Developing your global leaders

Citation

(2003), "Developing your global leaders", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2003.26707aab.003

Developing your global leaders

Developing your global leaders

This is a review of "Global leader development: an emerging research agenda" which originally appeared in Career Development International, Vol. 7 No. 4, 2002. The author was Vesa Suutari.

Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Douglas Daft – these are all names you would associate with global leadership. But what qualities do they possess that sets them apart from other leaders? And how can you develop your managers to ensure your organization is equipped for success in this increasingly global world of business?

As industry becomes more and more global, organizations are under increasing pressure to move in the same direction – a fact that has been recognized by theorists and practitioners alike for some time. But being global is about more than just operating around the world in a geographic sense. You have to:

1. 1.

   integrate – act as a co-ordinated network;

2. 2.

   flow – have resources that flow through the business;

3. 3.

   leverage – in order to eradicate unnecessary duplication; and

4. 4.

   optimize – balance local responsiveness with global responsibility.

Shortage of global leaders

The need for global leaders has increased but unfortunately, the Bransons, Dafts and Welchs of this world appear to be few and far between. In a recent survey, 85 percent of the Fortune 500 organizations felt that they did not have enough global leaders amongst their ranks.

But what exactly is a global leader? Someone who works abroad? A manager who has traveled extensively in the name of business? And once you have determined the competencies necessary to manage on an international scale, how do you develop these skills?

Global leaders are not just expatriates (someone on a long-term international assignment). Even most country managers, despite their global-sounding titles, have mainly national responsibilities. Former CEO of ABB, Percy Barnevik, once commented that within his globally operating company, only 500 of the 15,000 managers had truly global duties. A global leader is someone who is capable of working across cultures and is competent in international business. Naturally, these are not always skills inherent in every leader and some form of development is necessary – in other words, management development becomes critical to success.

Global management development

In the past, most forms of management development focused too much on the individual as opposed to the organization. Add to this a lack of MD specialists and essentially inward looking HRD departments, and the picture is pretty bleak. However, with the changes in strategic function of HRD, management development has become an integral part of most organizations and the growing popularity of action learning means that leaders are supposedly developing with the organization instead of in isolation.

Yet despite these good intentions, the reality of MD is less encouraging. A survey carried out in 2001 found that only 19 percent of organizations questioned had succeed in achieving its MD objectives in full, 43 percent had experienced neutral success and a staggering 37 percent had not succeeded at all. So where is it all going wrong? A common complaint is that not only are organizations unsure of how to develop these skills, but they do not even know what to develop in the first place

Identify "global competencies"

Many global MD programs adopt a competency approach in order to identify the necessary characteristics for a global leader. The problem is that so many competency frameworks have been set out in this area that the majority of these skills are applicable to any position of leadership. As a result, such global MD programs end up just the same as any other scheme in everything but cost.

Therefore, it is necessary to determine the competencies specific to developing an effective global leader. These are:

• •

  possess a global mindset (depth of field);

• •

  work as an equal with persons from a diverse background;

• •

  manage skillfully the foreign deployment cycle;

• •

  lead and participate effectively in multicultural teams;

• •

  demonstrate knowledge and respect for other countries;

• •

  be culturally adventurous;

• •

  embrace duality between global integration and local responsiveness; and

• •

  possess global and business savvy.

Which method works best?

Once these competencies have been established, it is important to choose the right tools and techniques to develop these aptitudes. Unfortunately, identifying the right method can be even harder than pinpointing the competencies required. There are, however, several methods that are frequently suggested:

• •

  International assignments – some believe this is the most powerful strategy for cultivating global leaders. Often the foreign position is higher than the manager's previous domestic role, and this tends to increase the potential for learning. However, this method of MD involves intensive time requirements, family implications, and is high in costs.

• •

  Short-term development assignments – this is often suggested in an attempt to overcome the challenges associated with longer-term assignments. The primary purpose of such an exercise is to develop cross-cultural sensitivity and an appreciation of diversity. However, this method is also high in costs.

• •

  International teams – get this method right and you will have effective networks that can link technical, marketing, manufacturing and HR experts worldwide, saving you billions. However, communication difficulties and interpersonal conflicts are always a danger, and funding these teams can prove difficult.

• •

  International training and development programs – these programs are ideal in that it encourages the leader to focus upon your organization but because it is so specific, tailoring is often required and once again, that has big cost implications.

• •

  Action learning groups/projects/task forces – similar to the training and development programs, this method focuses on your organization and forces leaders to think about the business beyond their immediate role in order to generate direct results. These projects are less costly because of their relatively immediate impact upon the business, but they need to be coached and closely monitored by a member of senior management so commitment from this level is a must.

• •

  International meetings and forums/international travel – these both help establish networks and familiarize leaders with the global landscape but the extent to which these methods are effective has not been empirically tested.

In fact, the key to developing leaders, according to many organizations is to experiment with all of these methods. There is no set formula to developing a global leader and, as with any type of management development, individuals have different needs and requirements. Recently we have seen a trend towards action-based learning but the general consensus is that it should not be a case of "sink-or-swim" when it comes to executive development.

Does globalization equal Americanization?

It is also worth bearing in mind that so far, we have only looked at global leadership from a very Americanized perspective. Admittedly, these days globalization tends to equal Americanization but this may not always be the case (do not forget how dominant the Japanese quality movement was in the nineties and the effect it had upon management styles). In addition, the definition and perception of leaders differs across countries. In fact, recent evidence shows that US expatriate managers exhibit a very similar style of leadership to those managing back in the USA, whereas European leaders appear to adjust their style extensively to fit local requirements.

Although we are still a long way from knowing how to develop the ultimate global leader, we are increasingly aware that this is the only way to ensure worldwide success. As industries stretch further and further afield, we may reach a time in the future when global competencies, like the ability to communicate or adapt to change, are a basic requisite for any leadership position.