Why be interested, why do it? Accepting an international assignment (IA) can supercharge your career!  Here are a few reasons why…

• Career advancement means competition… you will have a significant edge
• Know more about more — IA’s will round out your capabilities and value
• Become familiar with other languages
• Gain an appreciation and understanding of other cultures
• Interact with the local citizens; make some international friends
• Learn about another history
• Become schooled in the complexity of international business
• Give your “business acumen” a boost
• Vastly expand your network
• Become “worldly”

If you have the slightest interest, make your desire known… the ol’ “squeaky wheel gets the grease”!  Also, make sure you have a balanced view, be honest with yourself, do a serious self-assessment … it is outrageously expensive to send a professional out as an expatriate… so there needs to be an overriding benefit to the company.  If you decide to pursue an overseas assignment it would be good if you are ready to explain your value-add as part of your request.

Behavioral Competencies are important to any successful international assignment (and domestic as well):  Integrity, Ethics, Adaptability, Flexibility, Analytical, Team Player, Judgment, Work Ethic, Humor, Smarts, Continuous Learning, Humility, Care about others, Professional Presence, to name a few.  Some others: Vision and Purpose, Intellectual Rigor, Leveraging Resources, Drive for Results, Managerial Courage, Strategic Thinking, Holding Self and Others Accountable, Developing and Motivating Others, Interpersonal Skills.  You don’t need them all.

If you would like another culture to accept you, plan on going with your “hat in your hand”  Notwithstanding your value add and contribution, always remember you are a visitor. You will be playing in some else’s sandbox. :>)

And, maybe even retire in a foreign country, I have friends that did.  I have an overriding influence in my life, or I would have done so as well, long ago.

The following blog post speaks to the value of promotions that also feature relocation… it may not be for everyone but never underestimate the value to your career!

Valuing Relocation Opportunities

Go ahead, become worldly!

***** S&E *****

It was usual for a manager or professional (non-manager) to walk into the office for advice.  That was the job, giving “advice and direction” on a wide variety of subjects”.  And on some occasion the topic of vacation would surface.  And sometimes it was a positive conversation regaling how great the recent retreat was, and, on other occasions it was, “I don’t have time to take vacation”, or, “I’ll never get all my vacation in this year”, or, “I never take all my vacation”.

First off I would reference you to a recent posting on managing one’s time.  One of your “boxes” should be “vacation”  Looking for clarity…

The boss or company will never come to you and suggest that you take vacation unless you are found sleeping at your workstation and in that event you might be given the vacation you do not want.  :<)

I started to list all the reasons why you should always see to it that you take time off and knowing that I would never come up with the all-inclusive list, and to make it easier, I went to the web  of course.

Here is a great reference as to “Why take vacation?

https://www.allinahealth.org/HealthySetGo/SingleArticle.aspx?id=36507232167

So, if you find yourself at the end of the business year with most of your vacation unused, it is not the company’s fault, which is a polite way of saying it is yours.

Make sure to take your vacation as seriously as you do your job!  It is important!

***** S&E *****

Need a little organization?

… want to eliminate some confusion?  … at work, home, school?

… maybe achieve more?

Confusion in your life?  Mess on the desk?  Feel overwhelmed?

Just  seems like you can’t get anything done?

Take some quiet time; manage your space, do some planning:

• If you have an office, close the door
• A cube? Find a conference room
• If neither? Use a library or coffee shop.

Put your stuff in boxes, mentally or actually draw them, label them. Use a notebook and “Post-its”, or, laptop and e-tools to display, organize, prioritize, and manage your boxes.

Set some priorities, most important box to least important, some boxes may have to be addressed simultaneously, Some tasks on multiple days, so identify task, day(s), time and time allotted well.

Examples: Your “work” box may have 8 or 10 sub-boxes / projects; your home box maybe 5 or more, make a personal time box, maybe a “me box”. However, they are related by time — they share your time, just so many hours in a day/week/month.

There are planning tools out there on the web that can help you manage your stuff. Consider this popular matrix… it comes in many forms and is highly adaptable.

https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+time+management+matrix&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiY3rPSm8XhAhVkhOAKHTdXCk4Q7Al6BAgHEBs&biw=1366&bih=575#imgdii=pufGHetVvJw2MM:&imgrc=KVgOcFlQw_u8gM:

In a previous post,  I noted that organization chart structures are handy organization tools… that tool might be used here and is especially handy for prioritizing things.

https://successnexcess.com/2019/03/16/new-job-promotion-need-a-road-map,

One of the greatest culprits of disorganization or inefficiency is a perceived lack of time. Actually, there is always time! In many cases it can be a lack of time management skills.  The writer believes you don’t necessarily have to take a course / attend a seminar on the subject, although if it helps its worth the time (no pun intended). This blogger believes all you have to do is organize your stuff and follow Nike’s advice — “Just Do It”.  Commit to the time to make a plan, manage your time, allot time for each box,  and implement your plan, taking related actions to close out the tasks or work.  Lack of or poor implementation has been known as a cause of failed plans.

 Above all, one has to commit the time to make the plan!

Do not let anything short of an emergency or critical event get in your way, or disorganize your day and time. Interruptions and priorities can change your day of course, but if it happens too often, life/work/time may be managing you rather than the other way around.

For the record, a messy desk is not necessarily a sign of a disorganized owner; in some cases it might be the sign of a big-time “multi-tasker”, or, a disorganized owner.

***** S&E *****