I met Sierra Dasso in 2018 at the Cloudflare headquarters in San Francisco during a work trip. I'd taken the 15‐hour flight from Singapore to California, as I'd been doing about four times a year since moving back to Singapore. It's one of my favourite flights because it meets my need for efficiency. Not only can I get a lot of work done and still catch a movie, but because it crosses the International Date Line, at certain times of the year, I can also land just before I left.

While in California on that trip, I spoke at a company lunch for women in sales. I was the company's most senior woman in sales, and it was still somewhat uncommon to have women in senior sales roles, particularly in ‘enterprise’, or large company, business‐to‐business. I was glad for the chance to encourage other women to envision themselves in sales leadership roles in the future.

The Cloudflare office had a typical start‐up vibe: four floors of exposed brick and open space. Conference rooms were named for HTTP error codes. The lunch was held in the largest conference room, logically named after the most common error code, 404. However, Room 404 was confusingly located on the first floor, making it very hard for newcomers to find. (You have to be savvy to make it in tech. Or at least make it to the meetings.)

About 20 women came to the meeting, everyone seating themselves around a big, rectangular table. Others dialled in from various parts of the world. After the meeting, I returned to the desk I was using and checked my emails. I saw a message from Sierra, saying she'd been at the meeting and was so inspired by my description of living in Asia and the idea of working for a woman that she wanted to come work in our Singapore office. I always wax eloquent about living in different countries when I give talks; I was delighted that someone else seemed to have caught my enthusiasm for living overseas.

I got up and walked over to her desk, finding an American in her late twenties, with a friendly, girl‐next‐door attitude. ‘I want to live in Asia, too!’ she said.

We needed salespeople in Asia, as it happened, to cover countries including Thailand, Japan and Indonesia. But they needed to speak one of the relevant languages, which she didn't. I said, ‘What about Australia?’ I also oversaw Australia as part of APAC for Cloudflare. I thought it would be good to have an account executive there who could bring the company culture and know‐how with her.

I knew she'd have a good shot at success in an English‐speaking country with a similar culture to her own. (I know that Australia has its own distinct culture that is very different from the US; as an American married to an Aussie, this fact has been drummed into me. On the other hand, our cultures have fused in many ways. Stories circulate of Australians going to court and ‘pleading the Fifth!’ as in, the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, which has no bearing on Australian law but does appear regularly on US courtroom dramas on TV.)

Sierra was not excited about Australia. It seemed like just another Western country. ‘Not exotic.’ She was also concerned that she wouldn't succeed because she didn't think Australia was known for having tech companies, the types of firms she was selling to in the US.

I completely disagreed with her assessment that there wasn't enough opportunity in tech. What about Atlassian, Canva and Afterpay? I also thought she'd love the country, as I do.

She decided to try. Sierra transferred to the Sydney office in 2019. Within a year, she had a car, a dog, a wonderful partner — and a great deal of success at work. While the similarities between the US and Australia helped her make new connections easily, the fact that the industry is smaller in Australia proved to be a bonus.

Now that I've been here a while, I know all the companies. As soon as I say I know someone they know or I worked with their competitor, I'm 10 steps ahead in that relationship in terms of it being fruitful. Also, the US is much more independent. Here, it is more collective. That's a good thing for me in sales because if we sell to one company, then another company in that industry wants to use us, too.¹

Sierra quickly became a huge fan of the Australian lifestyle, too. ‘The overall standard of living is significantly higher than in California. I also love the beauty of the country, the international vibe and the expat community’, she says. ‘And the government really values life, which is nice.’

The ‘Ah‐ha!’ of Sierra's story: be open to where in the world your career may take you

Australia wasn't Singapore, Sierra's initial dream, but it was a huge international move that expanded her world view and enhanced her life — her real aims. Moving to the Sydney office offered professional opportunities she had not expected, and likely would not have gotten as quickly had she stayed in headquarters.

Today, many firms operate on a global scale, and this opens up opportunities for success and adventure in countries around the world, even in places you may never have considered exploring. Being willing to relocate can be a springboard to more responsibility and lead to quicker advancement. This is one more way in which your work and your life are on the same team. You don't necessarily have to choose between living in Paris, say, and building valuable skills at work. You may be able to do both at the same time.

It's true that during the pandemic, and after, many countries limited the number of work visas and focused on developing ways to connect through virtual meetings. Some also pursued more local talent. But opportunities to work overseas still exist, and likely will into the future. Not everyone can do a stint overseas, of course. Fields requiring state or federal licensing, like medicine or law, are not easily transportable, and plenty of people have family or other obligations that keep them put. But if you can swing it, opportunities for adventure abound.

Not only can an international position be exciting, but it also helps you understand the cultures, experiences and perspectives of people in different countries. An international assignment lets you see, first‐hand, that another office isn't ‘remote’; it's right at the centre of a different map. Success increasingly requires being able to cooperate with those halfway around the world.

I'm personally invested in diversity and inclusion and have been throughout my career, and I see these terms as also applying to people in diverse locations. Embracing diversity and inclusion in this context means thinking beyond your national borders, being inclusive of those from different nations, and considering how working in another country might enhance your career. It also means remembering that people in offices thousands of miles away are essential members of the company; developing an inclusive mindset; and practising the skills needed to remain connected across time zones, oceans and cultural differences. Here's how.

Power Perspective #1:
Let your thirst for adventure turbocharge your career

The search for talent has gone global, and capitalising on this trend can be a great way to accelerate your rise. While moving overseas for work may sound like a dream to you, your willingness to go is also very helpful for your firm. An organisation benefits from having someone on board who wants to be transferred overseas, and not everyone is willing to do it. You become a ’culture carrier’ for the company, an ambassador steeped in the firm's culture who can help build global cohesiveness.

In an office filled only with new hires, unfamiliar with the organisation's culture and protocols, tasks take longer, even small things, like figuring out how to enter information in the company's database. Your knowledge of how things are done at headquarters can boost the effectiveness of regional offices, helping them meet corporate goals.

Having diverse perspectives around the table also boosts the bottom line, in part because making room for different outlooks leads to more creative problem‐solving. A recent study from BCG looking at diversity among employees at 1700 companies in eight countries across a variety of industries and sizes suggests that ‘increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance’. In the study, innovation benefited most from leadership teams that included diversity in national origin of executives, a range of industry backgrounds, gender balance and a variety of career paths.²

In other words, diversity includes national origin and is good for business. In turn, international experience is good for you and for your company.

Understanding and valuing different perspectives is not only the right thing to do, but is also an increasingly important competency at work. Malini Vaidya, Head of APAC for Spencer Stuart, a global executive search and leadership consulting firm, says:

There is no question that global thinking and sensitivity is fuelled by experiences living and working in more than one country — not just through managing a regional or global role from one country your entire career. The more senior you become, the more likely you will need a track record of managing across borders and cultures.³

Rahul Desai, the sales operations guru I met at the Google headquarters in Mountain View and offered a job while going through a revolving door in Beijing (chapter 3), is a perfect example of the career boost that can come from overseas work. Because he came to new, small office, he had the chance to take on tasks that would have been the specific job description of other people back in San Francisco. These experiences built real skills and breadth that enabled him to rise faster.

While his job was intended to only be an 18‐month assignment, he wound up staying in Singapore for nine years, first at Google and then at Facebook, rising into management. He eventually moved back to Texas, taking all his management experience with him. Later, he was offered a great job as vice president of sales strategy and operations at Trip Actions (a travel management and expense company), a position he likely would not have gotten without that overseas experience, and the demands and opportunities it created.

Working in a culture different from your own definitely brings new challenges, as Stacy Brown‐Philpot, a former colleague and adventurous, highly successful corporate leader, discovered when she moved to India. As Stacy saw, figuring out exactly what you need to make an international move work for you can propel your advancement — and help you develop the habit of identifying your needs and asking for them.

Today's increasingly hybrid and/or remote workforce means some people are taking their laptops to their dream locales and setting up shop there. If you have this opportunity, I do think it will allow you to gain a more global perspective to some degree. But working alone with a view of the ocean from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, is a different experience to working in or leading a multicultural team in a country not your own. I see the notion of ‘have laptop; will travel’, as more akin to working from home, but from a home base that you find more exciting or less expensive or closer to family. This won't necessarily give you the career boost of relocating to a different office with your firm, but it will expand your cultural competence and cultural humility.

Here's how to get your firm to support your thirst for adventure.

If you have a family, be open to how your move may benefit them. When Rahul transferred to Singapore, his wife, an artist, learned batik, a new technique for her, and incorporated it into her work. In my case, my husband, Linton, has been willing to move for my career. He's found jobs in each location, and focused on enjoying the adventure, appreciating our kids’ ability to gain a global perspective, and supporting my goals. Our sons have grown up with a sense of themselves as ‘globosapiens’, which is really important to us.

If your partner or spouse has an opportunity to transfer overseas, be open to how this might benefit you. You might be surprised by what the move will do for your own career, as Crystal Hayling, a non‐profit professional with an impressive track record, discovered when she moved to Asia with her husband.

Power Perspective #2:
Remove the ‘R’ from remote (as in, emote)

Having spent the past 25 years running parts, or all, of the APAC business for Google, Twitter, Cloudflare and other companies, I've seen first‐hand how professionally and personally rewarding it can be to work outside your home country. But I've also observed how challenging it can be to stay emotionally connected to the company and its leadership when you're outside headquarters — and the critical role that this emotional connection plays. This is true whether you're at the start of your career, further along or leading multiple teams dispersed across the globe, as I have.

We all need to feel emotionally connected to our company, our jobs and our colleagues. People collaborate better across functions when they feel close to others, despite physical distance. People are more productive when they feel valued and recognised. People stay longer with firms that make them feel cared about and important. Whether you're at headquarters, in an office halfway around the globe, or working from home, staying connected means removing the ‘r’ from ‘remote’, as in emote.

I think of this as a leadership skill; to remain competitive, leaders at firms across the planet need to dial up their focus on the emotional connection between people in headquarters and employees working outside the main office. But as an individual contributor working overseas, focusing on emotional connection is also a key to thriving. Here's how.

Power Perspective #3:
Choreograph opportunities for connection

Korin Kohen says so much of her day is spent in virtual meetings, her husband often asks when she gets her work done.

He looks at my calendar and is like, ‘Why are you talking all day? When do you do work?’ I have Monday and Wednesday nights blocked for half‐hour, one‐on‐one meetings with my partners in the innovation ecosystem, mostly in Cincinnati. Then I do the same with the team in Singapore, meeting in person, when we can.¹⁰

Her actual work? That gets done ‘between meetings’, Korin says.

Except that all these meetings are a vital part of her job because they create connection. As is true with the regular reviews and group meetings she also has scheduled, these one‐on‐one get‐togethers let her update people in the US and Japan on happenings in her office, represent her team and their efforts, and build and maintain real rapport.

I think P&G has a meeting disease, but it's a survival mechanism in a place so big. You have to make the effort to build relationships. When you are not in the mothership, you need to work twice as hard to be heard, to get support, and to stay top of mind.

Careers are not just built by competency — they are built by connection. Typically, you can build these connections inside a company organically. You grab lunch or an after‐work drink with someone at the next desk, which may lead to a project down the road. You speak up in a team meeting, and a manager comes into your office afterwards to follow up on your idea.

When it comes to the benefit of working together in person, I always think of the term ‘collaboration dividend’. It's generally used to describe working together across networks, silos or countries with the aid of technology. But I've also heard it used in relation to the value of working together in person, an acknowledgement of how even casual conversations can give rise to improved output. You get a bonus, or a dividend, from time spent together in person.

Distance means you lose out on this naturally occurring rapport. It also can deplete your social capital, as many people saw during the pandemic. Embracing global diversity means taking steps to choreograph opportunities for connection for your team, if you're a leader, and for yourself.

It can be done. As Joseph Grenny, co‐founder of Vitalsmarts, a Utah‐based leadership training and online career education platform, puts it:

For decades, studies of corporate culture have concluded that the further two people were apart physically, the lower their estimation of one another was likely to be. Our findings suggest otherwise — distance isn't destiny.¹¹

Grenny is referring to a recent study he co‐authored that looked at steps leaders took, or failed to take, to preserve a shared company culture during the pandemic. His team asked study participants to report on five behaviours linked to healthy group performance, including responding quickly to requests from each other, giving co‐workers the benefit of the doubt and sacrificing their own needs to serve a larger team goal.

In companies where leaders made efforts to preserve shared culture, these behaviours and attitudes survived. In companies where leaders didn't, respondents reported being quicker to be suspicious of others’ motives, slower to respond to colleagues’ needs, more narrowly focused on their own interests and less willing to put in extra time or effort to get things done. In other words, their trust and support of each other deteriorated.

Grenny's team concluded that, while efforts to preserve culture and social capital while remote don't have to be difficult, they are important. Some examples cited in the study include:

• implementing new tools and technology to facilitate connection
• sponsoring and supporting fun, off‐the‐wall, virtual events
• scheduling non‐work‐related meetings for team members to get together.

These are easy, sometimes fun, ways to help employees connect and remain seen by each other and by leaders. BCG Australia took a collaborative, employee‐led approach to designing ways to support work and foster strong connections, post‐COVID. One idea the teams came up with was to ask to work together in person at least half the time, if possible, to promote productivity and deliver on the company's apprenticeship model. Another idea was to have hybrid teams on the same schedule; basically everyone is in the office or at home at the same time.¹²

Getting together in person for fun activities is also part of BCG's plan. Activities that help people connect include a monthly ‘Big Friday’ event in the office, with catered breakfast and lunch; team yoga; and an extra emphasis on encouraging people to attend offsite group outings and retreats.

Making an effort to stay connected with people you don't see every day also can be key to pushing difficult projects to completion across multiple time zones. Batsheva Lazarus, a former BBC producer who now works as a communications professional at Google in Singapore, has come up with a personal mantra to help her remember to acknowledge the human factor of others and view every interaction as an opportunity for connection.

‘I don't take a meeting, I make a friend’, she says. This is one of her top tips for successfully collaborating across global teams, but not everyone supported this vision throughout her career.

Early on in my career in television, a senior staffer pulled me aside and told me, ‘You're extremely well liked, but you'll get the work done faster if you just put your head down and stop making friends.’ At the time, this stung. I saw how those connections were the backbone for the team, motivating them on long overnight shoots far away from home, or to give that last hour of work after an exhausting day. I made a conscious decision to stick to my guns and not let go of this essential part of my toolkit.

Years later, working at Google Singapore, she sees her approach paying off in clear ways, such as when she needs to wake up someone in the US in the middle of the night to address a potential public relations issue.

In media relations, if I need to rely on a colleague in a different time zone to pick up the baton and communicate urgent information to a journalist, we need to trust one another. I try to forge a personal connection with everyone I work with regularly. I'm so glad I made that choice.¹³

As an employee, you need to take your own connections seriously. A pre‐COVID Stanford study in China showed that the performance of the home‐based employee participants increased by 13 percent during the nine‐month experiment, and attrition fell by 50 percent. But promotions conditional on performance appeared to fall by 50 percent. It seemed the old adage held true: out of sight, out of mind. As the study puts it:

We heard anecdotal evidence for this from employees and managers during focus groups and interviews, and it was one factor that led some employees to return to the office to avoid what they perceived as a WFH promotion ‘discrimination’ penalty.¹⁴

In a 2021 Joblist¹⁵ survey of more than 1000 remote workers and managers, 95.5 per cent of managers said that remaining visible was a key to employee advancement. More than a third of the workers surveyed agreed. Some employees took steps to choreograph opportunities for connection by crafting a ‘visibility strategy’, which included doing things like taking on extra work for colleagues, checking in with co‐workers often, volunteering for tasks or opportunities, keeping projects on deadline and being very detail oriented.

Managers in the Joblist survey noticed these extra efforts and viewed those employees as more motivated, productive and engaged. They were also more likely to reward these employees with promotions and raises.

When creating a visibility strategy for yourself, make sure you don't commit to overly taxing actions that will lead to burnout. You should be able to discuss your strategy with your boss and get input (especially if you're lucky enough to have a great boss like Rahul).

A good mindset to adopt is to remember that you are part of a team. As Kevin Eikenberry, a co‐founder of the Remote Leadership Institute and co‐author of The Long‐Distance Teammate says,¹⁶ ‘If you think about your situation as “working from home,” you’re focusing on being insular and individual. What you really are is a remote teammate.’

In other words, you are an important part of a team of people working together in your city, region, country and world. Staying connected to these real human beings in intentional, empathetic, culturally sensitive ways is part of helping you, and them, rise and thrive.