The 3 Most Essential Capabilities Of  

Global-Caliber Professionals

国际化专业人才的三项基本能力

More and more, global-caliber is a term that you want others to associate with you. Many areas of China’s economy are becoming more professional and international-caliber. More Chinese companies are targeting their expansion into global markets. So being viewed as global-caliber increasingly determines your ability to capture more and better opportunities. And beyond just the options and upsides it creates for your career, it also opens the door to an international lifestyle.

近年来，国际化专业人才越发炙手可热。中国经济市场上许多领域正变得越来越专业化和国际化。越来越多的中国企业将他们的扩张目标对准全球市场。因此，被视为具有国际水准的专业人才也更有能力去赢得更多更好的机会。作为一名国际化专业人才，除了能够为职业生涯提供更多机会和益处外，也打开了通向国际化生活方式的大门。

As a result, many Chinese professionals these days ask me, “How do I become more global-caliber?” Or, “What makes a person global-caliber?” 

因此，许多中国职场人会问我，“我怎样才能变得更具国际水准？”或是 “是什么才能让一个人成为国际化专业人才？”

I tell them that becoming global-caliber goes far beyond your English skills. Working in international business situations is extremely challenging and diverse. There’s no playbook that can tell you how to handle the situations you’ll face. To perform in them, what’s most important is your mindset, approach, and a few key qualities and capabilities.

我告诉他们，成为国际化专业人才所需要的，远不止说好英语。在国际商务环境中工作是极具挑战性和复杂性的。没有哪本书会告诉你如何处理你将要面对的情况。要做到这一点，最重要的是你的心态、方法和一些关键品质和能力。

In my last article, What Matters Most For Your Success In Cross-Cultural Business Situations, I highlighted three key qualities that help you perform well in any cross-cultural business situation. One is your sincerity to support and do a good job for those you work with. Mistakes and misunderstandings happen when you cooperate with people from other countries. But by being genuine and transparent, others can tell that you’re someone they can work things out with. Two is your professionalism to bring a solid approach and high standards to the situations you’re in. Because being consistent and straightforward towards solving problems, coming up with solutions, and delivering results is what counts when facing challenging, international business situations. And three is the value you bring to the situations you’re a part of. If others see the clear value and benefits you can offer to them, they’ll be more understanding and patient to work with and get along with you.

在上一篇文章《外籍老板和我说 他不在乎我英语好不好》中，我强调了三个重要的品质，这些品质可以帮助你在任何跨文化商务环境中表现出色。其一是你的真诚，支持并帮助你的同事做好工作。当你和其他国家的人合作时，错误和误解时有发生。但是通过你的真诚和坦率，别人可以看出你是可以一起解决问题的伙伴。其二是你的敬业精神，为你所处的境况带来可靠的解决方法和高标准。因为在面对具有挑战性的国际商业环境时，对于解决问题、提出解决方案和交付成果保持一致和直截了当是最为重要的。其三是你为周围人所带来的价值。如果别人看到你能给他们带来明显的价值和利益，那么他们就会更努力地理解你，更有耐心和你一起工作和相处。

Beyond these three qualities, here are three key capabilities that most impact your success in any cross-cultural business situation. So they’re well worth your effort to develop. 

除了以上三种品质外，还有三种关键能力，最能影响你在跨文化商业环境中的成功，非常值得我们重点培养。

While language skills are clearly important, people who do international business successfully will tell you that they’re merely a tool. I know many Chinese professionals who speak very good English, but still don’t communicate with foreigners well. Their vocabulary, grammar, and accent are good, but their thoughts and ideas aren’t. So others don’t respond very positively to them. 

尽管语言能力很重要，但国际商务成功人士会告诉你，语言仅仅只是一种工具。我知道很多中国专业人士英语说得很好，但仍然不能很好地与外国人交流。他们的词汇、语法和口音都很棒，但他们的观点和想法却不怎么样。所以其他人对他们的反应并不是很积极。

In addition, they pay too much attention to saying things “properly.” But when it comes to business communications, simple, concise, and focused is always better. Not big words and long sentences that make things sound more complicated and complex.

此外，他们过于注重“得体”地说话。但谈到商务沟通，保持简单、简洁和专注总是更好。不要用过多词汇和过长的句子让事情听起来更为复杂。

When I’m facing new cross-cultural situations, it’s likely that there’s more that I don’t know than know. So I ask a lot of questions. That’s my secret sauce to communicating and working well with others in these situations.You’ve got to be a person who knows how to ask questions, and not just someone who likes to tell others what to do. That won’t get you very far when interacting with people from different countries. 

当我面对新的跨文化交际场合时，我不知道的比知道的要多，这很正常。所以我会问很多问题。这是我在类似情况下能够与他人良好沟通和合作的秘诀。你必须成为一个知道如何提问的人，而不仅仅是一个只喜欢告诉别人该做什么的人。当你与来自不同国家的人交流时，多提问会拉近你们之间的距离。

Regarding people skills, it’s simple. If yours aren’t very good, you’re not going to be successful working with others with different sensibilities and approaches to doing things. I know many people who don’t speak the best English. But they can get across what they need others to understand. More importantly, they’re respectful and generous. They’re good listeners. And they pay attention to the way they say and do things. In cross-cultural business situations, that’s how you get others to cooperate with you.

关于人际交往的能力，很简单。如果你的人际交往能力不是很好，那你就不可能成功地与那些拥有不同思维方式和不同做事方式的人一起工作。我知道很多人英语说得不好，但是他们却可以让别人理解他们想要表达的东西。更重要的是，他们尊重他人，慷慨大方，他们善于倾听，他们会注意说话和做事的方式。在跨文化商业环境中，这就是你能够让别人愿意与你合作的原因。

Participating in international business situations also means facing more difficult problems and unfamiliar situations than normal. Talk all you want about how different things are compared to what you’re used to. But you’re just stating the obvious. 

参与国际商务环境也意味着你要面对比平时更多的难题和不熟悉的情况。想说什么就说什么，把不同的东西和你所习惯的相对比，但你会渐渐习以为常。

In challenging international business situations, what matters is your ability to figure things out, solve problems, and get the result. Global-caliber professionals focus on delivering solutions, and stand out to others as being capable of handling difficult situations.

在富有挑战性的国际商业环境中，重要的是你发现问题、解决问题和得到结果的能力。国际化专业人士专注于提供解决方案，并以善于处理困难情况而脱颖而出。

So in a cross-cultural situation, I acknowledge from the beginning that it’s going to be very challenging. There will be different perspectives and approaches to doing things that may lead to disagreements and misunderstandings. All I can do is share my thoughts and throw out my ideas. Solving problems and coming up with solutions is a process. And getting results in international business situation takes the input and contributions from two sides, not just one.

所以在跨文化情况下，我从一开始就承认这是非常具有挑战性的。每个人都会有不同的观点和方法，也会导致分歧和误解。我所能做的就是分享我的观点和想法，抛砖引玉。解决问题和提出解决方案是一个过程。在国际商业形势下取得成果，需要双方的投入和贡献，而不仅仅是一方。

There’s a simple concept, “If you want to do something well, you need to understand it well first.” People who can perform in international business situations are usually more open-minded and curious. They observe things. They’re more self-aware. So they’re able to understand things quicker that they’re unfamiliar with. And are better at identifying how and where they can deliver their value to a situation. 

有一个简单的概念，“ 欲成其事，先晓其理。”能够在国际商业环境中表现出色的人通常更为开明，充满好奇心。他们更懂观察，更具自我意识。所以他们能更快地理解他们不熟悉的东西。他们更善于识别如何将自己的价值传递到当下的情况中。

Becoming global-caliber begins with your big picture view of the international business situations and people you work with. Some good, big picture questions to ask are:

要想成为国际化专业人士，首先你需要对国际商业形势和你的同事有个大局观。以下是一些不错的问题:

The better your ability to respond to these question, the better you’ll be able to view and do things in different ways.

你对这些问题的反应能力越强，你就越能以不同的方式看待和解决问题。

The big picture view I have when facing new situations is, I don’t know everything. This perspective keeps me humble, open-minded, and curious to understand things. It gets me to, again, ask a lot of questions. And especially, to view things from different angles. That’s not always easy. But you have to do this if you want to be successful in cross-cultural business situations.

面对新形势时，我的大局观是，我不是什么都知道。这种观点使我谦虚、豁达并且对事物充满好奇。它可以让我有很多问题想问。尤其是，从不同的角度看问题。这并非一直这么容易。但如果你想在跨文化商务情况下取得成功，你就必须这么做。

It goes without saying that the people you work with in international business situations are going to have different habits and sensibilities. Some will be more direct. Some more aggressive. Some more casual. Some more formal. Some more detail-oriented. The list goes on and on. When working with such people, it’s your ability to communicate and interact with others, solve problems and deliver solutions, and view things from a broader perspective that allow you to be successful with them. So want to become global-caliber? Then invest in developing these three capabilities. You can’t go wrong doing this.

不用说，在国际商务环境中与你共事的人会有不同的习惯和感受。有些更直接，有的更激进，有的更随意，有的更正式，有的更注重细节。这样的例子不胜枚举。当你和这样的人一起工作时，通过交流和互动，解决问题并提供解决方案，从更广阔的角度看待问题，会使你们取得成功。那么想成为国际化专业人才？那就培养这三种能力吧，不会错的。

8月20日，职商网平台最新的系列视频课程《More Than Career English: 如何在国际企业加速职业发展》将正式上线！在提升你职业英语水平的同时，更能助你成长为具有国际化水准的专业人士。

课程现已在【网易云课堂】等平台开启预售，更有系列课程简介和预览课程可抢鲜观看！赶紧点击【https://study.163.com/topics/Larry_m】了解更多详情吧！

课程早鸟价：69元  99元

（还有不定期的秒杀活动，请小伙伴们多多关注咯！）