Expat Support: Benefits And Results

Posted on 22. Apr, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Announcements, Blog, Tools & Resources
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In the last post, we talked about what expat support is and who it is meant for. Now let’s take a look at what it can do for you. After all, if you are going to hire someone to do this kind of work, you want to make sure that you are going to get results, right?

Part II: The benefits of expat support

1. Connection and Understanding
2. Support, Feedback, Brainstorming and More…
3. Accountability
4. Quality Listening
5. A Custom-Tailored Approach

1. Connection and Understanding
The first few months or even years in a new country can be quite lonely. You want to talk to someone who understands what you are going through, but maybe there are not many expats where you live, or you feel that you do not have much in common with them.

Your friends and family want to be supportive, but sometimes they may have a hard time getting why you find expatriation challenging. Especially if you live in, say, Italy and everyone back home thinks you are more or less on a permanent vacation.

I am an expat too, and I have been for a long time. I know what it is like to arrive somewhere where you don’t speak the language, don’t know a soul in town and find the traffic bewildering. When you tell me about being homesick and isolated, feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, trust me – I understand. And I want to do everything I can to help you through this phase so that you can start enjoying your expat life to the fullest.

2. Support, Feedback, Brainstorming and More…
As we work together, your needs and your priorities will evolve. In the beginning, you may need moral support and some helpful techniques to deal with the emotional ups-and-downs of expat life.

Then, as you feel more serene and confident, you may want to start brainstorming new ideas and start new projects – I will brainstorm with you and give you some creativity tools that you can use on your own (I love anything having to do with ideas, creativity and inspiration, so I have a lot of those tools in my bag of tricks!)

Once you start working on your new ideas and projects, you can use me as your sounding board. I will give you objective feedback – in a supportive, helpful way – and if you want me to, I can also give you some input or show you a different perspective.

I can wear many hats: fellow expat, confidante, coach, mentor, supporter, business advisor. So don’t hesitate to let me know what you need from me at any given time.

3. Accountability
This is what makes getting professional expat support particularly powerful: I will make sure to keep you accountable.
You are paying me to help you clarify what you want from life overseas and then keep you focused on your goals, and that is exactly what I will do.

While even your most supportive friends and relatives may be tempted to let you off the hook when you are moving away from your goals, if I see you stop making progress or procrastinate, I will call you on it (in a respectful, caring and supportive manner, of course – this is not boot camp. It is just that I really, really want you to succeed and get the results you want).

Along the way, you will also learn helpful techniques to get rid of procrastination, lessen your fears and keep stress in check. Those are tools that you can take anywhere in the world with you once you learn them.

4. Quality Listening
When you are talking to me, I really listen. What I mean by this is that my focus is entirely on what you are saying. While I am listening to you, I am not rehearsing my next question in my head, or rushing to interrupt you with a piece of advice that maybe would work for you.

No. I listen very carefully to what you are saying, and even more carefully to what you are not saying. Because that is very often where fear, guilt or anything else that may be holding you back is hiding. I listen to the pauses, to the changes in your voice and to your choice of words. Then I let you know what I heard, and we can work on it if necessary.

You can achieve remarkable breakthroughs that way, especially if your life is so busy that you do not have time to slow down and listen to what your inner thoughts are trying to tell you.

5. A Custom-Tailored Approach
Your situation is unique. No two expats have the same circumstances, the same personality or the same story. Sure, there are a few challenges that pretty much everyone faces at some point, but other than that no two expat stories are alike.

What you need is not a one-size-fits-all programme that lumps together accompanying partners and TCKs, NGO workers in developing countries and C-level executives in New York City.

What you need is a supportive, safe place to work on what is important, challenging or meaningful to you – not to a bunch of other expats who may or may not be anything like you.

We work with whatever topic you bring to the table. We work on what matters to you at this point in time. We try different tools – if something does not work for you, we try something else. I am not attached to the techniques themselves and I will not ask you to do things that do not feel right for you. The only thing that counts is that you get the results you want.

The results you can expect

First of all, you are the one who decides what results you want to get. You choose your own goals – my job is strictly to help you reach them.

No surprise here: the more committed you are to doing this work, the better your results will be. I cannot promise you that you will achieve 100% of your goals. Once again, this will depend on you.

One thing I can guarantee you, though, is that you will achieve better and longer-lasting results faster when you go through this process.

“Longer-lasting” is key: many so-called gurus and coaches can get you to make dramatic changes overnight, or will pump you full of enthusiasm that will carry you forward for, what, two weeks – if you are lucky? This is not what this work is about. It will take a bit of time and effort, but the results will be sustainable on the long run. Think marathon rather than mad-dash sprint to the finish line.

Other results that my expat clients report after working with me include:
- Clearer goals
- Better decision-making skills
- More direction and clarity
- Better focus
- Higher self-confidence
- Decreased stress levels
- More balanced lifestyle

The next post in this series will be about the process itself – in other words, what happens after you decide to hire me.
As always, if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to visit my website, send me an email or leave a comment here!

Emmanuelle