5 Insider Tips for Making the Most of Short-term Assignments
By Amy Miller, Manager, U.S. Internal Communications, Bayer U.S.
I’ll never forget racing up the West Side Highway in a New York taxi watching the buildings fly by like I was in a movie about my own life. Later that Saturday I would wake up in another country, by myself, not speaking more than five words of the language and I’d get dressed and go to work on Monday. I was excited, slightly terrified and proud of myself for taking a chance on an international assignment.
I’ve had the opportunity to do two short-term assignments (STAs) during my 10 year career in Communications at Bayer so far; one in Germany in 2016, and one in our Crop Science business in Raleigh, NC, which I’m still working on.
Spoiler alert: if STAs had a fan club, I’d be the president. Why? In a word: growth. You grow immensely on a personal level, your host team grows because they learn a different perspective and the team you came from grows because you bring home a new lens.
Here are five insider tips from my experiences.
It’s like starting a new job. Sure, it’s the same company, but it’s a totally different team, different team dynamics, different leaders, a different boss, and a different office culture. Be prepared to feel like you’re starting a new job, proving yourself all over again, having to sit back and listen and figure out the best way to navigate the environment before jumping in. It will take some time to get in a new groove. Going in with that mentality and having a little patience with yourself will help set you up for success.
It’s an emotional journey, and that’s okay. Embrace it. You’re in a new place, maybe even a country you’ve never been to before. You won’t know how to do some everyday things in life and at work like buying a train ticket or mapping to a printer. It will make you feel stupid sometimes. Push through. Those feelings are short-term and the sense of accomplishment will be worth it.
Try to learn the cultural differences before you go. Whether you’re traveling within your home country or to another part of the world, research and try to learn the cultural differences before you go. If you have some trusted colleagues there ask their opinions on what the differences are. It will help you avoid unintentional missteps and knowing what to expect helps ease some of the uncertainty.
It will change your perspective forever. Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes will turn some of your perspectives on their head, and that’s a great thing. You’ll take it back with you. It will give you another lens to help make decisions and think through difficult problems. Learning the uphill battles that another team faces also gives you empathy and an understanding that will help you develop stronger relationships and be more successful in your future interactions once you’re back home.
It will be worth it. Someday you’ll be sitting at your coffee table reflecting, smiling to yourself and writing a glowing blog about your travels. Okay, maybe that’s a little specific, but you see my point. It’s a big world; explore it. There’s power in perspective. Gain it. Share it abundantly. And, have some fun along the way.
