This week I’d like to talk about something that you can harness to become better human beings and better leaders: emotional intelligence.
Drawing on the Boudewijn Vermeulen® method I recommend to work with “body sensations”. You can also read Daniel Goleman’s (1996) classic “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ“. According to Coleman, we can identify emotional intelligence or ‘EI’ as the ability to recognize, understand and manage our emotions, while using the same guidelines to influence those of others.

The key point to note here is that to be able to influence the emotions of others, that is, to be an effective leader, requires an understanding of one’s own emotions. Therefore, I’ll be talking about ways of developing a better brain-body connection and how that sort of learning can enhance one’s sensitivity and consequently, their leadership skills.

Emotions manifest in various ways, like moods, perhaps even as physical ticks. Sometimes you don’t even know that you’re feeling a certain way, yet your body does and is tensed accordingly. Listening to these signs given by your body, therefore, allows us to develop a conscious language of sensation that can help us understand and articulate what is going on inside our bodies. So, being aware of our current mood allows us to access the unconscious wisdom of our bodies and enhance our self-awareness, which as a result lets us grow our emotional and social intelligence.
How does this learning help you become better leaders? One thing you can try to integrate into your leadership routine is to start off every meeting by asking people what their moods are, so you can have a sense of how the group is at that time. This will enable you to adjust the language, tone or flow to make the meeting more effective. It’s also a great way to get your team to engage in and develop emotional intelligence as a group.

The flip side of this is that as a leader if you are not able to manage your stressors or your emotions, that can be communicated to your team and negatively affect performance and morale. That’s where listening to your body comes in again, this time in the form of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). It is a relaxation technique that is especially beneficial for reducing muscle tension caused by psychological stress. Used effectively, however, it can help you be on top of any form of stressors, from pain to psychological distress. All these are, after all, manifested in the mind, so it stands to reason that their effects are interconnected.

Progressive muscle relaxation, at its very core, is all about focusing on and listening to specific muscle groups of your body. By actively relaxing these muscles, then tensing them for a while, before returning to full relaxation, you can relieve yourself of stress and pain. For instance, sufferers of lower back pain are frequently taught how to target their back muscles through progressive muscle relaxation techniques to manage pain.

You don’t have to be in pain to utilize these techniques to improve your connection to your emotions. Sometimes, invisible stressors will have your body in a tensed state which can affect how you perceive your emotions and broadcast them. That mind-body equilibrium is essential to being a better person. PMR, mindfulness or any relaxation technique is not just about improving stress or anxiety management, it is about aligning yourselves in such a way that your moods, emotions, and body language work together. This ‘optimal state’ of being is where one can become better listeners, able to make more informed decisions and have better personal and professional relationships.

The key is to incorporate progressive muscle relaxation techniques into your lives through practice and repetition – the only habit can create the kind of self-improvement that lasts. “Body learning” is something that comes intrinsically to everyone, you just have to listen and learn. We added weekly practices to our RockMeApp because I am from own experience aware that it is very tough to stick with such practice especially when your workload gets excessive, when you start to work on weekends and when you have young or elderly family members to take care of as well. Try it for at least eight weeks and do it at the same time every day, ideally after lunch or before you go to sleep.

This is currently my favorite video for practicing. You can also work with Dr. Beth Salcedo’s recording. If you prefer other voices you can try out several and find the voice that you like the most. In German, Dr. Stephan Frucht is very nice to listen to as well. For further reading on the practice of progressive muscle relaxation, you can check out this link for step-by-step guides. In my experience, it is best to just get started with a video or recording without overthinking it.

During the annual RockMeRetreat we practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation and other productivity-enhancing methods together. It’s often easier to start in a group. Don’t forget to claim your meeting with me to discuss your participation.

I have been a strong proponent of Global Mobility for years now and most readers and clients will know my general optimism towards it. This week I will be taking a critical look at the trend towards more Lifestyle expats and various shortcomings that need to be addressed. AIRINC (2019) confirms that 13% more companies now have an international one-way transfer policy (72% vs 59% in 2018). We also have to take into consideration here is that our populations are a lot more diverse than they used to be 10 years ago (Weinberger, 2019).

Let’s dive right in.

“In recent years, we have come across a new source of mobility traffic. We can call this driver “lifestyle”. Through technology, economic crisis, and mobile mindsets, younger professionals are more willing to move to other countries to find work. The local-to-local hires from abroad are often “coming for love and staying for the job”. Locations with a high influx of foreigners due to low unemployment, high staff turnover and perceived high quality of living – such as Australia, Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Switzerland – attract professionals from many countries. The jobs require academic backgrounds and professional experience but can be filled by local staff, if the talent is available in the marketplace. There is, however, a downside to this trend. Not many professionals think about the long-term consequences of moving from one place to another. Social security is covered in a later chapter, as well as other potential issues that can arise for global mobility professionals.”
(The Global Mobility Workbook, Weinberger, 2019)

Lifestyle expats are often expat spouses in Dual-Career Couples, Third Culture Kids (TCK’s) and Gig Workers (or Digital Nomads as they tend to be called too).

What’s in the packages?
Often the packages of lifestyle expats are limited. They have a local employment contract in the Host Country. Sometimes we support the immigration and relocation process. The company does not always offer international medical insurance or an international pension plan. In many cases, this is not because of bad intentions. Often, local HR staff has not considered the package and support as they have misconceptions about how these systems work globally.

So here are a few examples and tips to consider.

Going to the US? –  Do you face any Work and Residence Permit Restrictions?
In recent years I have heard a lot of complaints about the US immigration process among others. Protectionism has made it a more trying and difficult process in many countries. In Switzerland, too, we have more administration to tackle than before the bilateral agreement with the EU on free movement was accepted. You need to learn and understand the steps of the immigration process – for certain countries such as the US, you will need the help of a lawyer. Check if your spouse is allowed to work in the host country.

Going to Brazil? – Have you thought about your personal security?
In several countries in the world, you might face issues of personal safety. Brazil is one such country which has built a bad reputation over the years. It’s worth taking a look at your government security websites before moving to a new country. Additionally, once you are there, find out right away where your Embassy is in case of an emergency and get yourself registered with them.

Going to Europe? – Do you have social security in this particular European country?
Imagine if you will, that you move overseas with your spouse, you just find out that you are pregnant but you don’t have health insurance coverage yet in the new country, nor any type of social security. You might not have new coverage because insurance companies won’t accept you or they will increase their premiums significantly.

This leaves you stuck in a limbo where you are waiting for the lengthy assessments for private medical, social security and international pension to come through, while your spouse or yourself require the use of those facilities.

Going to the Middle East – Do you have any residence rights if you get fired?
The employment on a local contract poses a risk in many countries in the world as you might have to leave the country in case you lose your job. If you accept a contract in the Middle East, make sure that you understand your rights and obligations but also your residence permit status. Is it bound to your employment or financial security?

Going to China – Are you ready to face the pace and work 24/7?
Some countries have a different work ethic than others. Some countries are highly productive while others still have a lot of inefficient processes. You could move to a country like China and be surprised how many hours you are physically expected to be “at work”, in the office or even socializing with colleagues. The pace in fast-growing markets such as China could drain you or become stressful in the long run.

Going to India – Will you face tax issues and do you understand your package? 
As a local hire, you might have different legal implications to consider than an expat being sent by a company. If you are going to India, it is worth checking the kind of tax exposure you will face there and to really understand the package that you are offered.

Relocation Planning is left up to you
Many companies have not implemented a great process for hires from other countries. HR often works ad-hoc and as mentioned doesn’t understand all implications.
I once met an expat who moved to Switzerland around the New Year and didn’t have a place to stay when she arrived! Normally, the company could have provided temporary accommodation but that did not happen, the expat ended up having to figure things out on her own.

You somehow forgot that the host country has a different native language than English
Internations mentions that there are still many expats moving to another country without managing the host language to a workable level. I’m often surprised when clients complain about German being ‘so hard to learn’. Even if you can survive well in Switzerland without German, not speaking the language hinders you from integrating into a culture and entering the “circle of trust”.
How can Global Mobility help if they are not empowered and don’t have the staffing?

Increase the Scope, Team and have Global Mobility report to the CEO
What can be done to improve on these shortcomings? On an organizational level, I strongly feel that making Global Mobility a  function reporting to the CEO is the most logical path to positive consequences. Global Mobility activities need to include all sorts of cross-border activity including weekly commuters, International Business Travellers, International Hires and “Digital Nomads”.

It would allow for smarter, involved decisions regarding Global Mobility professionals as part of the company’s expert staff. Looking after the wellbeing of your international workforce is now considered essential to an organization’s success, there really is no justification for slacking off on that front.

Having the CEO directly involved with Global Mobility allows them to devise budgets and become the escalation point for critical hires and moves. Often, CEOs only hear about GM when things go pear-shaped and there is, for instance, a real life-and-death situation such as a terrorist attack or a tsunami – at times like these GM might not be able to get through to them because there are too many layers of organization between them.

Address the Package Issues through a Guideline
We should address the package issues and devise at least medical coverage, support with the immigration for expat and spouse, international pension, pay for the move and repatriation in case of redundancy and ensure the personal safety of the expat family.

Despite the tougher aspects of being involved in Lifestyle Expatriation, I still maintain my optimism. The Future of Global Mobility will see us rise to the level of other corporate functions and we will be able to support our diverse global clients even better than today.

Great strides have been made in recent years and I am certain that the coming days will see more positive resolutions to people’s pain points and enhance the expat experience.

Lastly, I’d like to mention that the third edition of The Global Mobility Workbook is coming together really nicely.  For a field evolving as rapidly as #GlobalMobility, revisions to the workbook are inevitable to continue being of value to professionals. This edition brings you many new chapters, thorough analyses on the Future of Work and a host of improvements. Watch this space for more details on new features and the launch and join our team of test readers here:

Test Readers of The Global Mobility Workbook (3rd Edition).

Have a productive week ahead.

It’s that time of the year again when we arbitrarily change our clocks by an hour because of reasons that nobody seems to understand anymore, in a planet-wide April Fool’s joke. Perhaps it’s just scientists’ way of reminding us that time is relative? Luckily, the EU is about to get rid of that nasty habit but until then I still cringe because now I literally have to get up at 4 am. I am a morning person but there are limits and I feel sorry for my global, virtual team because now they have to handle my bad mood all day long.

They know me well, so they probably just think “Oh, another one of her dramas”…

We have become accustomed to drama everywhere and we are used to arguing in meetings for the sake of positioning ourselves. Sometimes you just want to win over the other person’s view. It’s about who is better than the other. On the surface.

What is this argument really about?

Have you ever considered that you jump into an argument easily not because you want to move forward the team and “think further and outside the box” but just because you like power? Have you considered that you are worried about losing power when you treat your team members with respect and listen to them instead of thinking that you know best of all?

I revisited the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”  by Stephen Covey through this video recently. I was lucky to “win” access to one of Stephen’s talks around 13 years ago in Frankfurt. I was very impressed with him when he made a full concert hall of around 5000 managers stand up, close their eyes, turn around several times and then point towards “North”.

There were around 35 different options to show North.

If you want to become effective as a team you need to invest in the relationship level of the team members. You need to create the framework for a supportive atmosphere in which every team member feels valued and can share her view in a way that is appropriate to them.

You probably now wonder “Ok, I know that but it is easier said than done.” and as so often you are hoping for the quick fix, the recipe or the shortcut to global virtual team productivity.

May I take your delusions from you?

There are no shortcuts in life. Someone will always suffer if you try the quick fixes, the formula or the recipes that might work for others. You will first of all need to work on yourself. Once you are ready to be a “rounded” leader who can set aside ego and nurture a team then you can read the six tough steps to start working more effectively in global, virtual teams.

1) Confront your fears and find a place of self-awareness within you

That is the hardest part of self-development. Often our ego is strong and demands that we nurture it daily. It is like the flesh-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors”. The ego needs fodder. We have built ways of showing to ourselves that we are worthy. It could be the new certificate that you have to attain, the endorsements on LinkedIn or the positive feedback you expect in your performance reviews and your 360-evaluation. You behavior is driven by optimizing your evaluation, turnover and other Key Performance Indicators. Learn to be self-sufficient without depending on numbers that prove you are a superhero!

2) Identify the formal roles and responsibilities of your team members

While every team needs formal roles and responsibilities most conflicts occur at the handover points. In a fully functioning and high performing team everyone also supports the other team member when they sense that the other team member is overloaded or when they feel that they have the capacity. The more dispersed and virtual the team works, the harder it is to see how much capacity everyone has.

It is your job as the leader to identify the gaps and to build a feedback loop where team members can openly communicate when they feel overloaded or when they do not have enough challenging work. You probably understand that every team member needs a healthy mix of challenges and routine tasks in order to be satisfied at work.

3) Unmask the informal roles of your team members

In your team you will find informal roles too. In a flatter hierarchy you might have an opinion leader who does not necessarily agree with you. You might find this team member challenging but this team member could be your greatest ally and supporter if you understood how this person needs to be inspired

Maybe they need more encouragement, maybe they need more brainstorming  or maybe they need more structure. You need to learn to read your team members and the informal roles they play and then adapt your style accordingly.

4) Find out the areas of support for the team members

In my management and coaching experience I learned that every human being  has needs. It sometimes took me up to two years to drive a team to high performance and great collaboration. When you understand the learning steps the team member has to go through to get to the next level you will also understand how you can lead this person to success.

Instead of asking them to work on projects that are way out of their capabilities you can give them small success experiences so they can grow in small steps and keep their self-confidence in tact. I have seen many good team members in other teams who were crushed and did not believe in their competencies anymore because their manager was overconfident or micro-managing them.

5) Ensure every team member has a voice

In any intercultural team but also monocultural team you will have more introverted team members. They will not always speak up in meetings and voice their opinions. Others might just feel it is not worth to discuss further and shut up. You can use various tools and methods to give your quieter team members a voice.

It also helps if you ask a neutral facilitator to support your annual kick-off meetings or other team building exercises. You might not see yourself how you hinder certain team members from voicing their opinion.

6) Be aware of your limiting assumptions

When a team member is very engaged but not necessarily of the same view as you are it could be a good point to consider. You might assume that the team member is less qualified or experienced than you are and as a result, you might not take her seriously.

You could also be biased against team members who behave like yourself or have similar preferences in working style. This is what we reveal in coaching sessions. In my experience, this process is easier when you work with me through this transition phase as you might have cultural and other blindspots that hinder you from fast progress.

These are six tough ways to improve your collaboration in global virtual teams.

Let’s have a conversation about your current global leader and team performance goals. You can also discuss your expatriate career topics with me. Pick my brain by claiming your RockMeRetreat*** Goal Setting Session (with Code: RMR19)

I’m sure you have been told countless times in recent years that in this driven, fast-changing world, the agile will reign supreme. I’m sure you have also wondered, what exactly does that mean?

I think the simplest answer to that is: Professionals who can keep up to date with their skill set are the ones who will find sustained success. Keeping your skills and knowledge in tip-top condition is something I’ve touched on in a previous Club Sandwich too, but today I’d like to focus on the aspect of digital competency. For many professionals, maintaining a current skill set as this new world gets more digital-centric is the real challenge. This means asking yourself, are you someone with a robust IT skill set or do you ‘just get by’?

If your answer is the latter, perhaps it is time to consider ramping up the attention you give to this aspect. Being able to work with a few basic apps and systems will no longer take you the distance. I understand that getting to grips with this rapid change can be too much for some professionals, who feel that their learning progress has hit a brick wall, or become a slow crawl. This can naturally lead to a feeling of frustration and impatience for ‘not getting it’, which may directly affect your productivity and self esteem.

What I’d like to do today is to help you boost your productivity in ways that may also bolster your digital competence. The following are a few methods I’ve used personally and have assisted clients as well. Let’s do this!

Have a read through of Jane Piper’s excellent book Focus in the Age of Distraction
Jane Piper is a digital wellbeing expert who draws on her experience in Focus, highlight key consequences of living in the digital age that can impact productivity. There have been several studies on how digital apps, especially networking ones have affected our ability to focus and engage – something that is now visible in workplaces around the world. For those among us who find themselves struggling to focus and perform at their peak, this book is a must read!

Start using a productivity app
Now, don’t get scared! Most productivity apps on the market can appear daunting, and hide most features behind a paywall, that is, they let you use their basic version for free but require you to pay a one-time or recurring cost for premium features. That means you never know if the money spent will be worth it. Instead, I’ll focus you towards the best apps that offer these features for free, allowing you to find your own groove.

A productivity or task management app can be something as simple as Gmail’s Tasks list, or something more elaborate like Microsoft To-Do and Todoist. What is similar about these apps and what you will learn is this: lists help your mind declutter and refocus. These apps provide additional help by providing reminders, categorization options and cross-system(platform) support.

The unique thing each app brings is what will determine if they are something you will wish to use long-term. People who enjoy the satisfaction of making lists will prefer Todoist, while those who may require organizational options will go for Microsoft To-Do.

Find the app that works for you and start planning your day better!

Are You More of a Visual Thinker? Then Play to Your Strength! 
Productivity apps are great but only if you can harness their power effectively. For those among us who are more visual thinkers, or work with visuals and design, will definitely find themselves flocking to Trello and its card-based approach. It’s like having a digital corkboard to map out your tasks, and definitely worth trying out.

Experiment with Global Virtual Team Collaboration Apps
For those among us who run teams, there are group productivity and task management/collaboration tools such as Slack and Asana that are worth looking into. A note on Slack usage: It is primarily a team collaboration tool but its productivity boosting capabilities come from its ability to integrate with Google Drive/Dropbox and Salesforce. I find it important that you experiment with your team and review after a few months what worked well and what didn’t work well. You might notice generational differences in app usage and effectiveness.

Simplify and find tools that work for your team or collective
Yesterday, I listed all the tools we are using in one of our collectives on a flipchart paper. I tried to paint the icons without looking at my iphone and had to smile later because they actually look slightly different. However, I realized that we often use many tools already but we haven’t agreed on simple communication principles. So the work only starts when you have identified the right tools. (The hammer alone doesn’t help. You also need to bring in energy to slam in the nail.) We will continue to discuss global virtual team collaboration in the upcoming issues.

Unplug and keep a have-done diary”
One aspect (that is also addressed in Jane Piper’s book) is how the pressure and stress of work combined with the always-on digital aspects can put us in a state of mind where we are unable to focus on anything, much fewer deliverables and time management. Here’s what you do: List down your completed daily tasks. I recommend a notebook and handwriting for this exercise. Not only will this give you a break from the screen but help you analyze your productivity cycle, its peaks and low points.

I talk about more productivity hacks that can help you reclaim your diary here. Practice one of these hacks per week and let me know how your experience went in the RockMeApp! You can add them to your “weekly practices”

On the subject of productivity and keeping yourself on top of the career ladder, I’m offering the RockMeRetreat from the 21st November to the 28th November – 2019 this The RockMeRetreat is a seven-day leadership retreat in Southern Germany where you will get to network with other Expat Leaders and Professionals and develop your global leader competency.
The RockMeRetreat is designed to amplify your success on your chosen career ladder and get you closer towards the breakthrough you need to become a Rockstar in your chosen field!

Sign up here for entering the conversation with me. If you wish to speak to me directly please book an appointment by replying to this email.

Modern professionals are required to keep pace with a rapidly changing work ecosystem, so let us all focus on finding that sweet spot where we perform consistently and confidently.

PS: If your Corporate IT Policy doesn’t allow you to download apps on your iphone you could either challenge the policy or consider analogue methods such as the Have-Done-Diary and other forms of visualization. You can also work with our RockMeApp for free if you are willing to join our scientific research project.

The breakneck advances in modern technology and communication have revamped how we work in ways previous generations couldn’t have dreamed of. No longer does ‘working professional’ mean a person sitting in a cubicle, or in a conference room. You can work from home, from another country, even halfway across the world!

While we’ve witnessed this blurring of manmade boundaries, I feel such breakthroughs are not being embraced by organizations, most of which still stick to ‘traditional’ hierarchical structures in the face of an evolving workforce. The result of that is that a lot of modern professionals feel that they’re being held back by these relics of the past and as a result feel disempowered.

The truth of the matter is that we often tend to get a bit one-dimensional when, for instance, we stick with the same career for over a decade and haven’t moved to another company within the last five years. Such a move is guaranteed to stagnate your all-round professional development and flexibility, you don’t want to become a corporate zombie, do you?

Each year, you should explore options to upgrade your knowledge base and skill set. Set yourself new, incremental goals in the form of small weekly practices so your brain is kept regularly active and you’re not just going through the motions.

Here’s our top ten list of how to keep your knowledge base in a constant state of improvement:

1. Set yourself a reading target of 25 minutes per day. Maybe pair it with a nice cup of coffee or tea.
2. Listen to podcasts on your commute to/from work. They can range from industry-specific subjects or even a relevant hobby!
3.  Write guest blogs for reputable websites, adding to other’s knowledge base is just good karma!
4. Give guest lectures regularly at universities and professional academies.
5. Attend a panel once in a quarter where you and other professionals are sharing your expertise.
6. Join a non-profit board so you can learn a completely new skill.
7. Engage in (a maximum of) three groups on LinkedIn to see buzz topics, hashtags, and important trends in your industry.
8. Book a Master-level university course in a topic you wish to dive into deeper.
9. Attend at least one annual industry event.
10. Sign up for and attend one retreat a year to clear your baggage and move on unrestrained. The RockMeRetreat is the perfect example of such a retreat.

We often believe we deserve a promotion but there usually aren’t that many promotions available; some of us end up having reached our highest career level at the age of 35. Don’t let that happen to you.

I’m offering the RockMeRetreat from the 21st of November to the 28th of November, 2019, this year. It’s the perfect antidote to peaking at 35 or if you’re feeling that you’re unable to make a breakthrough in your career. The RockMeRetreat is just the impetus you need to make your mark and fulfill your aspirations to become a Global Rockstar in your field. It’s a seven-day leadership retreat in Southern Germany where you will get to network with other Expat Leaders and Professionals, develop the essential leadership skills that will amplify your success on your chosen career ladder and take the all-important first step towards that breakthrough you need to elevate your career and become a Rockstar in your chosen field!

Let’s have a conversation about your current global leadership or expatriate career wishes and challenges.

Sign up here for entering the conversation.

Kind regards,
Angie