The Rise of the “Corporate Nomad”

While freelance relationships will likely continue to be an attractive option at the beginning and toward the end of our professional lives, stable employment relationships have important financial benefits from our early 30s to 50s, when we are struggling to pay our mortgages, the family’s education, and save for retirement or future financial independence.

In addition to financial stability, emotional and social stability are extremely important assets for our well-being. Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has focused on the importance of positive psychological capital (PsyCap). This combination of self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience is easier to develop when we are not alone. A rich network of colleagues, professional home and family, and a culture where we fit and belong become ever-more valuable assets in an increasingly challenging world.

For those raising families in their 30s to 50s, giving their children a stable environment without frequent relocations will strongly contribute to their emotional and social health and development.

A stable community and network of local friends and relationships can help kids develop strong roots. In turn, your global perspective as a corporate nomad can help you expand your children’s vision, while your growing international network of virtual friends and relationships will help them open their wings for sporadic travels, exchanges, international friendship, and studying abroad.

• As we navigate the waves of the Great Resignation, switching jobs has become increasingly risky.
• 72% of those who recently switched jobs have been frustrated, and almost half of these would consider trying to get their old jobs back.
• Virtual interviews can limit our ability to get a good sense of a new job environment, while the Great Resignation is increasing employers’ pressure to paint unrealistically rosy pictures.
• Corporate nomads can find exciting part-time challenges within their current organizations — lowering the risk of making a company move they may regret.  

Being a corporate nomad allows you to be exposed to new people, new geographies, new cultures, new values, and new work projects that will foster your development through stretch assignments.

A rich stint as a corporate nomad can be an extraordinary training ground and networking platform if in the future you decide to embark on a new free agent stage.

The rise of the corporate nomad will be inexorable, given the strong and growing benefits for individuals and organizations alike.

In the wake of the pandemic, and even more so in today’s delicate global geopolitical scenario, we increasingly crave meaning. Before even thinking about what new internal contributions and experiences you might want to apply for, get clear on your purpose. This Six C’s model can help you think through what you’re looking for, including what to look for in a new job if your corporate nomad visa is denied by your organization.

Once you have clarified your purpose and come up with a series of attractive generic options (in terms of experience, learning, and contribution), you should systematically source for organizational units, functions, and geographies that could benefit from your potential contribution. Equally important, you should search for (and check references on) specific individuals you may want to partner with in your nomadic experience. You should take this as seriously as an actual job search, for which this article and its downloadable decision support tool may be of help.

Once you have spotted an attractive opportunity with a significant chance for success, you should candidly and enthusiastically speak with your boss about the reasons why you would like to focus some of your time on your proposed initiative. In my experience, assuming your choice is a sensible one, most people will interpret your initiative as a very positive sign and strongly support it.

Productivity in knowledge workers has a dramatic spread, as does happiness, and those at the top of both curves are masters at resisting technological invasion: They always plan their week ahead while blocking out time for important tasks; they avoid digital distractions and invasion, and they feel fully comfortable saying no when they have an alternative burning yes.

It won’t be enough to successfully implement high-potential programs (already a major challenge). Organizations will need to avoid the trap of rigidly segmenting people into high and low potentials, and instead look deeper into each person’s unique potential profile, including their very personal combination of curiosity, insight, engagement, and determination.

A look beyond someone’s experience, knowledge, and even current competence will allow leaders to imagine a wide range of opportunities for personal development and corporate contribution.

There’s a global talent scarcity of millions of cybersecurity workers.

Organizations can forecast how far someone can develop along with key leadership competencies, so as to effectively provide people with the right opportunities so that everyone becomes more aware of their true individual potential profile while helping them look for ways to unlock that potential.

The best management consulting firms have always excelled at developing global talent.

The rise of the corporate nomad could provide individuals and corporations alike with an extraordinary chance to reap the benefits of job enrichment and change, without requiring individuals to jump into the wrong place with the wrong fit, and without creating a situation where organizations must replace great employees who should never have been lost in the first place.

The rise of the corporate nomad should not only make us more successful and happier. It should fundamentally make us better human beings, genuinely and proactively embracing inclusion at a global scale… one nomadic project at a time.

When we move, we don’t just learn about the place where we go. We also discover who we are and where we come from.