What are the challenges and opportunities that await a leader who has relocated to a foreign
country? Just ask Eriia Sotryo, a leader in a global company with a variety of business lines.
She recently accepted an expatriate assignment in an emerging market.
Erica has been with the company for over 12 years in a variety of different positions.
There is no doubt that she was identified as someone for international opportunities some
time ago, and she has moved, along with her family, to a number of different countries,
taking on more extensive responsibiiities with each move. Her current assignment takes her
to an emerging country in Africa, far from her home country, Canada, and into another
new role.
In this new assignment, she is responsible for the marketing and sales staff in all the
businesses that operate in a large region in southern Africa. The company has only been
present with any significant employee base for the past 7 years and as such has a relatively
young workforce. The staff are eager to learn and succeed and do not always understand the
highs and lows of business cycles and what that means for them. Erica not only has to pay
attention to her career, she is also responsible for her staff and their career paths.
Since the company is based in North America, there is the challenge of understanding
and adapting her leadership style to the local context yet driving forward the desired broader
company culture of candour, transparency, humility, and employee trust,which is not easy
in a country with a geopolitical culture that typically does not support or reinforce these
qualities. Erica learned some time ago that people need to be resilient in order to adapt to
changes around them. So how does she help her staff gain the resilience they need in order
to adapt and move ahead?
On top of this, Erica has also had to prepare herself for such a role in a region that has
a complex political and labour environment as well as being knowledgeable about the company's
social investment in the country. Almost every country in her region is undergoing
significant political changes, which impacts the operating environment, especially from a
commercial perspective. This means that Erica needs to be aware of the local context and
all the subtleties that come with it.
For Erica, it isn't just about herself; her family has moved with her. Her husband and 3
small children have also relocated to a physical environment, as well as a cultural environment,
that is very different from where they had been living. To be successful in her role,
her family also needs to succeed. To do so, they need to draw upon their resilience as they
adapt to their new surroundings.
Erica is excited about her role and location but also recognizes the hurdles and challenges
she faces in being effective in her role, both for the organization and in terms of
her impact as a leader. She is on a steep learning curve and relies on those around her for
support. Like her staff and family, she draws upon her resilience to adapt to her environment
and be an effective leader.

1. What are some challenges and opportunities facing Erica?

2. What can HR department do to increase the success of expatriates like Erica and to reduce possible reasons for expatriate failure?