How does your organisation react to declined assignment opportunities?

Turning down an international posting can have negative consequences, especially early in one’s career, when family considerations are assumed to be less of an issue. Many companies expect their aspiring leaders to work abroad. It’s how their executives develop the skills to lead across cultures and learn the inner workings of a global business; it’s how rising leaders advance into the senior ranks. Those who decline may be perceived to lack ambition and drive, and they may pay a price for that. While we are just beginning to collect hard data on career outcomes, research shows that employees often feel pressured into saying yes. They worry that refusing to be sent overseas will prevent them from getting ahead, or at least slow their careers considerably.

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