Global perspectives: International experience as the ultimate preparation for today’s leaders

Samantha Ball
Image of two business women in a office talking together over a document
Reading time: 4 minutes

From global marketplaces shipping goods between countries to fast-paced remote teams combining talent from all corners of the world, business has never been more international.

This multinational, multicultural nature of today’s companies demands more from business leaders. It’s not enough to build a global team, you need to pre-empt and mitigate the challenges that team will face, from overcoming language barriers to navigating new opportunities, and nurturing their differences while creating cohesion.

We talked to five leaders about how international experience gave them a global perspective that enhanced their leadership abilities, defined their careers, and shaped their personal lives.

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Perspective delivers performance

Leading a global business means balancing needs, trends, and opportunities across a wide range of different markets.Having experience in particular regions allows leaders to bring that first-hand perspective to key decisions, but even short periods abroad can significantly benefit team performance.

A by MIT’s Sloan School of Management on the high-pressure world of English football's Premier League found a direct link between a team manager's number of countries worked in and team performance.

For every foreign country a manager had worked in, their team won an extra 1.14 games, or 3.42 points.It’s evidence that global experiences help build some of the fundamental skills needed to lead high-performing teams.

Identifying cultural blind spots

Cultural norms and working styles differ significantly around the globe.

This process of experiencing different ways of working and communicating makes you a more open-minded leader, according to Founder and CEO, .“You’ve got that experience of knowing that there’s a spectrum of styles, all of which can be good; they’re just different,” she adds.That combination of self-awareness and an appreciation for different approaches can help leaders navigate the complexities of a global team.

A risk taker’s mindset

Anyone who’s lived abroad knows how difficult those first few months of expat life can be.Whether it’s finding a place to live or making a doctor’s appointment, living abroad often involves throwing yourself into the “cold swimming pool” of language and culture, as ɫèAV Languages CTO, , describes it.

Those types of experiences create a level of comfort with taking a risk and giving it a go. “That mindset of trying something and not being afraid to fail is just as relevant in the boardroom as it is in the classroom,” agrees , Managing Director of International Wellbeing, .

Resilience through experience

From navigating culture clashes in working styles to the everyday challenges of living abroad, international experience helps leaders develop the resilience needed to navigate the constantly changing world of business.

“If you’ve put yourself through a bunch of different, tough experiences in your 20s, you learn that it doesn’t challenge your humanity — you can live with the tension of business and still find your equanimity”, shares Carrell.

Whether it’s a global pandemic or rocky markets, the experience of living abroad teaches adaptability and resilience that’s essential for today’s leaders.

From clarity to charisma

Poor communication costs businesses time and money, as well as undermining all-important relationships with co-workers and customers.Leaders estimate that teams lose to poor communication, costing U.S. businesses alone .

The risks of miscommunication are even higher in a global team with multiple languages and communication styles.

“With language, it’s not just the words you use, it’s how you phrase things”, according to , CEO and Founder of . “It’s the things you leave unsaid that can be so different between cultures,” she adds.At the leadership level, the stakes are even higher.

“Those that are able to articulate their ideas well, to express themselves, to find the right word, tone, or expression at the right time — they’re the ones that inspire confidence in the people listening to them,” says Perrucci.

Experience communicating with an international audience teaches leaders to prioritize simplicity and clarity, allowing their message to land and stick. Meanwhile, demonstrating effort can help deliver impact. The cultural awareness leaders gain from international experience and practical skills like speaking multiple languages help create strong relationships.

“My German isn’t perfect,” Groen says, “but the fact that I speak it with my German team creates so much goodwill that half the job of building a positive working relationship is already done.”

Creating cohesion

Accessing the benefits of a diverse, multicultural team depends on their ability to work as a unit. And that falls to leaders. “You can’t just put people from different backgrounds together and expect them to get along naturally”, Milanova believes.

It’s a challenge that Milanova and many of the leaders we spoke to have spent a lot of time thinking about.A common solution? Be open about your differences and the challenges the team will face.At Daye, each person on Milanova’s team has a “Working with me” guide, and there are also guides on how to work with each country.

Leaders with a breadth of global experiences can anticipate the challenges their international teams will face, take steps to mitigate them, and help their teams thrive.

International experience builds some of the fundamental skills that leaders and their businesses need in today’s world.Experiencing a range of cultures, approaches, and styles allows leaders to question their own defaults and be open to different, creative ideas.

The adaptability and resilience needed to settle in a place far from home creates a have-a-go mindset and the ability to communicate and connect with many different types of people.At a more fundamental level, international experience teaches leaders to be aware of and comfortable with differences. And only by doing that are they able to bring global teams together.

Find out how ɫèAV Language Solutions for Work can support your workforcehere

This article is part of ɫèAV Languages’ series, Global Voices: Leaders on Language and Business, an exclusive exploration into the pivotal role of language in achieving international business excellence. For more in this series, check out the leaders’ full interviews on

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    1. English

    Speakers: Approximately 1.5 billion

    Native speakers: Around 360 million

    Regions: Widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

    Highlights: English is the most widely spoken language worldwide when combining native and non-native speakers. It's the primary language in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. English is the dominant language in international business, science and technology.

    2. Mandarin Chinese

    Speakers: Over 1.1 billion

    Native speakers: About 920 million

    Regions: Mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore

    Highlights: Mandarin is the language with the largest number of native speakers. It's one of the six official languages of the United Nations and has a significant cultural and historical importance.

    3. Hindi

    Speakers: Around 600 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 341 million

    Regions: Predominantly in India and Nepal

    Highlights: Hindi is predominantly spoken in India and Nepal, with approximately 341 million native speakers. It is one of the official languages of India and is spoken by a large portion of the Indian population. It has numerous dialects and is written in the Devanagari script.

    4. Spanish

    Speakers: Approximately 560 million

    Native speakers: About 460 million

    Regions: Spain, Latin America and parts of the United States

    Highlights: Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is widely spoken in the Americas. In many of these countries, Spanish serves as the national language, playing a crucial role in government, education and media. It’s known for its rich literature and cultural heritage.

    5. French

    Speakers: Around 280 million

    Native speakers: About 77 million

    Regions: France, parts of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland

    Highlights: French is another of the six official languages of the United Nations. It's widely used in international diplomacy and has a significant number of speakers in Africa due to France's colonial history.

    6. Arabic

    Speakers: Approximately 270 million

    Native speakers: Around 310 million

    Regions: Middle East and North Africa

    Highlights: Arabic is a central Semitic language that is the liturgical language of Islam. It has many dialects, with Modern Standard Arabic being used in formal settings and media. Arabic has numerous spoken forms, with significant variations in dialects across different regions.

    7. Bengali

    Speakers: Around 265 million

    Native speakers: About 230 million

    Regions: Bangladesh and parts of India

    Highlights: Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Alongside other languages like Hindi and Urdu, Bengali plays a crucial role in the cultural and linguistic landscape of the region. It’s known for its rich literary tradition.

    8. Portuguese

    Speakers: Approximately 220 million

    Native speakers: Around 220 million

    Regions: Brazil, Portugal and parts of Africa

    Highlights: Portuguese is mainly spoken in Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese-speaking country. It has a growing number of speakers in Africa.

    9. Russian

    Speakers: Around 258 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 154 million

    Regions: Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

    Highlights: Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is widely spoken in the former Soviet Union countries.

    10. Japanese

    Speakers: Approximately 128 million

    Native speakers: Around 128 million

    Regions: Japan

    Highlights: Japanese is predominantly spoken in Japan and is known for its three writing systems—Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It has a rich cultural history and is influential in technology and entertainment.

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