An Expat Assignment Isn’t a Vacation

Have you ever dreamed about working in one of your company’s international offices? Have we got a show for you! In this episode, Bruce Watt discusses what it takes to navigate being uprooted from your comfort zone and moved to an entirely different country for your job.

Join the conversation on Twitter! Use #Leadership480 to answer what your most impactful moment as a leader has been and what you’ve learned from it.

Timeline

07:01 The biggest challenges that Bruce encountered on his first expat assignment.

16:22 How having more life experience made Bruce more prepared for his expat assignment.

19:51 The conversations you need to have and the questions you need to ask before you go on your first expat assignment.

23:43 Practical tips for adapting to the expat life.

26:33 Be really clear with yourself. Are you prepared to do what's necessary? Because there will be a lot of things working against you.

You don't take on an expat assignment to make friends.

27:02 You need to realize that you're there for a reason. It's not a vacation.

27:52 Thinking back over the course of your career, can you share a moment of leadership that impacted you?