Global Leadership How Some Leaders Achieve Superior Outcomes in Multinational Settings

Global Perspectives on Leadership

Although the process of globalization began in antiquity, it has greatly accelerated in recent years to the point where the marketplace is increasingly globalized and economic downturns in one country can have profoundly severe rippling effects around the world. Moreover, innovations in transportation and communications have created an environment in which products and services must appeal to a far larger audience than in the past, but many organizations are failing to respond to these changes in timely and appropriate ways. Against this backdrop, it is clear that more effective global leadership is needed by the private and public sectors. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature to define and thoroughly explain global leadership and an analysis concerning the importance of competencies in the context of global leader. In addition, the paper also provides a definition and critique of the role of a global mindset in relation to the global competency inventory. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the global leadership issues are presented in the conclusion.

Define and thoroughly explain global leadership

Strictly applied, the term “global leadership” suggests that someone has been tasked with leading an entire globe, but this eventuality has not yet been inflicted on humankind in the modern era. Although there is no universally agreed upon definition, Tardiff (2017) provides several examples that were drawn from the scholarly literature to define global leadership today. Some of the most relevant definitions of global leadership provided by Tardiff (2017) include the following:

· A process of influencing the thinking, attitudes and behaviors of a global community to work together synergistically toward a common vision and common goals;

· An emerging group of professionals that are adept at operating in international and multicultural contexts;

· A global leader is an individual who inspires a group of people to willingly pursue a positive vision in an effectively organized fashion while fostering individual and collective growth in a context characterized by significant levels of complexity, flow, and presence.

· The leadership of individuals who influence and bring about significant positive changes in firms, organizations, and communities by facilitating the appropriate level of trust, organizational structures and processes, and involving multiple stakeholders, resources, cultures under the various conditions of temporal, geographical and cultural complexity; and,

· The bridging of people between organizations yet across established demarcations, boundaries, and borders through the reciprocal benefit of culture, resources pooling, and intellectual property.

Taken together, the foregoing definitions provide a useful framework in which to better understand the main characteristics of modern global leadership in a rapidly changing world. For example, according to Javidan, Bullough and Dibble (2018), “Gaining such an understanding is critical because not all individuals are equally strong in all global mindset characteristics. Individual leaders rarely encompass all the qualities required for effective leadership in a global context” (p. 59). While it is reasonable to suggest that the increasingly globalized marketplace at present will experience some significant changes over the next several decades, these definitions of global leadership will likely remain relevant and appropriate.

Having established what global leadership is, it is also important to determine what effective global leaders actually do that sets them apart from their less qualified counterparts. A study by Caligiuri (2006, p. 220) determined that there are 10 main tasks that are routinely performed by global leaders as follows:

1. Global leaders work with colleagues from other countries;

2. Global leaders interact with external clients from other countries;

3. Global leaders interact with internal clients from other countries;

4. Global leaders may need to speak in a language other than their mother tongue at work;

5. Global leaders supervise employees who are of different nationalities;

6. Global leaders develop a strategic business plan on a worldwide basis for their unit;

7. Global leaders manage a budget on a worldwide basis for their unit;

8. Global leaders negotiate in other countries or with people from other countries;

9. Global leaders manage foreign suppliers or vendors; and,

10. Global leaders manage risk on a worldwide basis for their unit.

The key similarity among the above-listed tasks is the fact that global leaders routinely deal with people from other countries, and in some cases, they should also be able to speak the language or languages that are spoken in these other countries. While English has assumed a near lingua franca status in international commerce (as well as being the universal language of international aviation), the most effective global leaders are increasingly regarded as those who are able to speak two or more languages. Because all leaders and their situations are unique in some fashion, global leaders may or may not perform all or even most of the above-listed tasks but in order for them to be effective at those they do perform, they need a set of core competencies that exemplify effective global leaders and these issues are discussed further below.

Analysis of the importance of competencies in the context of global leaders

Given the vastness of a global context and the fact that few if any leaders possess all of the multiple competencies that are needed for universal effectiveness, it is therefore essential to identify those core global leadership competencies that have been identified as being most important. In response to this need and the corresponding increase in international commerce in recent years, there has been a growing body of scholarship that has been focused on this identification. Although methodologies vary, one of the most common approaches to identifying the most important competencies for global leaders has been to study them as well as gaining first-hand empirical observations through in-depth interviews (Jordans, Ng\\\\\\\'weno & Spencer-Oatey. 2020).

The research in this area to date has identified more than 150 different competencies that are associated with effective global leadership (some authorities maintain that there are even more), but this large number is unwieldy for analysis at the individual level. Therefore, Jordans and her associates (2020) analyzed the research to date concerning what core competencies are regarded as most important and grouped the main competencies of effective global leaders into three main categories as set forth in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Core competencies of effective global leaders

Managing self

Managing people and relationships

Business and organizational acumen

Inquisitiveness

Valuing people

Vision and strategic thinking

Global mindset

Cross-cultural communications

Leading change

Flexibility

Interpersonal skills

Business savvy

Character

Teaming skills

Organizational savvy

Resilience

Empowering others

Managing communities

It is noteworthy that virtually all of the above-listed core competencies are also characteristic of local, regional or national leaders; in fact, even a “global mindset” and “cross-cultural communications” are critically important for companies of all sizes and types to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage in demographically diverse societies. The list set forth in Table 1 above, though, does underscore the wide range of core competencies that are generally viewed as being necessary for exemplary global leaders.

It is also important to note that one set of competencies that is effective in one situation may not be as effective in others, but there are some general traits and competencies that can be used to evaluate the potential for leaders to excel in a global environment. For instance, the results of a recent study by Knoll and Sternad (2021) identified a number of additional traits and competencies that were predictive of global leadership potential. In this regard, Knoll and Sternard (2021) report that, “Several traits (integrity and resilience), attitudes (learning orientation, motivation to lead, change orientation, drive for results, customer orientation and a global mindset) and competencies (cognitive complexity and intercultural, interpersonal, leadership, learning, change and business competencies) are associated with global leadership potential” (p. 254).

Finally, a frequently overlooked core competency of effective global leaders is a good sense of humor. Of course, international commerce is “serious business,” but there is still a place for humor in order to facilitate optimal organizational outcomes when and where appropriate. For instance, according to Barrett (2014), “Although the importance of maintaining a professional environment with an organization is still relevant, many contemporary organizations have scaled back on the strictness of the work environment in an attempt to increase employee productivity. One highly advantageous method is the incorporation of humor within the workplace” (para. 10). This guidance does not mean, however, that global leaders must crack wise or play practical jokes on others on a nonstop basis, but it does mean that maintaining a sense of perspective about things -- even when they go wrong -- is an important quality for any business leader.

The findings that emerged from an analysis of the modern workplace by Burt and Anderson (2019) included the need for business leaders to have a sense of humor. In this regard, Burt and Anderson (2019) emphasize that, “Today we stand at the precipice of a new era. Future-shaping business leaders around the globe are rediscovering the power of humor as a vital driver of organizational success” (para. 2). Besides improving employee morale, global leaders stand to gain a great deal by using humor in their workplace, including achieving a number of different positive organizational outcomes such as the following:

· Humor can foster a sense of corporate community:

· Humor can help employees maintain a sense of composure;

· Humor can boost message retention among employees, enabling positive emotions and reinforce core company values; and,

· Humor can inspire creativity throughout the organization (Burt & Anderson, 2019, para. 7).

Keeping a sense of humor when things are running smoothly is one thing, of course, but it becomes especially important when nothing seems to be working as it is supposed to. Fortunately for aspiring global leaders, a sense of humor, like some other leadership competencies, can actually be learned with training and experience (Yang, Horak & Chi, 2020). In addition, although humor is more easily and effectively used in organizations where the relationships with far-flung geographic business units are more mature, organizations stand to gain significantly by providing prospective global leaders with training concerning issues that are essential for effective cross-cultural communications early on in these relationships (Yang et al., 2020).

Finally, despite the significant cross-cultural constraints that are otherwise involved, some authorities maintain that humor is a truly universal language that transcends geographic borders. In this regard, Sager (2019) reports that, “Despite cultural specifics in how followers appreciate leaders’ humor, effective leaders globally may employ humor as a powerful means to harness emotional and diplomatic effects that enable the formation of positive leader-follower exchanges” (para. 3). In sum, global leaders who employ humor as part of their day-to-day routine tend to promote a sense of mutual trust that reinforces positivity throughout the organization (Sager, 2019). The foregoing lists and descriptions of the core competencies of effective global leaders are not exhaustive, but they do highlight some of the attributes that are regarded as most important. One of the core competencies identified above that has special relevance for effective global leadership is a global mindset and this issue is discussed further below.