
and Saba (1998) define expatriate managers as “an executive who is able to
assume a leadership position fulfilling international assignments across
countries and cultures.”
Yet
most companies choose expats based on technical / managerial performance alone.
Past behavior may be the best indicator for future behavior when it comes to
psychology, but as soon as you cross borders; your usual behavior will yield
very unusual results.
Expat
leaders have to be culturally aware and open to adapting their style in order
to be successful.
Rothwell
(1992) defines six characteristics all successful leaders expatriates possess.
He defines:
1. “International
knowledge“
As
“general knowledge about the world and global economy; national information
about conditions in a specific country; and business understanding of strategy,
process, and leadership style.”
Black
and Gregersen (1999) found in their research that companies differ in how they
assess candidates, while looking for the following characteristics:
2. “A
drive to communicate,”
Which
includes not being afraid to use rudimentary foreign language skills and being
embarrassed?
3. A “broad-based sociability,“
Which
allows expatriates to move out of close expatriate circles and form ties with
all kinds of locals?
4. “Cultural
Flexibility” and “Cosmopolitan
Orientation, “
Which
both describe the open mind an expatriate needs to have when experimenting with
different cultures, understanding and practicing them.
The final characteristic
is:
6. The
“collaborative negotiation style.”
Expatriates
need to be aware of the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of international negotiation. For
example, people coming from a low context culture like the Germans and
Scandinavians appreciate explicit and clear forms of communication, whereas
high context cultures, like Spain, divulge less information officially, but
tend to be better informed than their counterparts anyway due to informal
networks (Leeds, 1994).
These
findings were publicized over 10 years ago.
- How
does your company choose international assignees?
- Which
training programs are in place to allow potential candidates to bridge the gap
and obtain necessary qualifications?
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