Adult Third Culture Kids: Potential Global Leaders with Cross-Cultural Competence?

Time's flying and it is high time for me to write a new post. I once again read some interesting articles which I really feel I need to share with you. The first is a disseratation "Adult Third Culture Kids: Potential Global Leaders with Global Mindset" by Patricia Stokke (2013).

"The ability to bridge differences is an example of how ATCKs may integrate their international experience preparing them to work in global organisations." The ATCKs seem to be good "bridge builders". Patricia says that future research needs to be done to bring ATCKs and business together so that not only ATCKs recognize their global skills and abilities, but that recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers appreciate the potential value these individuals can offer organisations.

I came across another interesting article in the Journal of Global Mobiliy. This journal is new by the way and currently the articles in the first 3 issues are available for free (until the end of March 2014). In the article "Antecedents of dynamic cross-cultural competence in adult third culture kids (ATCKs)" by Tarique and Weisbord they look at what the predictors are of cross-cultural competence. They found that there are 5 predictors of cross-cultural competence in ATCKs:

1. Varienty of early international exeperience (number of counries lived in) 
   
2. Language diversity 
3. The number of languages they speak
4. Family diversity (the number of different ethnicities in their family's background)
5. The personality trait of openess to experience (to which extend are individuals original, innovative and willing to take risks)

By the way dynamic cross-cultural competence includes knowledge, skills and attributes that are aquired through learning experiences. So it seems that  experiencing international travel during childhood and growing up abroad can provide competencies today's employers seek. This is good news for ATCKs. I feel I already knew this and you probably did too but I like it when research confirms these kind of things.

I like the article on DenizenMag "Making the Most of Your TCK Experience When Applying For a Job". As a TCKs you have adapted to new environments, so you will probably adapt quickly to your new working environment. Probably you have learnt to be flexible and adjust. You may be a "bridge builder". You may be have cross-cultural and multilingual communication skills. Recognize your own global skills and abilities! Make sure you mention them in your résumé. This is one of the things Ruth van Reken said too when she spoke at EuroTCK in Germany in 2013.

So it looks like we have cross-cultural competence, we are "bridge builders", we are the people empoyers are seeking. Will we be the global leaders of tomorrow? What do you think? Looking forward to your comments.

Related Posts:

• Adult third culture kids: an under-tapped source of high quality expats?
• Cultural identity confusion and third culture kids
• Is there a difference between adults and kids living abroad?

Photo thanks to NPClark2k Morgue File

Third Culture Kids, Blogging, Books and More

I always love reading other blogs and especially when they are written by someone who grew up abroad. I want to share a few blogs that I have been reading the past few weeks. I like Susanne's blog. She was born in Bruges, Belgium, lived in Poland, Japan and America. Susanne writes:

"Moving around for me, at the time, was just a part of life."

"When we moved back to the Netherlands, my past became a burden."

She writes about what it is like to be a third culture kid, read her story here. Growing up in Poland there was a time when Susanne spoke Polish fluently. To her regret she does not speak Polish anymore. Do check her blog. Did your past ever become a burden for you?

I read an interesting article on The Benefits of Reading As a Third Culture Kid. Rowena is a third culture kid who lived in Blantyre, Malawi, just like I did. We "met" online by the way. She has a great love of books and reads many. Books had a stabilzing effect on her life while she made an international move as a pre-teen. Rowena says: 

"Books helped me learn more about my culture and my surroundings. I was supposed to know all about a culture I had never lived in, but I didn’t."

I must admit I love reading too. Sometimes I wonder if I read to be able to travel. So when I am actually not moving and travelling in real life, I can travel while I read stories about life abroad. Am I escaping real life too when I read books? I love having breakfast and then getting back in to bed to read a good book, that's like heaven to me. It does not happen often but when it does it's pure enjoyment. 

Are you a third culture kid who loves reading? Why do you love reading? 

I want to keep you updated in how the blog is going. Well in July 2013 there were a record amount of pageviews. Thank you for stopping by and reading this blog. I have not been blogging very frequently but behind the scenes I am trying to write a book, I had a holiday in Belgium and France, I try to spend time with the family and read some books too. I will be reviewing "The Stress-Free Guide to Studying in The States" by Toni Summers Hargis soon. The book is on my bedside table at the moment. 

Books I recently received & want to read!

I did a skype interview this week with Emma, she is a university student studying anthropology in England. She interviewed me for her research on third culture kids. I am so glad that there is ongoing research on what it is like to grow up in other cultures. I also want to let you know that I have added a link on this blog to YouthCompass. They are an organisation that have been working with TCKs since 2001. I hope to post an interview all about YouthCompass in the future. I must admit that I had never heard of YouthCompass.

Have you read any interesting third culture kid blogs recently?

Related Posts:

• Book Review: Slurping Soup and Other Confusions
• My Story & 10 Tips Transitioning Globally to University (on Djibouti Jones)
• Interview with Toni Summers Hargis about her new book The Stress-Free Guide to Studying in The States (JoParfitt website)
• Summer vacations at Grandma's House by Julia Munroe Martin (Millivers Travels)