In any culture, wearing the appropriate clothes is a strong sign of showing up as a professional. It signals that you understand your role, your competence and what is expected about you. But nowhere is it as true as in Japan.
A journey through Japan that begins with an unexpected encounter and ends somewhere I never expected: a different way of understanding leadership, people and myself. Because sometimes the longest journeys are the ones that quietly change how we see the world.
Most leaders think working abroad is about learning a new culture.
In my experience, the deeper challenge is something else entirely.
Living abroad quietly shakes the assumptions that made you feel competent in the first place.
Sometimes, it even cracks your professional identity.
