What defines a Global Individual? Is it reading The Economist or Spiegel ? Watching Deutsche Welle? Vacationing overseas ? Is it being an ex-pat or on a global assignment for one's firm? Not necessarily.
Being a true global individual comes not from travel or reading, but from having an understanding of, and respect for, other peoples and cultures, and as much as possible, having a sense of empathy for their history, ethnicities, languages, geography - and wanting to understand more. It's grasping the realization that the country in which one calls 'home' is just one of many countries and remembering that geopolitics aside, you're not alone out there. The ability to travel helps, but the tremendous cost of international travel prevents many from seeing these other lands first hand, but doesn't prevent one from being (or becoming) a global individual.
I've also read that some firms are finding it difficult to find employees willing to accept an assignment abroad. It seems that employees are worried about the hardships that would be faced by their families in a strange land or they have a perception that by being so far away, they may seem 'invisible' to the executives back home and could miss out on possible opportunities for career advancement.
As to the first item, that's a perfectly understandable issue, but it can be addressed by good research up front, tapping the large network of expats who have gone before, using the resources offered by the sponsoring firm, and finally using the internet to really learn about the community to which you could be joining. The second item just doesn't make sense to me at all. In this era of globalism and multiculturalism, what would-be executive wouldn't want to grab at a chance to add some true international experience to one's resume?
There's got to be a reason I keep practicing my German and French on an almost daily basis. Is anyone out there listening?
