Creating Reciprocity between Global Scale and Local Connectedness

In the dynamic landscape of global business, my recent shift from managing director of North America to Global CEO has given me a unique perspective within the art of forging deeper connections with customers and stakeholders. And while my experience is still very new, I can share early learnings on the foundational strategies global organizations can take to create more mutually beneficial value exchange between global knowledge and scale with the nuance necessary to be relevant and successful at the local and regional level.

For leaders striving to find the right balance between global strategy and local and regional execution, this article offers five actionable steps to achieve resonance with your stakeholders.

Building the solid foundation – vision-setting

Before beginning the journey of forging stronger organizational networks and connections, it’s a good idea to take a step back to establish your ‘why’. Crafting a vision and aligned narrative that transcends both broad and market perspectives is central in setting the tone for what CX and EX should look like, while paving the way for success metrics and accountability structures to generate collaboration, consistency, and an organizational rallying cry.

Immersing your audience (inside and outside) in diverse and nuanced perspectives

As many know, the best way to understanding a different perspective is listening, observing, and asking questions so that no assumptions are being made. Connecting with local or regional stakeholders requires an understanding of their unique needs and expectations. This means not only listening to regional markets, but also leveraging their expertise in shaping strategies – this provides a better probability of interconnected strategies and buy in – both key elements for a mutually reinforcing organizational system.

By immersing in the various business contexts where your organization operates, leaders can lean into local experts and gain valuable insight in the process.

Defining the brand promise

In a world where consumers increasingly seek authenticity and exceptional experiences with brands a clear and compelling brand promise becomes the compass for global organizations. This guiding light helps teams align behaviors across diverse geographies and resonate with stakeholders on a personal level as key values are articulated.

One way to ensure your brand promise feels relevant across the globe is to lean into diverse groups within the company when creating your promise. In doing so, your brand promise will serve as the foundation for a consistently positive customer experience, while respecting regional nuances that may exist.

While the tactics leveraged in various markets could differ – based on the insight you learn by immersing in your different audiences – a core brand promise should be the unifying thread, tying your global organization together and setting expectations for a consistent experience for all who come in contact with the brand.

Five tips to drive adoption & action:

Now that we have established the foundation, let’s explore the next steps leaders can take to drive adoption and change.

1. Employ Listening Strategies for Customers and Employees: Just as we established listening and understanding as foundational work, we must recognize the need for continuous listening and learning feedback loops. Employee pulse surveys measuring pride in the company, satisfaction in their role, etc. are great ways to gain continuous insight. Equally as important is building mechanisms for customer feedback, ensuring the external expression of the vision and brand promise is truly taking hold.
2. Empower Regional & Local Leadership: While a core ethos should provide a consistent framework, global leaders will do well to empower regional teams to tailor their approach to meet local demands. By entrusting regions, they can adapt and make decisions that are in the best interest of their specific market, in addition to instilling reciprocal trust with global leadership. For this to work effectively, local teams must have clear role clarity, expectations, and success metrics to work towards, in addition to avenues for two-way dialogue, collaboration and strategy adaptation.
3. Foster Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Unification: Never underestimate the power of knowledge-sharing. By encouraging collaboration between global and regional teams, breakthroughs can happen organically, collective insights can be leveraged, and learning and development can happen among the teams. As a starting point, provide space for employees to be curious and get to know one another as humans, so they can better understand and respect the nuances of the regions they work in.
4. Celebrate Diversity: Promote diversity and inclusion within the organization to reflect the global customer base and stakeholder community – and make it authentic. Elevate and encourage people across the organization to share their own stories and allow celebration to happen organically and not through top-down communication.
5. Balance Consistency with Flexibility: Continuously assess the effectiveness of your strategies and take time to reflect on progress being made. Flexibility and agility are key when conditions change, but it’s important to give strategies enough time – 3-months to a year in some cases– to truly show results (or lack thereof). Knowing when to pivot and when to stay the course is a skill global leaders should strive for. Be sure to communicate and celebrate the synergistic effects of regional strategies that are accelerating the global plan and vice versa.

Forging growth through a unified promise

As a leader navigating the transition from regional management to global stewardship, I'm appreciating the need for immersing in diverse perspectives, establishing a vision, and building a brand promise as key ingredients to forming deeper connections with customers, employees, and other key stakeholders.

Unifying a global organization while maintaining regional intimacy is a complex beast – but as our world gets even more diverse, the need for this work will become increasingly necessary. Let these actionable steps assist you to better resonate with your key stakeholders, ultimately achieving greater success and impact in the marketplace. In a world where borders are increasingly porous, it’s this mutual reinforcement that will set the leaders apart in building meaningful connections with employees and customers worldwide.