Take An Overseas Work Trip And Grow Professionally

I’m writing this article from Dubai’s International Airport at the end of a 10-day business trip. I began my overseas work in Nairobi, Kenya, before coming to the United Arab Emirates. It’s my first international business travel since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s been an eye-opening experience in many ways. Both Dubai and Nairobi were new to me. I learned much about the cities, their countries, and the people working there.

My travels were in support of executive education programs Harvard Business School (HBS) runs in Africa and the Middle East. In both locations, there were young professionals from our organization “on the ground,” managing the many logistical issues that arise when delivering a learning experience to executives far from our home base in Boston. During some downtime with colleagues, we began discussing the merits of international assignments for somebody early in their career. The benefits are many—too many to list here. But a few key points stood out to me, some even raised by the young professionals working for HBS in Nairobi and Dubai.

Acting Independently

Being far from the infrastructure that accompanies many jobs requires young professionals to act independently and, in some cases, improvise. Independent decision-making is a critical skill, whether working in your home country or overseas. But when far from your office, away from managers and peers, you likely have more opportunity to put this developing skill into practice.

An international assignment is especially helpful if you have a manager who doesn’t allow you much autonomy and you can travel without them. Unfortunately, as this McKinsey & Company article notes, many managers aren’t great about giving their staff appropriate levels of decision rights. So, if you get the opportunity to travel independent of your manager, take it. Putting yourself, figuratively speaking, on an island will allow you to expand your decision-making skills and learn from exercising your authority.

Understanding the Intersection of Culture and Business

The rules of accounting are, for the most part, the same everywhere. So are those of finance and economics. But just one trip into another culture will make it plain that while there are some constants, the context in which those constants are applied varies considerably. This is exceptionally hard to grasp even if you read extensively about these differences before diving into a new culture.

This article, which references research published in the Harvard Business Review, provides a high-level summary of how business is done in different cultures around the world. It makes plain that using the approach of your home country when overseas may not have the intended consequence.

While doing business in China, I quickly learned what the article highlights. My Chinese counterparts communicated as much through body language and facial expressions as they did through spoken word. They were also much more conscious of hierarchy than my American colleagues and me. My lack of understanding led to some embarrassment. In the first of two meetings, I thought my Chinese contact and I were on the same page regarding a deal we were working on. But when the second meeting rolled around—the one with my boss—it was clear that not only were we not on the same page, we weren’t reading the same book. My boss was not happy. The next time I worked in China, I navigated the cultural nuance much more effectively.

Meaningful Time with Others

During my trip to Africa and the Middle East, I had the opportunity to share time and meals with members of our staff I hadn’t spent much time with before—even those who, like me, came from Boston. When you’re staying in a city where a small number of colleagues are also staying, and you’re all free for a meal or stroll around a new, foreign city, you get true quality time, which can be a great way for younger employees to get noticed by more senior staff members.

Research shows that strong personal relationships at work—with co-workers and bosses—are critical to personal happiness and better team performance. In bigger organizations, building relationships with senior leadership can be difficult when working at a large headquarters or corporate facility. Going on the road with a smaller team makes it easier to connect with leadership in your chain of command. This time can be helpful in many ways. It can establish mentorship relationships. It can put you top-of-mind among decision-makers when they’re considering who to send on an important assignment. And it can allow you to showcase your talents and interests.

As I said at the outset, there are many more benefits of an international assignment than those covered here. But practicing autonomous decision-making, developing a deep appreciation for the cultural differences that drive different ways of working, and getting meaningful time with co-workers and supervisors are key. Remember, the only path to substantive learning about doing business elsewhere is to be “elsewhere.” So, take that international assignment and hop on a plane!