I have lived in five countries. In each one, I became a slightly different person. Every country had its own idea of what made a good professional, a trustworthy person, a strong leader or a successful relationship.

India: Relationships Come First

I grew up in Kerala, India, where relationships are rarely separate from professional life. Trust is built slowly over chai or a shared meal. You ask about someone's family, and conversations usually went far beyond the immediate business at hand. It can look inefficient from the outside but there is something powerful underneath it. People want to know who you are before they decide what they think of your work. In that environment, I learned that business is not always about the transaction. It is also about the relationship that makes the transaction possible. I was ambitious and wanted to prove myself. I wanted to work hard and move forward. But I also learned that success does not happen in isolation. People matter the most, and that lesson stayed with me even when I moved somewhere where the rules were very different.

The US: Clarity Carries Weight

In the United States, I encountered a much more direct professional culture. Hard work and results mattered more than what was given importance back in India. Communication was expected to be clear and efficient. There was less patience for conversations that did not seem to move something forward. What I had learned in India as relationship-building could sometimes feel like unnecessary small talk. So, I adapted, became more direct and more conscious of time. I learned to get to the point, communicate expectations clearly, and let the quality of my work speak for itself. It was uncomfortable at first. But it taught me that clarity is also a form of respect. Being direct does not necessarily mean being cold. Sometimes, it simply means valuing another person's time enough to communicate clearly, which became another part of me.

The UK: Learning to Read the Room

The UK culture had a different kind of reserve that I had not encountered before. There were social and professional hierarchies, but they were often subtle rather than openly stated. You could not always understand a room by listening only to what people said. You had to notice what they did not say. I learned to pay attention to the undercurrents, and it made me a better listener. More importantly, it taught me that communication is not just about words. Context, culture and timing matters. A good idea delivered at the wrong moment can be less effective than an average idea presented with awareness of the room.

The Middle East: Trust Before Transactions

In the Middle East, I experienced another shift. Business relationships required patience. You could not always rush straight into the deal. Trust came first, so the conversations may take more time. Relationships had to develop before business could move forward. Patience was not simply a nice quality to have. It was part of how relationships worked. Initially, I found the slower pace difficult. I was used to wanting things to happen quickly. But eventually, I understood the value of it because sometimes, people are simply building the confidence required to move forward. Trust cannot always be accelerated by better presentations, stronger proposals, or faster emails. The most productive thing you can do is spend time getting to know the person sitting across from you.

Australia: When Titles Matter Less

Australia gave me another perspective. The culture felt flatter and more direct. Titles carried less weight, and people could challenge ideas without necessarily challenging the person behind them. The best idea could come from anyone in the room. It felt liberating. It reminded me that leadership does not always mean having the loudest voice or the highest position. Sometimes, leadership means creating enough space for someone else to have the better idea. It also reinforced something I had slowly been learning across countries: Good teams do not need everyone to think the same way. They need people to feel comfortable contributing what they see.

The Outsider Perspective

When I returned to India after living through these different cultures, I genuinely did not know which version of me was real. I had learned to be direct in America, careful and observant in Britain, patient in the Middle East, flat and idea-focused in Australia, and relationship-driven in India. For a while, I thought I had a problem. But I eventually realised that adaptation had not erased who I was. It had expanded me as each country had given me a different lens to view the world. None of those lessons cancelled the others. They complemented each other. Today being a founder and leader of a healthtech company, I no longer think about those five versions of myself as separate identities. They are pieces of the same person, and I can use all of them.

So, take what you learned, keep what made you stronger, leave behind what no longer serves you and walk into the next room as yourself because the outsider perspective is not a disadvantage.

What has been your experience outside of India?