International Work, Human Connection

💙 When I start working with a new client, I often find myself saying as one of the very first things, “I’m Dutch, but I’ve lived in the UK for a very long time,” as if it somehow matters more than anything else.

🤍 This week has marked another milestone, which got me thinking about what it means to work internationally, as someone who left her home country a long time ago, too.

❤️ This week, a new client started working with me, based in Portugal, making this the 20th country I have supported and guided people in since starting my coaching practice.

🌍 I suppose it gives people an insight into me, and if they’re abroad themselves and hear my, almost-native, British accent, it might immediately shift their first impression. And if they’re in similar situations (as many of the leaders I work with are relocated for career moves and promotions in global companies), it signals that I know what it means to start over. To build a life in a country that isn’t your own. To connect with new people. To live in a culture that you don’t know at all, or barely.

⭐ I’ve worked with an HR Director in Kyiv, Ukraine, who once had to end the call early as the sheltering alarms rang. I’ve supported people in the Middle East, American leaders operating out of Europe, Nordic professionals living in Switzerland, British in Bulgaria, and many more.

💫 In previous roles, I worked for companies that operated in over 90 countries, but only since I started having individual conversations with people in these 20 countries have I really come to appreciate what it means.

It’s about opening your mind. Wanting to feel what it’s like to stand in someone else’s shoes. Withholding judgment. Bringing curiosity into the room.

🙏 I’m so grateful to have this experience, and I hope to keep working internationally for a very long time yet.

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