Prepare for Landing ...
… I listen, still in my thoughts, to the announcement on the plane. A feeling of joyful expectation accompanies me during the landing approach. I know this from my expatriate and family life and from my business trips for more than thirty years.
What can I expect? How am I perceived? What will I observe? What can I learn? How can I integrate?
- I was an expatriate, with family, for the first time in 1988/89 in Boston. Later again from 2015 in Amsterdam, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
- I was a business traveler. Always to the same locations in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, England, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, China or Saudi Arabia. Because it was about being in contact with people at those plants for which I was responsible. Leadership in a global environment.
- In family life, this meant and still means regular visits to our two daughters, who have developed into “Third Culture Adults”. In Sydney, Montreal, Vienna, Barcelona, Oxford, Brighton, St. Andrews and Des Moines, Iowa. More to come, I’m sure.
- And also in my private life: As a family, we are interested in culture and have travelled to countries to see, experience and learn. Prejudices disappear, new insights emerge, new interests are awakened.
I’ll tell you about that.
▶ Of all the stories that have accumulated,
▶ share my learning experiences,
▶ and assist you with words and deeds if you like.
Support and mentoring for executives.
It’s about experiential knowledge that I was able to learn in my roles as a leader and manager, as a father and husband and as a human being. It is about the development and – more importantly – the application of intercultural leadership skills.
