The Global Nomadic Leader differs from the expatriate leader. Expatriates travel and live abroad as adults, whereas Global Nomadic Leaders grew up in and spent a significant part of their developmental years in other cultures and develop a sense of belonging to both their host and home cultures, while lacking a sense of total ownership in any.  Elements of these multiple cultures blend to result in a “third” culture. Global Nomadic Leaders thus experience not just one country at a time, but navigate similarities and differences as they move multiple times to various countries, each of which becomes a part of their collective cultural identity.

They are global in that they have a multicultural identity.  They are nomadic in that they are highly mobile during their developmental years and choose to continue being highly mobile in their adult years.  Both their physical surroundings and people around them fluctuate.  They do not identify with any one place, race, religion or tradition which makes them flexible.  GNL's are leaders in that they are in a position of authority. To have a higher success rate with expatriates, a more precise analysis is necessary. That distinguishes expatriates with a strong cultural identity from an expatriate with multiple cultural identities. Why? Because they are attracted and retained in the organization by different factors. HR, coaches and expatriates would benefit by being aware of this distinction to improve their success rate.

Inherently, the Global Nomadic Leader has what many multinational companies seek: innate intercultural instincts, mobility, and adaptability. Increasing globalization of markets and companies has compounded this need, making these profiles even more highly regarded and sought after by companies:

Global Nomadic Leaders: How to Identify, Attract and Retain Them
By Dr. Katrina Burrus