THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEADER 253opportunities for promotion. Given the advances in communication
systems (the internet), extreme degrees of isolation are now probably
rare. However, a feeling of isolation can be very real for people returning
to an organization after a gap of some years. With increasing executive
mobility, they may no longer know the top level of management person-
ally. The environment at headquarters may have become very different
compared to the time they were there. In addition, as individuals, they
may have been changed by their experiences in another culture (Adler,
1991 ). All told, the ‘ fi t ’ may be quite different. The re - entry shock of
return may not be that easy to overcome. The question becomes, what
can be done to facilitate this process?
Facilitating Return
To facilitate return, a ‘ social contract ’ in some form or shape may be
helpful. For example, companies such as IBM have ‘ on loan from the
home country ’ policies that guarantee a position upon coming back at
least at the same level as the position vacated when taking on the assign-
ment. Numerous fi rms also organize support networks, involving com-
munication through travel and company newsletters. Some Japanese
companies have institutionalized a mentoring relationship. The mentors,
who often have gone through the same experiences, coach their charges
and serve as an additional source of support to monitor the executive ’ s
career trajectory. Other companies may have internal consultants who
take on a mentoring role. Smooth repatriation and reabsorption into the
corporate hierarchy are essential — even just one casualty can be a major
setback for a corporation through giving a bad example.
The question of what makes expatriation successful brings us to
the issue of the qualities needed to be successful as a global executive.
What qualities are we looking for? Are there differences between being
successfully locally compared to globally?
Qualities needed in global leaders
For too many companies, the primary criterion for choosing someone
to work abroad is technical competence (Adler, 1991 ; Zeira and
Banai 1981 ; Mendenhall, 2006 ; Mendenhall, Dunbar, and Oddou 1987 ;
Tung, 1988a, 1988b, 2001 ). If an executive in the home country has
done a good job, the assumption is that he or she will automatically
be able to repeat the successful performance in another country. This