Tom Roberts, Founder of Cranberry Leadership. Coaching global leaders to adapt, lead, and thrive globally.
In my experience, most expat executives and global leaders approach an international assignment thinking: “How do I replicate my past success here?”
The real question should be: “How do I evolve into the leader this market and team actually needs?”
The assumption that leadership is universal—the idea that a great leader in one country will be great anywhere—is the ironic reason why so many global executives fail. They don’t fail because they lack skills or intelligence; they fail because they fail to adapt. In this first of a series article, I examine why.
The Consequences Of Plug-And-Play Thinking
According to dozens of expat execs who contribute to our company’s data, the insight is clear. Many expat executive assignments end in failure, often with significant personal and financial consequences.
When an executive relocates with their family, the costs of an unsuccessful assignment can be staggering—housing, school tuition, transportation and cost of living adjustments create a major resource drain. Beyond the immediate expenses, failure has compounding effects: An initial struggle turns into a prolonged year of difficulty, followed by repatriation, the costly search for a replacement and the disruption of teams left without stable leadership.
The financial impact on a unit’s P&L can stretch across multiple years. Career-wise, executives who stumble in an international assignment often find it difficult to regain the momentum they once had. The wind is out of their sails. Many leave their company entirely within two to three years of returning. If technical skills, prior leadership experience and past success were enough to ensure a smooth transition, these numbers would not be so high.
Why Plug-And-Play Leadership Fails
There are three key reasons why dropping a successful executive into a foreign market often backfires:
1. The ‘Leadership Is Universal’ Fallacy
Many executives assume the same leadership style works everywhere. In reality, hierarchy, communication and decision-making norms vary dramatically across cultures. Experience in London doesn’t transfer exactly to success in Singapore. As Marshall Goldsmith put it, “What got you here won’t get you there.”
2. The ‘Authority Transfers Automatically’ Assumption
Executives expect that their title and HQ reputation will carry weight, but authority is context-dependent. Without local trust, a title means little.
3. The ‘Quick Wins Prove Competence’ Trap
Leaders often try to gain credibility by pushing fast changes. But what HQ sees as a quick win can be seen as disruptive and tone-deaf in a different cultural context. Proverbial “low-hanging fruit” often creates the illusion of progress while masking deeper structural issues that require real transformation. In essence, a quick win could be a mid- to long-term loss.
Three Pragmatic Steps To Avoid Failure
Our expat advisory panel is aligned: The key is a deliberate approach. The practice of slowing down to speed up and genuinely connecting with people different from you is critical. The panel sees this clearly from a position of real-world experience.
Distilling their insights unearths the following real-world solutions to this common and complex problem:
1. Hit The Ground Listening, Not Running
Instead of arriving with an action plan, spend the first 90 days as a cultural detective. During this time, hold structured listening sessions with key team members and observe meetings to understand power dynamics. This will help you identify unspoken rules of influence and decision-making.
Next, study the cultural dimensions that impact you. We call it “intercultural triangulation.” This includes your home country, host country, HQ country and any other cultures you have been involved with. Even the cultural background of your boss can have an impact. These cultural forces all push and pull on you, making everything feel slightly off.
Additionally, be proactive and reach out to a friend, coach or colleague who has experienced this. Study the effects of intercultural triangulation and recognize the signs in yourself.
2. Earn Authority Through Adaptation, Not Assertion
Instead of assuming your leadership style will translate, modify it based on local norms. Map out how decisions get made. Is the approach top-down or consensus-driven? Are there power distance traps? When your team nods enthusiastically, does that indicate agreement or simply, “I hear you?”
Adjust your communication. Consider whether local norms for communication are direct or indirect, formal or casual.
For deeper understanding, find local bridge figures who can provide cultural insight.
3. Build Success The Local Way, Not The HQ Way
Instead of forcing quick wins, align early successes with local values and expectations. Key actions include allowing the team to define what success looks like, identifying and empowering local champions who can drive initiatives from within and ensuring any change effort is framed in a way that resonates with local priorities.
Bringing It All Together
The plug-and-play approach assumes leadership is static. The best global leaders know that leadership is adaptive. That shift—from applying to evolving—is what separates those who succeed abroad from those who quietly fade into irrelevance.
This is just the beginning. The real challenge is turning insights into action. The leaders who succeed are the ones who see adaptation as a skill, not a reaction. In my upcoming articles, I will flesh out exactly how to avoid the traps of global leadership.
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