An org chart can show you reporting lines. It cannot show you where history, trust, and unwritten knowledge live. Building relationships beyond your reporting line can help you understand an organization beyond your own role.

One of the biggest surprises of working internationally was discovering how many assumptions I carried about communication. This post explores what happens when familiar signals like feedback, silence, directness, and tone mean something different in a new cultural context.

When we move into international roles, we often assume credibility will come from expertise, decisiveness, or quick execution. What happens when those assumptions don't translate to our new environment?