Global Leadership and Diversity

Journal of Intercultural Management, 2017

Global leadership is a buzz word in today’s business world. It is not clearly defined however who global leaders are: Do they work abroad or with people from different nationalities? Are they themselves living abroad or having a cross-cultural background? Are they leading virtual or non-virtual teams? Do global leaders exist or is not every leader a global leader in today’s world? The following article gives a definition of global leadership and compares it with other leadership profiles: local, expat and glocal leadership. Another challenge about global leadership are the expectations towards this group of people: their expertise, skills and personality. Global leaders seem to be the answer to many questions of our globalised world. This paper describes the challenges global leaders encounter and the competencies they are supposed to dispose of. Interviews with global leaders and their teams show the way they deal with those challenges in practice. Finally, the results of the inter...

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2012

Management Education for Global Leadership, 2000

Multicultural orientation is an important focus area in developing managers for international assignments. This chapter extends the frontier of knowledge on the benefits of developing multicultural orientations in line with business and stakeholders' needs in the global economy. A brief literature review was conducted on multicultural orientations and global leadership effectiveness in the 21st century. It was found that multicultural learning experiences and communication skills, deep self-awareness, multiple intelligences and sensitivity to cultural diversity, humility, cautious honesty, global strategic thinking and good negotiating skills are necessary in the 21st century. The managerial relevance of this chapter centres on further research and development of global psychological capital, vertical development of bigger minds and multiple intelligences to navigate in the midst of volatilities, uncertainties, complexities and ambiguities in the 21st century.

The main purpose of this paper is to answer the question: how can we develop an effective global leadership? It is based on a research conducted using a qualitative method involving in-depth interviews of selected participants who have the experiences in the field of leadership in a selected university. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim, coded and analyzed. Going to the future Malaysia will intensify its efforts to become a developed nation by 2020. Transforming the nation from middle to higher income will require leaders who are robust enough to face diverse and complex environment. With rapid globalization, there is recognition for more global leadership development. Global leadership is defined as a leader who operates on a global stage with a open mindset in a complex and diverse environment. Currently, there was a shortage of global leaders. Organizations accept this situation and need to improve in developing global leaders. As organizations’ operations expand across the world, the demand for global leaders is increasing. However, many organizations are struggling with a critical shortage of effective global leaders. They need the right opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills, abilities and other personality characteristics (KSAOs) to perform effectively as leaders on the global stage. There were various approaches in developing competencies for global leaders. Much emphasis was given to experience-based and action learning such as international assignments, working with multicultural teams and first hand global leadership experience. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for developing effective global leadership.

2017

The International Leadership Association (ILA) series, Building Leadership Bridges, brings together leadership coaches and consultants, educators and students, scholars and researchers, and public leaders and executives working around the globe to create unique topical volumes on contemporary leadership issues. This cross-sector, cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary series contributes to more integrated leadership thinking, practices, and solutions that can positively impact our complex local and global environments. The world needs better leadership and ILA's mission of promoting a deeper understanding of leadership knowledge and practice for the greater good aims to make a difference. Learn more at www.ila-net.org.

2014

The focus of this research is to understand the impact of diversity on global leadership performance. Design/methodology/approach: From the literature review the researcher developed the components of the LEAD³ tool as well as, devised the questions for the in-depth semi-structured interviews that would test the tool. The questions centred on the three constructs of leadership, diversity and organisational factors and interviews were conducted between 2009 and 2010. The sample consisted of 79 senior leaders from seven companies across seven differing sectors and covered 22 different countries across 5 continents. A case study research strategy using a hybrid of open coding, thematic analysis and content analysis was employed. Findings: A series of themes were found under the three constructs: For Global leadershipcompetencies, connecting, rigour, stakeholder satisfaction, value based professional, influences. For Diversityinclusivity, performance measures, role modelling, positioning diversity and innovation. For Organisational factorsorganisational way of being, facilitating diversity, behavioural practices, ways of working, issues of concern and driving diversity. Issues emerging from the comparative analysis consist of cultural dimensions, engagement and learning. Research Limitations: Issues on reliability and validation, translation in measurement, environmental inconsistency, interviewer/interviewee bias, and ecological fallacy often levied at qualitative research. Research Contribution and Value: The findings tested against the tool, confirm the robustness and relevancy of the LEAD³ as an operational tool that will enable leaders to focus and integrate their diversity efforts. LEAD³ is encapsulated within an integrated change management framework and proposes a multi-level and multi-dimensional approach to global leadership and diversity that also includes performance drivers, stakeholder groupings, performance outcomes and organisational activities (change interventions).

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2010

This paper explores the conceptualization of global leadership and identification of global leadership competencies. It attempts to answer what are the competencies for global leadership? Researchers indicated that global leaders require a unique set of global leadership competencies to effectively fulfil their roles. They further identified seven competencies for global leaders that include: (1) culture awareness and sensitivity, (2) global mindset or perspectives, (3) learning from experiences, (4) developing and maintaining relationships, (5) communication, (6) traits or attitudes, and (7) knowledge and skills. They also have discussed on the importance to describe and identify global leadership competencies. Many organizations do not even have a set of global leadership competencies. Most have only competencies related to domestic leaders. But with rapid globalization, there is recognition for the need of more global leaders. This research examined global leadership competencies. The study employed the qualitative methodology through the in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted with past and present top leaders of a local research university. The data from the interviews were then transcribed verbatim, coded, analysed, interpreted and discussed accordingly. The findings in this research related to global leadership competencies includes attributes, skills and knowledge. Based on the findings recommendations will be made for improving global leadership competencies.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2012

Global leaders operate in a context of multicultural, paradoxical complexity in the world—a context that most leaders find themselves facing today. We argue that 4 developmental shifts are required to be effective in this context: developing multicultural effectiveness, becoming adept at managing paradoxes, cultivating the “being” dimension of human experience, and appreciating individual uniqueness in the context of cultural differences. Challenges for industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology are identified in each area. The article concludes by inviting I–O psychologists to integrate competing frameworks, explore related disciplines, revamp leadership competency models, create new tools and frameworks for developing global leaders, and step up to become global leaders ourselves.