We have lived in a world dominated by political, economic, and environmental uncertainty for many years. However, the past three years have been exceptional and challenging for most of us. The global health crisis caused by Covid-19 has brought the planet to its knees. The pandemic impacted all aspects of life and radically changed the way we work. The world of Global Mobility will never be the same. We are beyond Global Mobility and ride into a new way of working. 

Considering the impact caused by the pandemic, it does not take a fortune teller to foresee that Global Mobility Managers will have to deal with the blow of the crisis in the years to come. If you thought that one global crisis was enough, you were up for a shock in February of this year when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Geopolitical tension, including in and around China, seems more pervasive than ever. Insecurity around energy, food supplies, inflation, and other dystopian scenarios causes many anxieties and mental health issues. The Global Mobility Manager of 2022 is a crisis manager. All “crisis” cycles show that Global Mobility Managers remain incredibly resilient and constantly come up with immediate and creative solutions to face issues that arise overnight. 

Imagine the difficulty of suddenly repatriating an Expat (or an Expat family) who was temporarily on holiday in a third country and remains stuck there without any other assistance. You might have to find a quick solution for someone about to go on assignment but had to postpone their departure. Their household goods are on their way to the host location. You book a serviced apartment for them in the home country.

Teams in war zones continue to work or relocate to a haven, refugees integrate into the workforce, and business travelers overstretch their stays in locations and create a tax liability.

Having handled many crises in the past, guarding the lives of Expat families has become our daily bread. We continue to bring the human touch back into Global Mobility. As I already mentioned in my book in 2019, it is more important for all of us to keep our sanity. Putting on our oxygen masks and working on our inner strength is more important than ever. 

Let’s continue to build up our support gang and raise the next generation of Global Mobility Managers through an excellent education with the Global Mobility Master Course at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. I also favor a mentor system where experienced Global Mobility Jedis foster and guide a Padawan. (Yes, I draw much inspiration from movies, books, and music.) 

When you need guidance, we all have our favorite book, and I turned to my religion for advice and found a fantastic guideline for the winter to come.

1) I am the EXPAT, your client: You shall not have strange people before me.

Our Expat population is changing. Nowadays, an ever more diverse population is embarking on international assignments. Expats vary in cultural background, family situation, age, gender, etc. Addressing these groups’ needs in a one-size-fits-all policy is impossible. A more diverse workforce equals various individual assignees’ expectations, resulting in a proposition that might be desirable for one employee while not appealing for another. The Expat is our main client. We need to take care of their interests before we consider other parties in the process. In case of doubt, focus on people over processes (see also: Agile Manifesto).

In the AIRINC Mobility Outlook Survey 2021, 65% of respondents expect that the demand for flexibility from the business will increase. Meanwhile, 52% of the companies surveyed expect that adding more flexibility to policies is the best response to this demand, followed by 28% who think using a wider variety of policy types is the better solution. According to the Mercer 2019 Flexible Mobility Policies Survey, the most popular policy elements for which the participants introduced flexibility are family-related: housing, spousal support, child education, and home leave tickets are all items that can help improve the Expat Experience while on assignment.

2) You shall not take the name of the POLICY, your bible, in vain.

There are reasons for quoting the policy, the law, or other regulatory insights. However, this should not be your go-to-wording for anything that “is not possible.” With the crisis, we all accepted that the duty of care belongs to our role. Policies should foster the well-being of employees. 

Flexible policies have prepared some companies to deal more efficiently with urgent repatriations and unforeseen mobility scenarios. Other companies adopting flexible policies have found them inapplicable and inappropriate in the context of urgency. In my view, we will move away from policies altogether and design individual packages for expats that fit like bespoke, handmade business suits.

We mentioned last year that immigration is becoming more complex, and it could be that the host country’s legislation has not kept up with modern family constructs, for example. Communication about what is possible and how we can support it is critical here. Communicate openly about longer lead times and backlogs at authorities (for example, post-BREXIT, the UK immigration process currently takes much longer than we were used to).

 3) Remember to keep holy the DIGITAL DETOX DAY

Keep a “digital detox day” because your work never ends. We have constantly worked across time zones, holiday schedules, and daily demands. For your sanity and energy maintenance, getting away from all media for at least 24 hours is essential. I practice DDD but have observed with my coaching clients that the pandemic has blurred the lines between work and personal time. 

Many organizations have focused on digitization, which means moving to more digital formats. Digitalization, on the other hand, means strategically shifting to digital processes and activities. The terms are often used interchangeably.

One of the biggest challenges is incorporating technology into the business to add value to the company and its employees. One positive example of digitalization is reporting assignees through an intuitive HR system and tracking assignees through security apps such as the International SOS Assistance App.

Your level of digital engagement depends on how “digitally mature” your global mobility program is. You might be just ‘exploring digital,’ using robotics to carry out simple and repetitive tasks, while others might be already ‘becoming digital’ with a formal digital strategy. You are already experiencing success where automation performs tasks humans generally handle, such as periodic emails or copying and pasting information from public or private sources. Adopting and introducing those techniques into existing processes will focus on diminishing costs, increasing productivity by improving operational efficiency, and retaining talent. 

Some of the latest HR systems, Success Factors or Workday, offer essential workflow functions for international assignments. Still, they cannot yet run the entire end-to-end process with all the external vendors involved. Data needs to shift from the HR System to the vendor platform, but an integrated solution, which I call “the Holy Grail,” has yet to be invented (it exists mainly in my fantasy brain). As I filled another Excel sheet with numbers and birth dates, I kept reminding myself that this was how I started in the field in 1999. Before that, we used to calculate on paper. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology is another exciting use of AI in the field. We speed up transactional processes in mobility functions. Equally important is that automation can also reveal itself as crucial in reducing hierarchical thinking. Read more about bringing the Human Touch back into Global Mobility.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) deals with more natural ways humans and computers can work together in the future. Watch this space as it could help us in Global Mobility and reduce our stress levels again. For example, instead of sitting at a desk for 12 hours, we could work by walking outside and taking the Expat Family with us on a virtual tour of the city. Or we can use voice commands to fill out a form instead of retyping the data. 

Bringing the “Human Touch” Back into Global Mobility

Check out our RockMeApp with a free trial account.

 4) Honor the Expat’s Host and Home Manager (and Sponsors)

We have structured Global Mobility drivers and assignment types and integrated Global Mobility with the Talent function. We still need to bring back the Human Touch, and we especially need to align the home and host line manager’s interest in the Expat’s goals and performance criteria. 

We also need to remember to nominate a sponsor so that the Expat has a home to return to and a guardian angel who watches out for their interests in the home company. You will have fewer headaches if you initially reduce the assignment length to a maximum of two years. It’s always easier to extend an assignment that works well than to “early repatriate” someone for whatever reason.

Since the 1990s, assignment types have evolved from only having long-term or short-term assignments. In the 2000s, new kinds of assignments emerged, such as the rotator, the international transfer, the globalist, and the commuter. Then, the 2010s saw the rise of business travelers, international new hires, and domestic relocations. In the present decade, we will see the assignment types evolve and diversify further with new possibilities like virtual roles, contingent workers, remote workers, and other future mobility options we have not thought about yet. 

Depending on your situation, you might want to consider your primary use cases and create suitable assignment types around them. For example, we started the “Cross-Border Project Worker” type as someone who is employed in one location, lives in a second location, and might commute twice a week to a third location. European legislation now adopts the “Teleworker” as an assignment type. Be creative so you have a handle on managing or accepting our other reality of dealing with every case on a customized basis.

5) You shall not fire an EXPAT.

Have you solved the dilemma of succession planning and repatriation in your company yet? If so, I’d be interested in exchanging with you as it still seems that we are utilizing 1999 methods in recruiting and global resourcing. We should have understood that firing an Expat is never a good idea. It shows that we did not do our job well in the selection or assignment. Maybe we forgot to nominate a sponsor in the home company, or we assigned the Expats without a clear Global Mobility driver. We should make it our priority to retain our Expats in the organization.

6) You shall not solicit from your VENDORS.

As I mentioned in the Global Mobility Workbook, we need to collaborate better with all our vendors to enhance the Expat Experience (XX) further. One ground rule is that you cannot poach staff from your vendors. I would also suggest you build long-term relationships with everyone involved in the process.

You are one team at the end of the day, and the Expat and their family will feel it if you work together like a well-oiled machine instead of blaming each other when there is a break in the process. I would encourage you to search for the cracks in the “Process Porcelain” because most of the time, you can solve an issue best if you look at the process in every detail, handover, and sub-step.

7) You shall not reduce BENEFITS.

Now that companies diversify their compensation approaches, you need to dig deeper into base pay, benefits, and short-term and long-term incentives to have a more comprehensive financial understanding of the implications of an international move. It’s time to broaden your reward skills and ensure you understand compensation models, host-based compensation, and inflation rates by country. As a basic principle, try to maintain equity in the compensation approach. Balance out a lower salary than the host market by providing an additional market allowance or a benefit such as corporate housing.

8) You shall not bear false witness against your EXPAT.

Building a trusted relationship with your Expat and their Spouse will be a crucial success factor for any international assignment. Try to communicate openly and honestly and be transparent about your limitations. Let them know how you justify exceptions, make package decisions, offer specific benefits, and under what circumstances. Show them your “box of chocolates” and give them one to taste. We think it is too short-sighted to discuss employee experience only in the context of our work and want you to focus on enhancing the Expat Experience (XX).

Enhancing the Expat Experience

9) You shall not Neglect the EXPAT SPOUSE.

The lack of Expat Spouse career opportunities is among the top five reasons assignments fail (AIRINC Mobility Outlook Survey 2021). I have written extensively about why that is and give you ideas on how you can support the Expat Spouse. Over the last ten years, I have seen no significant improvement in how we integrate and support the Expat Spouse. Only a few companies offer Expat Partner Career Support. Let’s also agree that we want to see an improvement on that front. 

Eight Major Barriers to Expat Spouse Employment

10) You shall not move your EXPAT’s goods.

The climate and energy crisis will force us to rethink Global Mobility altogether. Expats want to work from anywhere in the world, and at the same time, moving furniture from Hong Kong to Singapore to New York or flying home every week might not be the best and most sustainable solution for the future. If you are serious about reducing the carbon footprint, you must incentivize environmentally friendly solutions in favor of the “classical approach.” For example, you could pay for storage rather than moving household goods. You could support rental furniture instead of giving an allowance for buying new furniture. You could pay for train travel instead of flights within a certain distance.

We will need to give up our resistance to work from anywhere (WFA), workations, and other virtual assignments, which means that employees can also work in a third country of choice (not the home country or the location benefiting from the task performed). This possibility enables Expats to become digital nomads, no longer bound to a specific location. Implementing more Virtual Assignments also means acknowledging and accepting that working arrangements are changing fast in response to technology, generational changes, and sudden business disruptions. 

Of course, there are limits to this as well. The most obvious is that not all jobs are remote, which is also one of the reasons why virtual Mobility will not replace traditional Mobility. Tax and compliance issues can pose a risk, too. The company having no existing operations and not wishing to have a permanent establishment where the employee would like to be based can be another possible barrier to Virtual Assignments. Some organizations are also concerned that Virtual Assignments could hinder company culture and teamwork, with the risk of the employee feeling like a perpetual outsider.

Five easy-to-forget critical topics to consider before moving to another country for work

Moving jobs to people instead of moving people to jobs will not substitute the traditional way of thinking about Global Mobility. Still, it is another tool companies can use in their global operations. We live in an era where recruitment should be location-independent. 

As organizations gradually embrace best practices to manage a distributed international workforce, it will be essential for Global Mobility teams to adapt to a new way of thinking and learn to implement Virtual Assignments successfully. Also, the Global Employment Company adage will have a rebirth like the latest 80ies fashion.

I wish you, Global Mobility Managers, great success in implementing our decalogue and making it the cornerstone of your department’s policy for future years. 

Kind regards
Angie Weinberger

PS: You can always contact me via all my platforms, such as LinkedIn and good old bottle posts, or you can read my weekly brain dump (The Global People Club Sandwich). If you wish to bulk order any of my publications, it’s also best to contact me directly.

The Global Rockstar Album

References and Further Reading

AIRINC. (2021). Mobility Outlook Survey 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www.air-inc.com/library/2021-mobility-outlook-survey/ 

Baker McKenzie. (2019). ‘The Global Employer: Focus on Global Immigration and Mobility.’ Baker McKenzie. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en-/media/files/insight/publications/2019/12/the-global-employer-focus-on-immigration-and-mobility_041219.pdf

Beck, P., Eisenhut, P. and Thomas, L. (2018). „Fokus Arbeitsmarkt: Fit für die Zukunft?”. Stiftung Zukunft.li. Retrieved 28 May, 2020, from https://www.stiftungzukunft.li/publikationen/fokus-arbeitsmart-fit-fuer-die-zukunft 

Bertolino, M. (2020). ‘How Covid-19 Is Disrupting Immigration Policies and Worker Mobility: A Tracker’. Ernst and Young. Retrieved May 28, 2020, from https://www.ey.com/en_gl/tax/how-covid-19-is-disrupting-immigration-policies-and-worker-mobility-a-tracker

Crown. (2021). Five Standout Talent Mobility Trends for 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from  https://www.crownworldmobility.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/5-standout-talent-mobility-trends-for-2021_digital-CWM.pdf

Deloitte. (2019). ’Global Workforce Insight 2019.’ Deloitte. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ch/Documents/tax/deloitte-ch-Back-to-the-future-global-workforce.pdf

Deloitte. (2020). ‘2020 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey. Deloitte.’ Deloitte. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/us43244_human-capital-trends-2020/us43244_human-capital-trends-2020/di_hc-trends-2020.pdf 

Dictionary.cambridge.org. (2021). multi-skilling. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/multi-skilling

FIDI. (2019). ‘2020 Vision: A Focus on Next Year’s Trends.’ FIDI Global Alliance. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www.fidi.org/blog/2020-vision-focus-next-years-trends 

Hauri, D., Eisenhut, P., and Lorenz T. (2016). „Knacknuss Wachstum und Zuwanderung: Hintergründe und Zusammenhänge.” Stiftung Zukunft.li. Retrieved 28 May, 2020, from Knacknuss Wachstum und Zuwanderung

Hershbein, B. and Khan, L. B. (2018). ‘Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings.’ American Economic Review. Vol. 108, no. 7, pp. 1737-72. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20161570

KPMG. (2020). Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2020/10/gapp-2020-survey-web.pdf

KPMG. (2021). Global Mobility Forecast: Trends in Risk, Talent and Digital. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2021/02/global-mobility-forecast-trends-in-risk-talent-and-digital.pdf 

Mercer’s 2022 Flexible Mobility Policies Survey 

Mercer, (2019). ‘Flexible Mobility Policies Survey.’ Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/solutions/data-solutions/policies-and-practices-surveys/flexible-mobility-policies-survey

Mercer. (2017). Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www.imercer.com/products/WorldwideIAPP

Mercer. (2021a). Global mobility policy flexibility in practice. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/article/Global-mobility-policy-flexibility-in-practice 

Mercer. (2021b).The rise of virtual assignments. (2021). Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/article/the-rise-of-virtual-assignments 

Mercer. (2021c). Upskilling the Mobility Function. (2021). Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/article/Upskilling-the-Mobility-Function 

Mercer. (2021d). Talent mobility: looking ahead. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/article/Talent-mobility-looking-ahead

PWC. (2016). Women of the World: Aligning Gender Diversity and International Mobility in Financial Services. Retrieved 18 August 2021, from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/financial-services/assets/women-of-the-world.pdf 

Robb, A., Frewin, K. and Jagger, P. (2017a). ‘Global Workforce Trends: The Impact of the Digital Age on Global Mobility.’ Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/tax/deloitte-uk-global-mobility-trends-latest.PDF 

Robb, A., Frewin, K. and Jagger, P. (2017b). ‘Global Workforce : Digital Innovation in Mobility.’ Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/fi/Documents/tax/deloitte-uk-digital-innovation-in-mobility.pd 

Vialto https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6943208654061850624/ 

Weinberger, A. (2019). The Global Mobility Workbook (Third Edition). 978-3-9524284.

Working from anywhere: A differentiator in the war for talent? (2022). Mercer Mobility. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/article/working-from-anywhere-a-differentiator-in-the-war-for-talent 

2021 buzzwords and what they tell us about mobility. (n.d.). Mercer Mobility. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/article/2021-buzzwords-and-what-they-tell-us-about-mobility 

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/the-brexit-effect-how-global-mobility-is-being-impacted-in-europe-and-beyond/

The Global Rockstar Album

Book a meeting with Angie Weinberger to see if you are a good fit for the program: https://calendly.com/angieweinberger.

What’s in the Program?

We believe in clear goal setting for your program and an action plan on what you need to work on. We also encourage you to do the weekly reflection exercises.	Each participant is entitled to a bi-weekly 1:1 coaching session with Angie Weinberger. The coaching focuses on overcoming blocks and returning to the right level of self-confidence.	We deliver twelve modules of content directly to your inbox. The modules contain videos, text, and live teaching elements.	All of our coaching programs are highly interactive. Therefore, we developed worksheets to support you during the modules.	We meet once a week with all participants on Zoom, usually on Friday morning.

Bonuses

These bonuses help you generate unstoppable momentum (and keep it) until you sign that contract or first client.

1. Individual collaboration sheets so you can directly connect to at least ten contacts in our network.
2. Online support is available through our team from Monday to Friday via our RockMeApp.

Email angela@globalpeopletransitions.com to be added to our waiting list.

Frequently Asked Questions about our Program for the Expat Spouse HireMeExpress

Do I have to be in Switzerland to participate in HireMeExpress?

You don’t have to live in Switzerland before you can benefit from this program’s value. If you plan to move to Switzerland, an ideal time to start this program is about six months before moving. However, it would be best if you had a work permit through your spouse’s employer. Contact us if you are not sure about the permit types.

Can I participate in the program?

Anyone looking for a means of earning income is suitable for the program. However, it is geared towards those who feel they have a more challenging time finding a job in the host country because of a lack of network and visibility. Everyone has different challenges. We noticed that female expats and rainbow talent often have a more challenging time in countries like Switzerland. If you are unsure, you can always call us for a meeting.

Do you guarantee I will get a job during the Expat Spouse Career Program HireMeExpress Zurich?

We can guarantee that our method and process are proven. However, committing to getting the most out of HireMeExpress would be best.

Can my Partner and I participate in the program?

Usually, it’s better if your partner focuses on their role and if they let you do the work required. However, we can discuss your situation in a call.

What if I feel I’m not a good fit for the program after buying?

If you buy the program, go through modules 1 and 2, and feel that you are not a good fit, we will refund your course cost if you show me that you’ve done the required work.

Why is the course price higher than an average online course?

This is because it is a hybrid course (blended learning) in which you regularly have live individual coaching sessions and group coaching sessions. We offer the course at a market-level rate, and it’s the same price for companies and organizations wishing to support better their expat spouses who are moving to Zurich, Switzerland.

Do I need a work permit from the host country to participate in HireMeExpress?

Yes, it is highly recommended that you only join this course if you have a work permit for Switzerland. If you don’t have a work permit, we recommend individual coaching sessions and a consultation with an immigration specialist. We can connect you with them.

Do I need to speak German or Swiss German, or is English sufficient to find a job or an income in Zurich?

This is a role-specific question that I can only answer in the context of your role. However, many of our previous coaching clients do not speak German or Swiss German and are mainly fluent English speakers.

Which key success factors have previous participants highlighted?

They are accountable to a coach and a group and have concrete pointers to start their networking efforts. Another key success factor is the highly interactive work in the group and the strong personal commitment that we bring to the table for every single client.

Still thinking about our Program for the Expat Spouse HireMeExpress?

You should give HireMeExpress a 14-day risk-free shot if motivated by the following.

• You are worried you might not find a challenging and purposeful job in your host country.
• You underestimated the challenge of working in a language that is not your mother tongue.
• You might have thought it would be easier to get online work opportunities in this day and age.
• You are looking for purpose and fulfillment.
• You did not expect that cultural adjustment would hit you that hard, and putting on weight, eating more, and drinking more alcohol doesn’t make you more attractive at this point in your life.
• You are convinced, though, that once you have a clear day structure again, you can battle these signs of cultural adjustment and get back into shape.
• You are motivated by the energy you will have once you have started your work routine again.

Most importantly, you are motivated by having a good life in the new country with your partner. Your relationship will be more harmonious, and you will feel that you are building a life vision together again. That’s why you are motivated beyond measure to invest the next few months in getting fit for this job market and learning the host country’s language simultaneously.

Email angela@globalpeopletransitions.com to be added to our waiting list. Book an appointment with

Angie Weinberger if you still have doubts about the program. https://calendly.com/angieweinberger.

Guarantee

This is an intensive digital course for Expats and Expat Partners of all colors, genders, and orientations. To a certain extent, this course will also help migrants and refugees. We welcome you to chat with us so we can see if you are a good fit for our program.  If you buy the program and you are going through module 1 and module 2 and you feel that you are not a good fit, we will refund your course cost if you show me that you’ve done the work required.

Our General Terms and Conditions for Executive Coaching Clients apply. 

Content of the Program

HireMeExpress is a coaching program that assists expat spouses in entering the job market in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. With over ten years of successful operation, we have helped numerous clients secure employment and continue to provide comprehensive support to individuals seeking to establish their careers in the region. We work intensively with expat spouses to help them develop the following skills with a particular focus on the Swiss and Liechtenstein job market, ideally with a focus on German-speaking cantons.

• Planning your job search and finding your top 20 companies
• Building and maintaining a professional network in Switzerland
• Refining your brand
• Improving and having a professional presence online (LinkedIn)
• Writing effective Letters of Motivation
• Pitching in Elevators
• Learning the art of storytelling in interviews
• Improving business stories
• Deepen an understanding of personal values
• Improving executive presence in interviews
• Setting weekly targets at a healthy, realistic pace
• Styling job applications to Swiss recruitment practices
• Reviewing of offer letters and benefits

The program follows Angie Weinberger’s Global Career Workbook and has been updated repeatedly. You might want to buy the book before committing.

The Global Career Workbook

Help Your Spouse Adjust to the Host Country – Five Key Principles

Help Your Spouse Adjust to the Host Country – Five Key Principles

Benefits of Spouse or “Plus One” – Communities in Global Mobility

Benefits of Spouse or “Plus One” – Communities in Global Mobility

Eight Major Barriers to Expat Spouse Employment

Eight Major Barriers to Expat Spouse Employment

Get the Recruiter’s Attention with a Swiss Cover Letter

Do you approach each new year with renewed vigor and plans for self-improvement? Perhaps a better gym routine or healthier lifestyle habits? Maybe you wish to tackle your work differently. Do you then find yourself not able to sustain these plans beyond a few weeks?

New Year’s resolutions often end up lacking consistency, so we prefer to set our intentions and one word for the year. We also think this time of the year is great for setting new learning goals and for updating our old learning targets.

If you want to break through in 2024 try this:

1- Join us for a Global Rockstar Session

What is important to me when I work with clients in 1:1 Executive Coaching Programs is that we set three main career goals for you in our initial “Global Rockstar Session”. You can join us as a private client by following our onboarding process. As I only work with a limited number of private coaching clients this year I recommend that you email me your interest now and that we have a quick chat before the January enthusiasm passes.

2- Use the RockMeApp to define your weekly practices and learning goals

In my experience, nothing beats perseverance in guaranteeing that you will be successful in achieving your three main goals. Professional athletes and billionaires have strict routines and practice regiments to be the very best.

I therefore always encourage clients to develop up to 10 weekly practices that will help them get closer to their main goals by using smaller steps. The RockMeApp therefore gives you a weekly checklist of those repetitive practices.

3- Understand and set your learning targets

Most of the time, if a goal overwhelms us in the professional context it is because we lack skills or knowledge or we don’t have the right attitude towards the task at hand. Break your three career and life goals into smaller, attainable sub-goals and define learning targets according to my global competency model. This is not so easy alone. Hence, I recommend you work with me continuously.

4- Define your three main priorities every week

From sub-goals, you need to learn to set yourself three weekly priorities. This is what I do for years now with the RockMeApp. At the end of the week, I already write down my three main priorities for the week ahead. My productivity has been on an amazingly high level since I started doing this.

 This is also known as Micro-productivity and helps your brain to see the final goal as more achievable and reduce procrastination. Furthermore, completing those smaller goals acts as positive feedback that helps motivate you toward that end goal!

5- Learn to reflect every week for at least 10 minutes

Lastly, I encourage my clients to answer four reflection questions at the end of every work week. You will know what they are if you are signed up for our RockMeApp.

Wishing you a Happy New Year 2024.

Kind regards,

Angie

Angie Weinberger’s Latest Song and The Global Rockstar Album

by Anne-Kristelle Carrier

Dear guests, dear team, Angie, good afternoon!

I am truly honored to have worked with Angie’s team on this unique project and to be here for this long-awaited Global Rockstar Album book launch. Angela Weinberger is a true visionary and leader in Global Mobility and has dedicated her career until now to changing things for the better in the corporate world: bringing the Human Touch back into mobility, integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices, and wrapping it all up, changing the narrative of what a good leader is.

I met Angie back in 2010 at an Expat Partner event she hosted. She made such an impression on me back then: she already gave that leader vibe. Angie radiated this confidence in her expertise, in herself. And even if I hadn’t put my finger on it back then, she made that impression on me because I had perceived her human, caring side. She clearly wasn’t helping people just because she was paid to; she sincerely had to help people at heart.

That is why Angie is a rock star, somewhat of a rebel, like writer, philosophy professor, and political and feminist activist Angela Davis, whom she was named after. Davis once said: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” That is precisely what Angie does every day.

But Angie is undoubtedly inspired by many women who have radically transformed the world, each in their own domain, in their own way, sharing their wisdom with humanity.

Like Angie, Audre Lord, a Black American queer feminist prolific writer and mother of modern intersectional feminism, knew how important it was to care for oneself. She wrote: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Talk about radical thinking! Angela Weinberger also insists in her blog, during the retreats she offers, in her new book, The Global Rockstar Album, everywhere she goes that we need to take care of our health and our well-being if we are to be able to work and who knows, change the world!

Mental health is also a crucial part of self-care. When gymnastic superstar Simone Biles announced during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that she was leaving to focus on her mental health, she did what Angie preaches in her chapter Role-Model Failure: we need to stand up against the fear-culture, the pressure. Mental health is non-negotiable; it should be everyone’s priority. 

You know how they say great minds think alike? In this apocryphal anecdote, Margaret Mead is believed to have said that the first sign of civilization is not, as we would have expected her to say, buildings, cities, or writing, but, as she said, a healed femur. That someone, thousands of years ago, would have survived thanks to the help, care, and support of family or community was, to her, the real sign of civilization. Caring for each other as a community is another value Angie cherishes greatly. And whether Margaret Mead really thought that was the cornerstone of civilization or not, Angie KNOWS it to be the cornerstone of a great team! 

Malala Youssafzai, for her part, fought for education and justice for girls and women in Pakistan and all over the world despite adversity and fear. I am sure Angela adheres to this famous quote of hers: “I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds but our hearts and our souls.” 

Shireen ‘Ebadi, an Iranian Human rights advocate, spoke at the Zermatt Summit in 2011 on Servant Leadership and said, “It is about time that “humanity” entered Globalization in all its aspects.” Talk about bringing a human touch!

And you might not have known, but Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, just like Angela, knew the value of Simon Sinek’s concept of the Golden Circle. She said: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Angie knows that is how great leaders inspire action, the why: your cause. But I wouldn’t dare spoil the book too much; you can read more in the Global Rockstar Album! 😉

When I met Angie in 2010, I think the great impression she gave me as a leader, and as a human, was due to her empathy. Jacinda Ardern once said in an interview that one of the criticisms she had faced over the years was that she is not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because she’s empathetic, which means she’s weak. She said: “I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” And I feel that is exactly what Rockstar Angie does too; it’s what she does best: she rebels against this traditional leadership model to be her true self, an empathetic servant leader like this amazing lineage of strong, smart, and caring women.

Some rebels, like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian feminist and anti-racism writer, change the world because they don’t like and won’t accept the status quo.  She said, “I am a person who believes in asking questions, in not conforming for the sake of conforming. I am deeply dissatisfied – about so many things, about injustice, about the way the world works – and in some ways, my dissatisfaction drives my storytelling.” I think this is the why to Angie’s golden circle.

Angie practices what she preaches. That is how she inspires change, like Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, Jacinda Ardern, and all those brave women. Bringing the world one more example of what a true leader is. Her book condenses all her knowledge and wisdom and distillates it into 21 clear, simple, and inspirational verses. I trust Angela’s work will profoundly impact how we see leaders and how they are trained so we can all strive for a better, more humane workplace.

Angie has been simmering this book for quite a while now – some things are worth waiting for, they say, right!? I know she can’t wait to present it to you and explain why she embarked on this journey. So I will give her the floor to do just that.

Impressions from the Launch Party in Zurich

Anne-Kristelle Carrier has been supplying her inclusive editing and project management skills to Global People Transitions GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland, from April 2021 to September 2023. Global People Transitions is a career coaching and Global Mobility consulting company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company was founded in 2012.  Mrs. Carrier delivered her services to and reported to the Managing Director and Founder, Angela Weinberger. She is our Inclusive Content Editor and works with us as a freelancer. She also edited The Global Rockstar Album. She is currently looking for new projects. You can contact her via anne@globalpeopletransitions.com.

BUY THE BOOK ON AMAZON:

The Global Rockstar Album Launch Party

I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to each and every one of you who made “The Global Rockstar Album – 21 Verses to Find Your Tact as an Inclusive Leader ” Launch Party on Tuesday, 26 September 2023 an absolute success! A huge shoutout and THANK YOU to these incredible professionals and sponsors:

All Photos by @GeoffreyPegler

👗 Adam Brody for styling me in a colorful Rockstar outfit. 

💄 Annette Ramme for the stunning hairstyling and makeup. 

📸 Geoffrey Pegler for capturing every magical moment.

🎥 Richard Fryer (@NewinZurich) for capturing the essence of the night through videography. 

🎬 Kamila Banak for organizing everything meticulously and running the show flawlessly. 

🖋 Anne-Kristelle Carrier, for the incredible introductory talk and chief editing of the book. 

🚪  Marie Platten for managing the doors and creating amazing graphics and design of the book. 

💻  Usama Hafeez for his invaluable programming expertise and over a decade of dedication to our collaborative projects, especially RockMeApp. You are the Dolce to my Gabana.

📝 Sundae Schneider Bean for writing a wonderful foreword to the book.

🍸 The Dalis’ Bar for hosting us with a special shoutout to Uemit, for their outstanding hospitality.

Of course, a heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors, Swiss Boarding Schools Disentis & Zurich.

And finally, to Atiq, Robert, my mum, and my aunt for always being there for me, making sure that I eat properly and that I look presentable. Your support means the world to me! 🙏

This journey wouldn’t have been the same without all of you, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Let’s continue rocking the world together! 🌎🎶

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and follow our #TheGlobalRockstarAlbum    📚✨

READ MORE ON NEWINZURICH.

All Photos by @GeoffreyPegler