THE IDEA OF heading abroad to take a project management position can be so very enticing that it's tempting to start packing your bags before you know whether the offer is a good fit. “The excitement is part of the attraction,” says Robert Llewellyn, managing director at IT Projects International, a consultancy based in Prague, the Czech Republic. Originally from the United Kingdom, Mr. Llewellyn has held several international positions, including a project management assignment with Motorola in Germany.
But before project managers make the jump, “you have to do your homework,” says Denise Brown-Branch, PMP, global delivery manager for marketing IT at British American Tobacco (BAT) in Budapest, Hungary. Before Ms. Brown-Branch, who is from the United States, accepted an assignment with BAT in Bangalore, India, in 2004, she researched the likely impact on both her professional and personal lives.
A project manager should thoroughly evaluate an assignment's scope of responsibilities, its fit with his or her career goals, the compensation package and the culture of the country. If family members will move, too, their input also is important.
Not everyone is cut out for the jet-set life. Indeed, 21 percent of expatriate employees left their companies in the midst of their international assignments, according to the 11th annual Global Relocation Trends Survey, released in 2006 by GMAC Global Relocation Services, Woodridge, Ill., USA, and the National Foreign Trade Council, Washington, D.C., USA.
To honestly assess the career opportunity, project managers first need to know the benefits they'd like to gain from it. Faramarz (Fred) Rahbar, Ph.D., PMP, a planning and scheduling specialist with Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, has taken on several international assignments. In 1999, he left his job as manager of planning and scheduling with Bechtel Corp., where he was working on the Athens Metro project in Athens, Greece, to move into his current position.
The decision wasn't easy—he enjoyed his work and liked his colleagues. However, he was working on a single project and the move would allow him to oversee hundreds of projects. In the eight years since he took the job, he has been involved in capital projects of up to $10 billion is size and traveled extensively, trekking everywhere from Italy to India.
Gaining an understanding of the scope and level of the projects you'll be working on admittedly can be difficult if you're discussing the assignment via phone and e-mail. But it's not impossible. Although Ms. Brown-Branch did visit India before taking the assignment, many of her discussions with her potential supervisor were over the phone. They talked about projects active in the portfolio and the level of sponsorship they enjoyed, which gave her an idea of the level of commitment to the projects.
TOO MANY STAMPS ON THE PASSPORT?
It's not unusual for globetrotting project managers to enjoy life in the field so much that they take on one international assignment after another. But is it true you can't go home again?
So many companies today transact a large portion of business outside their home countries that a series of global assignments isn't necessarily a negative, as long as it's properly managed, says Scott Sullivan, GMAC Global Relocation Services.
That means staying in touch with the home office on a regular basis even when you're out in the field. Expatriate employees also need to work with their superiors to determine just how their experience abroad will allow them to add value to the company.
At the same time, project managers taking on global assignments need to recognize that their experiences abroad may alter their career ambitions. If the goal is to practice at the height of project management, you'll probably want to be in North America, where the concepts are most fully developed, says Jean-Marc Hachey, author of The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas. In contrast, taking positions in other parts of the world, especially developing countries, can be more challenging and may require working without the benefit of state-of-the-art project management tools.
Going global can prove tremendously rewarding—and addictive. “The allure of international work can be so strong that you find domestic work hum-drum,” Mr. Hachey says.
Fitting In
As with any assignment, technical expertise is critical, but it will be of little use if you're not able to adapt to the new country and successfully mobilize a project team, says Lisa Tromba, vice president at executive search firm Battalia Winston International, New York, N.Y., USA.
Project managers need to honestly assess their ability to lead others in a different culture, she says. Again, this can be tough to gauge before actually taking the new job. However, if project managers have been effective in leading cross-cultural or cross-functional groups within their home country, they're more likely to be effective beyond those borders. Ms. Brown-Branch, for instance, had led projects within a BAT subsidiary that included team members from project management, IT, marketing, business analysis and other groups.
It also helps to have an interest in other cultures. Project managers are more likely to notice nuances in the way that people in another country communicate and deal with each other, Ms. Tromba says. And that enhances their ability to lead others.
Mr. Llewellyn, for example, had traveled extensively around the globe since his teens as a competitive water skier with the British national team. “I‘ve always been interested in travel,” he says.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
While project managers may be viewing a potential overseas assignment in terms of its impact on their careers, family members going with them will want to know how their lives will change. Taking their concerns seriously is key—90 percent of assignment failures are due to the family being unable to adapt, says Scott Sullivan, Global Relocation Services.
Spouses must have some activities, says Bogotá, Colombia-based project management consultant German Bernate. “They can't stay home doing nothing,” he says. “They must do something interesting and important.”
In the early 1970s, Mr. Bernate spent two years on a computer programming assignment with IBM in Spain. While he was there, his wife took classes at a nearby university. That gave her a way to meet people and learn more about the country.
Children add another dimension. Project managers must consider the school they'll go to, the safety of the neighborhood in which the family will be living, their fluency in the new language, and the friends they'll be leaving behind and the new ones they'll be making. “Engage the children in all aspects of the relocation and invite them to be a part of the decisionmaking process so that they are truly engaged,” Mr. Sullivan says.
During his project management stints in Greece and Saudi Arabia, for example, Faramarz (Fred) Rahbar, Ph.D., PMP, enlisted his five children to help plan vacations to Egypt and Turkey.
Deal With It
Another predictor of success in an international assignment is a person's ability to handle change, says Jean-Marc Hachey, a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based consultant and author of The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas [ISSI, 2004].
That can mean surviving without some of the familiar comforts of home. Ms. Brown-Branch, for instance, had to forego hamburgers and steaks for the year she was India, where beef isn't eaten, and hasn't been able to find peanut butter in Budapest. Neither have been major sacrifices, she acknowledges, but they can impact day-to-day life.
To ease the culture shock, some people prefer positions in countries relatively similar to their own. Others have more of a “pioneering spirit,” says Scott Sullivan, senior vice president at GMAC Global Relocation Services. They're comfortable taking off to parts of the world very different from, and often not as developed, as their home turf.
EXPATRIATES OFTEN BECOME ADEPT AT WORKING INDEPENDENTLY AND IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS, AND TEND TO CHAFE IN A POSITION THAT DOESN‘T ALLOW THEM TO USE THESE SKILLS.
—Scott Sullivan, GMAC Global Relocation Services
Project managers should also look into the political stability of the country where they're headed. Dr. Rahbar took a position as assistant field engineer with the Kish Island Development Organization in Kish Island, Iran, in 1976, where he worked on the construction of a resort hotel. Although the assignment was supposed to last several years, Dr. Rahbar came back to the United States after just one year because of political upheaval in Iran. “It was about a year before the revolution, but the writing was on the walls,” he says. To avoid trouble, he kept his change in plans low-key.
Then there are the organizational culture issues to consider, such as the company's project management maturity, Mr. Llewellyn says. Many multinational corporations are now embarking on projects in the Middle East, for example. Although the companies themselves may have long histories, they often must partner with locally owned organizations, which means project management processes and operations may be lacking, he says. For example, he worked on one program in which some project managers had no project schedules or risk plans.
Project managers also want to know the level of relocation assistance the company is offering. Policies range from generous to bare-bones, Mr. Sullivan says. Don't assume the company will provide all you'd need or like, such as a housing allowance, school tuition and trips home.
Ms. Brown-Branch, for example, wanted to keep her home in Louisville, Ky., USA, while she was gone. So she made sure her relocation package covered that expense, as well as the cost of living overseas.
Meanwhile, Back at HQ
Even when they're in some far-off land, project managers need to consider what happens to their careers once they're back in the home office. According to the Global Relocation Trends Survey, nearly a quarter of expatriates leave their companies within a year of returning from an international assignment.
To avoid this, talk with management about the most effective ways to use the skills and knowledge you gain on an international assignment, Ms. Tromba says. Managers sometimes fail to recognize that employees who take on international assignments grow in different ways than do employees who remain at corporate headquarters. For example, expatriates often become adept at working independently and in multicultural settings, and tend to chafe in a position that doesn't allow them to use these skills, Mr. Sullivan says.
While they're away, project managers should stay in contact with their managers, he adds. When Dr. Rahbar was on assignment in Greece with Bechtel, he regularly communicated with his former managers at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Calif., USA. Doing so allowed him to stay abreast of organizational changes, new technologies and upcoming job opportunities. “When the overseas assignments are completed, the employee is more or less on her or his own to find the next assignment,” he says. “Without networking it will not be easy.”
Of course, whether you stay in one place or take assignments around the globe, one guideline remains relevant. “You must do the things you love to do,” says German Bernate, an independent project management consultant based in Bogotá, Colombia, who has also worked in Spain. “When you have to work at anything that you don't feel comfortable at, you won't have success.” PM