Global Leadership

Global Leadership

What it is, and

why it is so critical as we move forward with globalization worldwide!

Global

Leadership is a vast topic and can mean many things to different people. To

define Global Leadership through the lens of economic and business research and

context, we can see that global leaders must possess some characteristics in

the areas of psychological, physiological, geographical, geopolitical,

anthropological, and sociological effects of globalization. Simply put global

leadership occurs when individuals collaborate efforts of different

stakeholders with a global mindset.

Long

gone are the days when companies/organizations would send their top talent to a

country where they would try to bring that company's culture to that country.

While it worked some of the time, the truth has been that a terrible

implementation at cultivating global understanding and culture. While

successful at transplanting company culture to that country, they fail to bring

the country’s culture to the company which is not a good thing when your goal

is to target consumers across the world. Companies need to be reflective about

whom they serve especially and if they want to be part of the emerging market

in developing market in more of the global context. National type of leaders

and transplant leaders are both successful but if a company is trying to

penetrate the market in that country, they must rely on leaders who are part of

that country, so they bring that wealth of network to the company.

Organizations need to look for talent that possesses a global mindset and can

interpret and decode complex situations. Organizations need to see if the

leaders have an insatiable interest to learn about other cultures.

Understanding other’s people perceptions and suspending their judgment is a key to working with a multi-cultural workforce. When operating overseas especially a company is transitioning into a truly global market looking for significant growth, it is extremely important that organizations have a great understanding of local culture and market needs. An organization that used to be a centralized decision-making company meaning that only a few senior executives made decisions that impacted the whole company will have to change this notion because to meet these markets, they will have to develop many leaders that can work anywhere in the world.

There

are multiple approaches that have been studied to work. An organization needs

to diversify its leadership to reflect the diversity of its customer base. They

must allow and empower them to lead and find ways to be aligned with their

mission as well not just the company. Organizations should not only focus on

selecting a few good leaders but rather develop hundreds and even thousands of

leaders to be comfortable operating in a variety of cultural environments. If

organizations aren’t developing global leaders with cultural sensitivities and

collaborative skills that require greater focus and emotional intelligence,

then they are really missing key skills in their workforce. More than any

option, an organization must make their human capital investment a priority but

identify their global leaders as the key factor for global business. The world

is fast evolving and increasing to be more interconnected. Societies are now

becoming more intertwined as products and services are now exchanged daily

across continents. Organizations must learn to quickly adapt so they can

survive or perish. Essentially

what worked yesterday, may not work today and this phenomenon is attributed to

globalization.

The Globalization

Impact!

To

understand the role of a global leader it’s important to understand

Globalization. However, Globalization is such an elusive term. It really has

not been in the literature that has been researched to a great extent but there

are accepted definitions like Karadagli’s (2012), who defines it as

Globalization is the integration of trade, finance, social-cultural, and

technological processes that connect people across continents. Others believe

that globalization is the exchange of political, cultural, and economic ideas

that occur between international organizations. But we can all agree that

Globalization has brought unparalleled benefits to us, to our communities, and

overall nation. In addition, there seems to be a common thread that is

connecting every definition in the literature and that is that globalization is

fundamentally an economic and political blend, social-cultural assimilation,

and very much a technological adaption. And when you put all these together, it

forms a system that unites the word together to make essentially a better place

for all of us to live in. While all these definitions and commonalities exist,

the consensus comes that Globalization has a great impact on global leadership.

As a result of this rapid growth and thanks to technology, globalization is

poised to continue to expand and along with it the increased challenges which

come from interacting with different cultures. When the political, social, and

economic landscape is impacted by globalization, it will take special people

who believe in understanding globalization to stand up and be global leaders.

While there are advantages and disadvantages to globalization, the fact remains

that global leaders need to develop a global mindset to effectively 3 lead

their organizations. With research being done by known economists and business leaders,

it is no surprise to hear that “out of 900 multinational organizations

surveyed, 52% were planning to expand their operations within the next few

years, but only 16% reported having enough globally ready leaders to fill their

critical roles” (Sailcru, Wassenaar, Suerz and Spittle, 2016). Companies must

invest in these global-ready leaders to meet these demands. When operating in

this entire new global business with rapid global economic integration, fast

growth, and digital technologies, organizations need to invest in human

capital.

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What does the Daoist Model tell us about leaders?

In the Daoist Model, leaders encourage participative collaboration. They are altruistic, modest, adaptable, flexible, clear, transparent soft but never strong, they are leaders with the must-have skills. These skills are:

·?????Inquisitiveness- global leaders who are inquisitive are open to new experiences. With this skill, they can suspend criticism/opinions that might hinder relationships/partnerships. They are curious and become familiar with cultural life in other countries. Choosing local food over the internationalized cuisines at 5-star hotels. They appreciate the culture and want to be exposed to that culture rather than get stuck in an American bubble. It’s important to note that an international assignment doesn’t make you global, it’s the leaders who choose to embrace that culture that get to have this skill.

·?????Dealing with multiple perspectives and ambiguity- As a global leader, one must know how to manage multiple viewpoints and perspectives from different countries, they understand the need to be flexible and responsive to true differences. Having the ability to learn from their mistake is what sets them apart. They can easily balance short- and long-term objectives and goals. They are prepared to deal with this 24/7 since this is more prevalent in global roles.

·?????Frameshifting- For a global leader to have this skill is a must. This allows them to shift leadership style depending on the country or culture almost immediately. Understanding the country’s culture will be imperative especially since countries like Korea are open and have expectations that the management must provide all the answers. They can change based on the country’s expectations of a leader. They understand the role and will go above and beyond to match that.

·?????Adapt and Add Value- These global leaders can balance when to teach and when to learn. Leaders who know when adapting do it in moderation, so they don’t lose themselves in that local environment unable to accomplish their objectives or goals. They also don’t eagerly show off and try to teach or add value that people in that country may find obnoxious and be labeled as someone who knows everything and that their way is the only way.

·?????Multiple Business Models- They understand that business models are different from the ones in the US and certainly country to country. In. In this situation, a global leader is already familiar with the requirements in each country for customized whether that is in marketing, branding, products\services, and selling techniques. They can separate operations management and efficiency and business processes from the American companies to other countries. This is extremely important to note because it involves the whole company and not knowing the difference between business models could result in execution failure.

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Who are the Global Leaders?

Because of globalization, the global supply chain readily connects the suppliers of raw materials and components to manufacturers who produce the products we purchase every day. In fact, most of the products and services we consume every day from the food we eat to the clothing we wear originate from other regions of the world. And because of Globalization, there is a significant interaction between cultures across the globe. Companies and organizations are now more open to recruiting candidates that come from different views and cultures which helps these organizations succussed in a global environment. Exposed culture has shaped how we view the world. With the access of the internet at our fingertips, we can see how easy it is to conduct business from anywhere and anytime. With 40 percent of people having access to the internet, it’s bringing us one step closer to a global environment. It really has changed the outcomes of our personal and professional lives. As we move forward in a globalized economy and with 50 percent of revenues in U.S. multinationals coming from overseas, it becomes critical to have leaders who understand the strategic markets of the future. And if organizations and financial systems are going to be part of globalization, they need to keep up with the voracious hunger created by the global environment and trade. Here is the type of leaders who will change the future. They are the type of leaders that have distinctive mindsets, capabilities, and cultural awareness. They will deal with greater complexities like the number and type of issues across a range of dimensions, interdependence amongst a host of stakeholders. While many leaders engage in similar activities, it is the scale, complexity, and context of global leader activities that set them apart from their domestic counterparts. They will seven have global competencies required for effective leadership including strategic perspective, customer focus and understanding, and ability to spot trends and connect the dots. A strategic perspective is nothing, but executives should have a clearer view of the future of the company, have deep industry and cultural knowledge. Customer focus is understanding customers’ needs, concerns, and problems, global leaders should be able to “see around the corner” meaning the ability to identify issues that others pass by or ignore. Tomorrow’s successful companies will be those that are already grooming their team members to be global leaders.

As

Angel Cabrera puts it, president of Thunderbird School of Global Management and

President of George Mason University “Truly global leaders act as bridge

builders, connectors of resources and talent across cultural and political

boundaries.… The global mindset allows leaders to connect with individuals and

organizations across boundaries.” (Cabrera (2012).

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