Two decades ago, only huge conglomerates did a brisk international business. Goods, materials, machinery and products of every type and size are being manufactured and distributed by countries that played little or no part in the vast global marketplace 20 years ago. That’s because they have access to markets and customers that were once unreachable.

While the demand is constant, most of the good jobs are hard to find. Typically, companies looking for seasoned Project Managers (PM’s) with international experience are more likely to turn to executive search firms first. “But they’ll usually look within their own ranks even before that”, says J. LeRoy Ward, executive vice president of ESI International, a project management training and consulting company in Virginia, USA. “That’s because these positions require significant experience in running complex global projects,” he says.

Every year, the international marketplace gets bigger and more complicated, Ward observes. “The projects involve more people and they’re more strategic in nature,” he explains. As you’d expect, they’re also more expensive.

In addition, areas of the world (like Africa and Central Asia) that have not traditionally been on the radar screens of many global corporations are now the centers of very large projects, many of which are risky because they’re smack in the center of political hotbeds.

The global company has emerged as a unique corporate animal with its own special goals and problems. This requires professionals who understand this kind of corporate culture and the political forces that influence it.

Project dynamics determine involvement

“There are two types of international assignments”, explains Azita Gandjei, an industry market manager for IT at Primavera Systems Inc., a software company. “The first is managed remotely; the second is managed on-site from beginning to end. Both scenarios require a PM presence to a greater or lesser extent. While there are common problems in both situations, the more complicated arrangement is living at the foreign location for an extended period of time”, stresses Gandjei. “In each situation, project managers make or break projects.”

Get beyond the romance of living abroad

If you’re new to the fast-paced world of global project management, there is a certain romance and excitement about working and living in another country. To a certain extent it’s true, yet experienced globe-hopping PMs say that there is more to undertaking international assignments that most people realize.

For this reason, PMs embarking upon their first assignment complain that they aren’t adequately trained for their jobs. It’s sink or swim and learn on the job, which can be very stressful. New managers mistakenly embark on their assignments comforted by sophisticated communications technology-- mobile phones, high-speed Internet connections - which makes it easier and faster to get work done. Videoconferencing, for example, makes group communication so efficient it feels like team members on the other side of the globe are in the next building. However all this nifty technology can’t solve the myriad problems and unexpected challenges that go along with this work.

Train yourself

Ward’s big message to first-time global PMs is: “Don’t wait for your company to train you. Prepare yourself”. You are in charge of your own development,” he asserts. Ward says he learned this fact of global project management the hard way when he was thrust into assignments unprepared. “Rather than passively waiting for a company to train you, you must tell management what you want.”

Unlike in the past, when paternalistic companies felt it was their obligation to train managers for international assignments, decision-makers today want professionals who’ll figure things out for themselves.
It takes special talents and skills to succeed in the competitive global project management world. Clearly, not everyone is cut out for this kind of work. However if you want to break in, Ward warns that most companies are not likely to hand a global project to a novice. So how do you break in? “It’s very simple and direct”, says Ward. “Decision-makers are looking for confident project managers who are not afraid to assert themselves and ask for global projects. They want candidates who are looking for challenging, difficult projects. And many of these big projects are riddled with problems”.

Most veteran global managers share similar personality traits and skills. They’re aggressive self-starters and problem-solvers as well as natural multitaskers. Their skill background includes engineering, information technology, business analysis and software development. Many are also adrenaline junkies. “Their bags are always packed and they’re ready to go on a moment’s notice,” adds Ward. “Their passports have at least six months left on them.”

And if they’re going to be working in a tropical environment or rain forest tucked away in the middle of nowhere, they’re likely to have all their vaccinations so they don’t contract a debilitating or even deadly disease.

Essential practical preparations

For first-time global PMs, there are practical preparations that ought to be dealt with several months before boarding a plane to your new workplace. Carol Dekkers, President of Quality Plus Technologies Inc. in Florida, USA lists the following issues to address and some advice:
* Language preparation. Fluency in the language of the country you’re working in gives you a decided edge. Mastering French, Spanish or German takes work, and it’s even harder learning Asian languages. Whatever the language, you can learn enough to get along in both the business and the social arenas. There is no shortage of language training manuals.
* Cultural, political and business issues. It’s critical that managers assigned to overseas offices fully understand and respect the cultural and social customs of the country they’re working in. Equally important is knowledge of the business etiquette and conduct. You must also respect authority boundaries.
Ward can’t emphasize enough the importance of studying your host country’s traditions and customs.

In summary, you ought to be interested in your host county’s language, culture, religions and social mores. “Knowledge of these subjects demonstrates respect, which is always appreciated and welcome,” says Dekkers.

Visiting the location

This is especially important if you’re going to live there for several months or a couple of years. Don’t believe glowing reviews by travel writers or agents. Find out for yourself about everyday living and business conditions. Don’t assume that commuting will be easy.

Sophisticated people skills are a must

Ward considers this the most important criterion for success in an overseas assignment. Overseas assignments require someone with advanced and sophisticated people skills. Not only do you have to get along with people who are often very different from you, but you also must respect these differences and not question them.

Ward will never forget a lengthy New Zealand project he was on. “Instead of getting milk or half-and-half, to my extreme delight they put in a large dollop of fresh heavy whipped cream in my morning coffee,” he chuckles. From that moment on he was spoiled. When he came back to the States, morning coffee with milk was a sad disappointment.

“If you have an honest and sincere interest in working with people unlike you - speak a different language, practice a different religion and see the world from a different perspective - you’re a good candidate for global assignments,” says Ward. “But if you’re doing it just to punch your career ticket to get ahead, you may survive the experience, but it’ll be lost on you. You’ll be the kind of person who’ll complain because you’re not given half-and-half for your coffee.”

Serious concerns to address

Whether you’re actually living in the country in which the project is taking place or occasionally visiting the site and managing it remotely, veterans of the global lifestyle point about serious concerns that ought to be addressed prior to undertaking an international assignment. Here are two questions you’d best answer before taking a global assignment:
* How safe are you? Security is a hot button in many parts of the world. Living in London, Paris or Rome is a far cry from living in a small South American, Far Eastern or Near Eastern city where there is political unrest and instability. Terrorism, kidnappings and street violence are everyday threats, necessitating bodyguards for yourself and your family in these dangerous locales.
* What are the living conditions like? No matter where you’re stationed, living conditions can differ from home. Recreation, schools, shopping, travel and commuting require major adjustments. Even in many large cities, conveniences we take for granted may be missing.
Finally, whatever the living conditions are like, Dekkers says that both a sense of adventure and a sense of humour are essential when working on foreign assignments. “You have to constantly evaluate your behaviour and be ready to apologize for insensitivity to a custom or tradition you don’t understand. The project manager sets the tone for the entire project and the team, and a genuine appreciation for learning new things and appreciating that there are good (and often better) practices is essential,” she says. “A sense of humour ought to be tempered by cultural intelligence, and an understanding that something that may be funny in one’s homeland may not be seen as amusing to other cultures.”

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