Will Eliseās 1 life ever look normal, whatever that might mean? Does she even want it to be?She is currently the Managing Director of a consulting company in the UK. She has set up and managed hotels all over the world, but her global experience started at birth, since her father was Norwegian and her mother was Indian. She appreciated her cross-cultural childhood and what she learned along the way. Educated in Europe and the US, she chose to work in the hotel industry, which allowed her to continue her global adventure, and gained a reputation for excellence that gave her exciting projects. Her last luxury hotel in Asia was perfect in many ways, since she knew it was a great place to live, to work and to raise her two children.Elise fell in love again with an Englishman, and they decided to get married and move to England. Now, she is in the midst of another chapter in her life.Elise does not focus on what is, but on what can be. For her, life as an opportunity to learn and to grow and to contribute to a better world, which has helped her navigate the many challenges and opportunities she has experienced. She exemplifies the Global Cosmopolitan Mindset in both her openness to and consciousness of diversity across cultures and markets.
Over the years, Elise has offered me the opportunity to look at the complex process of composing a life in circumstances that keep changing and a global context that keeps shifting. She is one of a new breed of individuals that I described in my previous book, Global Cosmopolitans: The Creative Edge of Difference.2 Global Cosmopolitans are the rapidly expanding population of highly educated, multilingual people who have lived, worked, and studied for extensive periods in different cultures. Extremely talented, they have grown up in an ever-changing political/economic context and technological reality that has significantly impacted their worldview and skill set. Their backgrounds and their life histories make them particularly suited to working and leading in the global economy. And today, they are not only growing up but also maturing into global leaders with a distinctive mindset that others can learn from.
Global Cosmopolitans
are the talented population of highly educated, multilingual people who have lived, worked, and studied for extensive periods in different cultures.
The seeds for this book, The Global Cosmopolitan Mindset: Lessons from the New Global Leaders, were sown by people from all over the world who engaged me in similar conversations to those I have had with Elise over the years and told me about their developmental journeys as Global Cosmopolitans .
Whether I was in Buenos Aires or Hong Kong, people were describing the varied but similar experiences of living and working globally. The world of Global Cosmopolitans was immense, yet the distance among the individuals seemed to disappear. Beyond differences based on multiple factors in an individualās personal history and career story, people talked about navigating similar challenges and opportunities , and discovering and creating new life chapters for personal and professional growth over time. Their stories gave me a greater understanding of the complexity of the topic, the concept of Global Cosmopolitans was validated, and my earlier messages were reinforced.
This book expands the circle. It deepens and improves the understanding of what it is like to lead a global life. Whether you are a so-called Millennial3 or mid-life newcomer to Global Cosmopolitanism, an existing Global Cosmopolitan reflecting on what next, or part of an organization trying to develop its responses to an internationally mobile workforce, this guidebook to global living and working offers essential insights.
The stories that I am using to describe the characteristics and skills of the new global leaders are based on individuals already living in and contributing to the creation of this new global reality. Their experiences illustrate the challenges they have encountered and the opportunities they have pursued, as well as the possibilities they have explored as they added new chapters to their lives. In finding the words to describe the life skills that people have learned from living, studying, and working abroad, and in sharing this aspect of their learning curve, I hope I can encourage organizations going global to provide experiences that will prepare their employees to become better leaders in the future. I hope too that I can help individuals develop themselves into leaders with a truly global mindset.
The Global Cosmopolitan Mindset: Lessons from the New Global Leaders proves that globalization is not simply about economics, politics, free trade, or international brands, but about people combining a growth mindset with a global mindset and a creative mindset , choosing to compose a life outside of conventional scripts, and experiencing global citizenship first hand.
What can Global Cosmopolitans teach us about personal development and professional effectiveness? How do their stories provide a map for navigating the challenges and opportunities of a global life? How do people leading change at work continue to drive change in their already very interesting lives? Answering these questions means looking beyond the rĆ©sumĆ© that typically serves to define an individualās worth and identity . Most people who seek explanations of Global Cosmopolitansā strengths and dynamic resilience are drawn to the outer journeys, such as the development of cultural and linguistic knowledge . But the real learning lies in the invisible inner journey and the uncommon obstacles found along the way.
Three core truths emerge as underpinning the Global Cosmopolitan experience: First the fact that Global Cosmopolitans are an ever-expanding group to be reckoned with; second that developing a Global Cosmopolitan Mindset is essential to survive and thrive in this brave new world; and third that learning from life experiences , both personal and professional , is mandatory for maximization of potential.
Truth 1: The Rise of the Global Cosmopolitan Continues
āBeing a Global Cosmopolitan, itās not a question, itās just a part of who we are,ā A Dutch consultant who grew up in a family that lived around the world and is currently working in Australia.
Millions of people are now living truly global lives .4 These are the people I have labeled āGlobal Cosmopolitans .ā And they form one of the fastest growing clubs in the world. Every club has its rules, but the rules for membership of this particular club are changing. No longer identified with an elitist background, its members are united by the common bond of global experience that has significantly changed their lives.
They might be young professionals beginning their global journey with few responsibilities to hold them back. They might be joining the Global Cosmopolitan Club mid-career , uprooting families, and making a dramatic change in their personal and professional lives. Or they might be returnees, going back to their country of origin but taking their Global Cosmopolitan Mindset with them and applying it with a local perspective.
It is not unusual in many major world business cities to have colleagues or friends with multiple passports and fluency in more than one language. The number of such people is going to increase rapidly as we become ever more mobile: Residing, marrying, and having children in multiple countries over the course of our lives. Despite the rise of nationalism in many parts of the world, today nearly 90 countries allow some form of dual or multiple citizenships than ever before. This is just one indicator that Global Cosmopolitans are on the rise. And, as these people move through their lifecycle and have families, new generations are growing up as Global Cosmopolitans from birth.
But what does living a global life really involve, and what are the implications for individuals, families, and organizations? Are the next generations ready to write new life chapters across different cultural backdrops and ready to create organizations that deal with the new global reality? What are the challenges for CEOs seeking leadership for new models of cross-border organizations and looking to build a workforce that can think and act both globally and locally? Are organizations overlooking potential employees from diverse cultural backgrounds as potential candidates for global training and leadership? How can we prepare people to be the rising stars of our globalized world? How can we benefit from their experience and skill base to create organizations that sustain society?
Todayās global, economic, and political landscape is in a state of constant flux. It is against this backdrop that the rise of Global Cosmopolitans and their contribution to the modern world can best be understood.
Truth 2: A Global Cosmopolitan Mindset Is Essential for Twenty-First Century Success
āWhat is it that makes me feel so comfortable, sitting in this group of people who have lived and worked all over the world? What is it about the way we think and the ways we use our minds that is different and makes me feel so much a part of this group?ā An American entrepreneur in Hong Kong, discussing the concept and feeling of being at home with other Global Cosmopolitans .
This book provides a framework for understanding the mindset of Global Cosmopolitans . Given the additional complexity of their lives and the resilience that they need to deal with multiple levels of change, how do their minds work? What is it about the way they think that contributes to their identity as Global Cosmopolitans and, increasingly, as global leaders .
The Global Cosmopolitan Mindset evolved out of an attempt to articulate answers to these questions and to define what such diverse individuals have in common. I concluded that the Global Cosmopolitan Mindset (or GCM) is a hybrid of a Growth Mindset , a Global Mindset, and a Creative Mindset : A combination that helps us understand the motivation , skills, and potential of a new breed of global leaders who will help organizations face the ever-evolving complexities of the twenty-first century.
Each of these three elements is crucial and challenging. Usually, people begin by describing the opportunity that living a global life offers to grow and develop over time. By definition, this Growth Mindset represents a challenge. Working in a new country is as much about an opportunity to learn as it is about the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge developed previously.
A Global Mindset is defined by the belief that both local and global orientations are needed to make sense of the world. For many people, their understanding of ...