Talentor Talk - Cultural Awareness in International Business

I was leading one of the biggest recruitment firms in the area during my time in Ethiopia and helped the team undergo a strategic transition process. I have never developed more professionally or personally than when I was in charge of a team in an entirely new cultural setting, a crazy-booming market, and the realization of ambitious expansion ambitions.

I have actually learned from our second assignment in Jamaica that in order to understand leadership in a country, you must have a thorough understanding of the local culture and history. Jamaicans are immensely proud, and they taught me to be truly present with them and earn their trust over time. Particularly during the first lockdown, I saw incredible resilience because they were residing in a hurricane-prone location and regularly preparing for emergencies.

I’ve been raised by very open minded parents. I remember that my father invited two Yemeni guys, Aydarus and Abdullah, to our home so they could share their stories. He supported them financially, studied Arabic, and taught them German. They always came in a suit, were ready for every lesson, and were so much fun. My fascination with a foreign culture and family in our home sparked my desire to travel and interact with people from all around the world for the rest of my life.

You will always make new friends and possibilities by welcoming new individuals into your home and thinking. This is also true in the corporate context: You can only fully comprehend how your multicultural team functions and what drives them by listening to them and expanding your own worldview. We need to grow better at asking deeper questions before moving on to solving problems. It is fascinating to observe the various ways that a problem can be viewed and subsequently solved by people coming from different parts of the world. We frequently jump right to the solution without thoroughly considering the context or including the team.

Understanding the full history and legacy of the country you are in. You must first establish trust and understand fully the situation. You don't have to know every solution. No one size fits it all solutions! The local team is the expert on the market; you serve as a sort of translator between the local team and the headquarters.

Put taking care of yourself at the top of your priority list. Working abroad and in a world market that moves extremely quickly, involves a lot of pressure and stress. To be completely present for all of life's wonderful moments at home and elsewhere, you need a strong body, a clear mind, and plenty of energy.

I've spoken with more than 100 world leaders in recent years to learn their secrets to success abroad. Finding your own, authentic leadership style is not a simple path, according to many - and especially women - and is sometimes tempted to replicate the style you were used to lead for all your career, especially in the beginning. Everyone agreed that a leader with a kind heart, with a very clear vision and who genuinely invests in their employees, wins the respect of everyone in a short time.

If you move with your family, make sure they are well-supported and able to achieve their own goals during the time spent abroad. A successful multinational assignment requires a community to set it up and is similar to a large puzzle with pieces that need to fit together.

The leadership qualities of empathy, listening to others so they feel seen and heard, understanding the culture, understanding your legacy, and understanding the history the team comes from, are the secret ingredients for being a successful leader abroad.

That is the foundation of managing a diverse workforce and fostering a sense of belonging. And you must be very clear about the direction you intend to take your team. Your foundation for achieving difficult goals, no matter where you are in the world, is creating an inspiring vision.

Again, listen first. Then, learn. And learn to ask for support and clarity.

The moment you make an assumption about a different cultural setting, you run the genuine risk of misinterpreting the situation. In order to build and manage diverse teams, it is crucial for leaders to be aware of their own biases. We all have prejudices against various characteristics of one another due to our own histories and reflecting on that is a big step for our personal development.

Take your time at first to focus on establishing trust and connection while learning about the legacy you are building on. Create a power team that fully supports your international work and that you can rely on to provide you time to recharge your batteries (whether it is your family, friends, or caregiving system).

The world became the smallest village as ever – in particular after the pandemic. The opportunities to recruit international top talent had been opening up as never before, and everyone on this planet seeks almost the same talent. Every step of your hiring process needs to feel personal. A great digital hiring process is good or even standard nowadays, but everyone senses right away if a top-notch hiring team is setting up the contact points or if a digital booth is talking to you.

Make each stage personal and give yourself plenty of time to learn about the candidate's goals, obstacles, and circumstances. Again, for a global hire, clarity is the only important factor. Create a welcoming culture by working with your local teams; this is an active effort to integrate the new team member and takes interest on both sides.

Depending on the stage of life you're in, every move will feel different. There is an adaptation cycle that always includes a depressive stage when you realize you will have to stay in this new location for some time. It's crucial to understand that this is typical and that practically everyone experiences difficult periods while abroad. Many international careers appear to be glamorous lifestyles from the outside. In practice, this means dealing with a complex combination of stress, having to adjust to completely new circumstances, and your family's ability to continually establish new support networks.

You'll design your techniques to fit those circumstances, and you'll be far better equipped to tackle difficult situations with passion and focus.

The times when you are the outsider in a foreign place are when you will develop as a leader the most, both professionally and emotionally.

What we can all learn from one another when we are a diverse group is amazing. We approach things differently and come up with a variety of highly unique solutions.

It's as if you have the chance to view the world through a new pair of glasses: At Talentor everyone shares a passion for finding high level leaders with the same quality recruitment standards anywhere in the world. We all have the same desire for excellent quality when we work together, and we constantly strive to improve the working environment for our clients. And since each of us has a unique character and personality, it is incredibly valuable to learn from people around the globe about how we resolve the industry's challenges, including the lack of talent, internal difficulties with building our recruitment team, and more recently, a sharp increase in our daily business.

By paying attention to our colleagues in Asia and how they initially handled the back the new pandemic situation, we could accelerate our learning during the epidemic. Additionally, we continually receive fresh concepts from the group to develop interesting market insights for our clients.

Find the full Talentor Talk here:

We often discuss the need of designing an onboarding process for new employees, but it is even more crucial if you hire international talent and relocate families and individuals across borders.

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