Global perspectives: International experience as the ultimate preparation for today’s leaders

Samantha Ball
Image of two business women in a office talking together over a document
Reading time: 4 minutes

From global marketplaces shipping goods between countries to fast-paced remote teams combining talent from all corners of the world, business has never been more international. 

This multinational, multicultural nature of today’s companies demands more from business leaders. It’s not enough to build a global team, you need to pre-empt and mitigate the challenges that team will face, from overcoming language barriers to navigating new opportunities, and nurturing their differences while creating cohesion. 

We talked to five leaders about how international experience gave them a global perspective that enhanced their leadership abilities, defined their careers, and shaped their personal lives. 

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Perspective delivers performance 

Leading a global business means balancing needs, trends, and opportunities across a wide range of different markets. Having experience in particular regions allows leaders to bring that first-hand perspective to key decisions, but even short periods abroad can significantly benefit team performance. 

A study by MIT’s Sloan School of Management on the high-pressure world of English football's Premier League found a direct link between a team manager's number of countries worked in and team performance. 

For every foreign country a manager had worked in, their team won an extra 1.14 games, or 3.42 points. It’s evidence that global experiences help build some of the fundamental skills needed to lead high-performing teams. 

Identifying cultural blind spots 

Cultural norms and working styles differ significantly around the globe. 

This process of experiencing different ways of working and communicating makes you a more open-minded leader, according to Koru Kids Founder and CEO, Rachel Carrell.  “You’ve got that experience of knowing that there’s a spectrum of styles, all of which can be good; they’re just different,” she adds. That combination of self-awareness and an appreciation for different approaches can help leaders navigate the complexities of a global team. 

A risk taker’s mindset 

Anyone who’s lived abroad knows how difficult those first few months of expat life can be. Whether it’s finding a place to live or making a doctor’s appointment, living abroad often involves throwing yourself into the “cold swimming pool” of language and culture, as Pearson Languages CTO, Gian Paolo Perrucci, describes it. 

Those types of experiences create a level of comfort with taking a risk and giving it a go. “That mindset of trying something and not being afraid to fail is just as relevant in the boardroom as it is in the classroom,” agrees Bart Groen, Managing Director of International Wellbeing, Westfield Health.

Resilience through experience

From navigating culture clashes in working styles to the everyday challenges of living abroad, international experience helps leaders develop the resilience needed to navigate the constantly changing world of business. 

“If you’ve put yourself through a bunch of different, tough experiences in your 20s, you learn that it doesn’t challenge your humanity — you can live with the tension of business and still find your equanimity”, shares Carrell.

Whether it’s a global pandemic or rocky markets, the experience of living abroad teaches adaptability and resilience that’s essential for today’s leaders. 

From clarity to charisma

Poor communication costs businesses time and money, as well as undermining all-important relationships with co-workers and customers. Leaders estimate that teams lose nearly a day a week to poor communication, costing U.S. businesses alone $1.2 trillion a year. 

The risks of miscommunication are even higher in a global team with multiple languages and communication styles. 

“With language, it’s not just the words you use, it’s how you phrase things”, according to Valentina Milanova, CEO and Founder of Daye.  “It’s the things you leave unsaid that can be so different between cultures,” she adds. At the leadership level, the stakes are even higher. 

“Those that are able to articulate their ideas well, to express themselves, to find the right word, tone, or expression at the right time — they’re the ones that inspire confidence in the people listening to them,” says Perrucci. 

Experience communicating with an international audience teaches leaders to prioritize simplicity and clarity, allowing their message to land and stick. Meanwhile, demonstrating effort can help deliver impact. The cultural awareness leaders gain from international experience and practical skills like speaking multiple languages help create strong relationships. 

“My German isn’t perfect,” Groen says, “but the fact that I speak it with my German team creates so much goodwill that half the job of building a positive working relationship is already done.”

Creating cohesion 

Accessing the benefits of a diverse, multicultural team depends on their ability to work as a unit. And that falls to leaders. “You can’t just put people from different backgrounds together and expect them to get along naturally”, Milanova believes. 

It’s a challenge that Milanova and many of the leaders we spoke to have spent a lot of time thinking about. A common solution? Be open about your differences and the challenges the team will face. At Daye, each person on Milanova’s team has a “Working with me” guide, and there are also guides on how to work with each country. 

Leaders with a breadth of global experiences can anticipate the challenges their international teams will face, take steps to mitigate them, and help their teams thrive. 

International experience builds some of the fundamental skills that leaders and their businesses need in today’s world. Experiencing a range of cultures, approaches, and styles allows leaders to question their own defaults and be open to different, creative ideas. 

The adaptability and resilience needed to settle in a place far from home creates a have-a-go mindset and the ability to communicate and connect with many different types of people. At a more fundamental level, international experience teaches leaders to be aware of and comfortable with differences. And only by doing that are they able to bring global teams together. 

Find out how Pearson Language Solutions for Work can support your workforce here

This article is part of Pearson Languages’ series, Global Voices: Leaders on Language and Business, an exclusive exploration into the pivotal role of language in achieving international business excellence. For more in this series, check out the leaders’ full interviews on Pearson Languages’ LinkedIn.

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