About Us & Our Approach

With Positive Expatriation we are entering a new aera of expatriation support and management.

Positive Expatriation was created for expatriates of any management level, for spouses, for their kids and for international organizations that want to do it better than their competitors. We have designed and proven an approach that goes far beyond administrative and intercultural aspects.

We are addressing and training the aspects that really matter and that influence working and living abroad in a way that it is going to be a fulfilling, meaningful and less stressful time.

Positive Expatriation is not about positive thinking, it is rather the power of accurate and integral thinking which can be learnt. In the center of Positive Expatriation are the concepts of Resilience, Mindset and Wellbeing which are main drivers for expatriation success.

Resilience

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The more resilient an expat and his family members are, the happier and more successful they will experience their stay abroad. Every expatriation is a journey which includes bumpy parts. The question is how well the expat react to those unexpected situations, challenges and sometimes even conflicts. Do they face them, do they scare them? Positive Expatriation supports and trains expatriates and their family members to increase their resilience skills in order to handle surprises and setbacks that come along with every stay abroad. They will learn to navigate those challenges in a way that helps them to thrive! Positive Expatriation is a proof that resilience can be mastered, and it is not a fixed ability we were born with.

Everyone needs resilience because one thing is certain; life includes adversities.
– Karen Reivich

Mindset

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The power of your mindset was discovered first by Carol S. Dweck. Positive Expatriation is applying this groundbreaking idea to the success of an expatriation. Expatriates and their family members learn how the success of their living and working abroad can be influenced by how they think about their talents and abilities. Expats with a fixed mindset – those who think that abilities are fixed – are less likely to thrive abroad than those with a growth mindset – those who believe that abilities can be developed.
Our trainings provide all you need to support the development of a growth mindset before / during and after your stay in a host country. Our work shows that expatriates with a growth mindset are more successful, more fulfilled, happier, and more self-secure.

People in a growth mindset don’t just seek challenges, they thrive on it.
– Carol Dweck

Wellbeing

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How we feel before, during and after our stay abroad is strongly impacting how successful we are as expats! Positive Expatriation explains and teaches how to invest best in your own and your expatriate’s wellbeing as this leads to better (intercultural) engagement, higher performance and lower rates of expatriation burnout and turnover. We are using Seligman’s PERMA™ theory of well-being to develop strategies for individual wellbeing abroad. In detail, we are focusing on the following five aspects that are – according to Positive Psychology research – the pillars of individual wellbeing.

• The power of positive emotions and how we can make sure experiencing them
• How to find ways to engage in the new environment
• How to build trustful and positive relationships abroad and how to maintain them
• How to find meaning in the expatriation (this is especially also relevant for expat partners and families)
• How to set goals and to experience their accomplishments

Wellbeing cannot exist just in your own head. Wellbeing is a combination of feeling good as well as actually having meaning, good relationships and accomplishment.
– Martin Seligman

International Human Resource Management has been my home since 1997. Whether in academia, at private corporations, and even today as an entrepreneur, I combine advanced and novel HRM practices with high-quality research and theory. I advocate for a positive change in the world of International Human Resource Management, especially related to expatriations.

My professional expertise in IHRM was especially stretched when I joined my husband with my two daughters on his expat journey to the USA in 2017. I learned that no amount of theoretical or intercultural experience can fully prepare you for a life abroad.
Since this magic moment, I have been obsessed with the idea of finding new and innovative ways to support expatriates and organizations in finding success and meaning, leading to international business success.

Having had the opportunity to study at Martin Seligman’s (founder of the Positive Psychology) faculty at the University of Pennsylvania was one of my most enjoyable and life-changing learning experiences. Not only were the fundaments for our business created, but I finally learnt that wellbeing is key for any context. Whether within an organization, school, or family, wellbeing determines engagement, satisfaction and performance.

My love of learning comes alongside a love of sharing knowledge / our research. This can be in the form of an article, book, a keynote, as a college lecturer or simply in our impactful trainings.

Working with Judith always means creating something special! With her breadth of knowledge, keen intuition, global perspective and never-ending energy, she manages to achieve positive results for any situation.  Her work is successful and pure joy for anyone who is involved!

I enjoyed being a full-time professor of Human Resource Management at EUFH Bruehl and until today I like to be in close contact with the next HR generation to empower and equip them to become strategic and positive HR leaders. I equally enjoyed being a HR leader for global HR projects at TNS Infratest and to create with a wonderful team sophisticated HR solutions that aimed to offer answers for current challenges.

My profound knowledge in International Human Resource Management / Business Administration / Sociology and Psychology was built during my studies at different international universities (Trier University (Germany), Universite Jean-Jaures Toulouse (France), Universite Paul Valery Montpellier (France)). I later earned a doctorate / PhD from ESCP Europe Berlin and Paris (cotutelle de these).

It’s probably not surprising that my favorite activity is to travel and to explore our beautiful planet (with my family). I am curious to get to know people who live other lives, to learn from them, and so to learn about myself. Daily, I try to be as active as possible as I have learnt that sports have a huge impact on my wellbeing: I play tennis and do Pilates and enjoy long walks with my Australian Labradoodle along the Thames.

Since more than 25 years Human Resource Management is meaning the world to me. Starting in academics, then working in business and now as part of Positive Expatriation.

From the very first second of my experience in Human Resource Management, I have been driven by the question of how companies can exploit the full potential of their employees.

My credo is: Individual well-being, resilience and mindset are the path to true performance, i.e. extraordinary personal and company success that also feels good. Now I found the missing piece in my puzzle and know what it needs to make international assignments more successful while at the same time make them a better place.

I can relate very well to expatriates, but also to companies. I lived myself in the USA and worked in a multinational corporation. I am used to deatling with different cultures. And I know very well the reality of expatriates’ lives and of international HR departments due to my doctoral theses on managing international assignments in the Robert Bosch GmbH and my professional experience in different and distinct senior HR Management positions since 2008.

During this time, I have developed and demonstrated my expertise in almost all HR sub-areas such as HR strategy & Governance, Compensation & Benefits, Global Learning & Management Development, Global Projects & Employee Egagement, HR Transformation & Performance Management, etc.

My excellence and extraordinary performance and achievement have been honored several times as evidenced by my University and doctoral degree with distinction.

Bernadette is amazing in turning challenges into success stories. Because of her sound international working experience and her empathy, she can relate very well to individual and company needs. She knows how to bring both sides together and create value for everyone.

I am very knowledgeable in designing and delivering impactful and tailored trainings as well as developing people, because of my time responsible for Global Learning & Trainings and my experience when teaching and speaking at different universities and conferences plus my completed business coach training and coaching experience.

With my sound experience in researching, teaching, writing, leading in the field of (international) human resource management, as well as a very personal, life-changing experience, I finally found my life mission: Making the world of international assignments a better and more successful place for organizations as well as individuals.

On my journey, I have experienced for myself that it is the difficult times that make us grow, and I have felt the power of Positive Psychology myself.

For my work life balance, I explore together with my son the world from new perspectives, go for long walk along the rhine, play the piano and I lose myself in collecting recipes even I do not like cooking.

As I am currently unable to be personally and actively available for Positive Expatriation, please contact Dr. Judith Eidems directly, who is available to you full-time and without restrictions.