Feb 01

Fortune Favours the Brave, but Global Leaders Need to Prepare

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

As international companies face steadily increasing challenges from players in emerging economies, how can they ensure that they remain competitive? “Looking beyond the obvious: Globalization and new opportunities for growth”, a report from key business experts at Ernst and Young (EY), provides insights and recommendations on this topic.

In short, globalisation is changing; companies must understand the consequences and adapt to operate successfully in a world market, and global leaders who thrive at creating and leading culturally diverse teams will find greater long-term success by adapting their global mind-set accordingly.

Business People walking urbancow i Copy Copy Fortune Favours the Brave, but Global Leaders Need to Prepare

© istockphoto.com/Urbancow

In the wake of the economic downturn in established markets such as Europe and the US and the slowing down of growth in emerging markets such as the BRIC countries, global organisations are operating in a world of increasing complexity, interdependency and risk. This environment requires businesses to become more resilient, and experts agree that business leaders need to be brave and consider the opportunities to be found in a growing number of emerging yet unpredictable markets.

So what has changed for leading organisations tackling growth in the globalised world? The EY report highlights that a shift has occurred in the relationship between the established markets and the emerging economies. An increasing number of companies from the latter group have now grown to rival long-established organisations on the world market – and across many sectors.

Examples abound in many countries. In Chile, LAN Airlines recently acquired TAM (Brazil) creating Latin America’s largest airline Latam Airlines Group. In South Africa, MTN Group has become Africa’s largest mobile operator. It has 183 million subscribers and licenses in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East. In 2011 alone, about 60% of its revenues originated outside South Africa.

Key trend indicators also point to technology and the flow of ideas as the biggest game changer in the globalised market. Mindray is a case in point; they are China’s largest medical-equipment manufacturer and generate more US patents per revenue dollar than many global leaders. More than half its revenues of $900 million were generated overseas.

Another key trend is the steady increase in the flow of capital and finance out of emerging economies. Companies across countries as diverse as Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa are seeking to expand into the global market, and now have the capital to acquire businesses in established markets such as the UK, France or the US.

The global market is diversifying, and in order for companies to remain competitive, the need for their leaders to adapt in a rapidly changing global environment becomes paramount. Global leaders will benefit not only from an increased awareness of culture’s key drivers and their impact on doing business in other countries, but more importantly from adopting a fresh mind-set towards developing relationships with colleagues and contacts in a changing global market.

 

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2013

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
Feb 06

Leading across Cultures: Five Secrets of the World’s Top CEOs

Cross Cultural Training, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

CEOs around the globe are increasingly finding themselves working in more complex situations. With the development of more advanced technology, travelling and virtual communication are much easier and cheaper. The world is quickly turning into a ‘global village’ in which leaders can interact more closely with their teams and peers. Although working internationally has become more frequent and in most cases easier than before, leading across cultures can still be quite challenging for a number of reasons.

Meeting Neustockimages i Leading across Cultures: Five Secrets of the World’s Top CEOs

© istockphoto.com/Neustockimages

CEOs today must demonstrate a unique combination of skills to effectively lead a global organisation to international success. In addition to core leadership skills, CEOs need other intercultural skills ranging from cultural adaptability and awareness to global communication and language skills. Global leaders with a suite of intercultural skills and knowledge will be better placed to harness and manage cross-cultural differences, no matter their cultural background or the territory they work in.

A recent article in the Guardian highlighted five skills that 70 chief executives around the globe demonstrated:

  • Passionate curiosity – interest in understanding any and every situation through questioning, listening and talking with those involved
  • Battle-hardened confidence – ability to face new and unpredictable situations with confidence
  • Team understanding – understanding of their teams – the dynamics, objectives and challenges they face
  • Simple mindset – ability to make quick and concise actions
  • Fearlessness – lack of fear for future development and the improvement of current situations

These are just a few of the skills global leaders should demonstrate for international success but there are a number of other competencies that global leaders need in order to make an even greater impact on their global teams and objectives. Some of these include:

  • Openness – an open attitude to new ways of thinking, working and behaving
  • Cultural adaptability – ability to adapt their own behaviour and judgements to different situations
  • Emotional strength – a positive attitude to life and the ability to ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong
  • Perceptiveness – ability to identify cues that are not evident in verbal language and accurately interpret and understand them
  • Cultural understanding – ability to research other cultures and increase their knowledge about traditions, values and attitudes in that environment

This is just the start of a list which could go on for pages. The important thing is for leaders to recognise that they will be required to adapt their style and skills and not just stick to the core leadership skills that may have worked so well for them before when leading across cultures .

So whether it’s having a passionate curiosity or cultural adaptability, CEOs of today’s global world need to be able to apply their skills to different cultural contexts. In doing so they will not only be able to effectively influence international communication processes but they will further break down interpersonal boundaries resulting in tremendous value for both the leader and the organisation on a global scale.

Competencies above have been taken from a number of sources including The International Profiler

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

Tagged with: • • • •
May 12

Leading across Cultures: Cross Cultural Perceptions of the Perfect Leader

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 1 Comment »

Have you ever wondered how people with impressive experience might fail to achieve their goals because of a lack of international competence? Or perhaps you’ve seen how others might be prevented from finishing their project because they can’t create a positive relationship with their colleagues? Or maybe you’ve felt frustrated because your potential is not understood or blocked by resistance? Perceptions and challenges like these are commonplace when working with international counterparts or leading across cultures.

Business People walking urbancow i Leading across Cultures: Cross Cultural Perceptions of the Perfect Leader

© istockphoto.com/Urbancow

One person who is experiencing some of the challenges of leading across cultures is UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Since his childhood Ban Ki-moon has always struck people for his modesty, competence and perseverance. It is said that in order to practise English he used to regularly walk several miles to reach a farmer who hosted Americans. He attended university in Seoul and Harvard and his diplomatic career started soon after graduation. In short, Mr. Ban’s profile on paper is immaculate, but some of his colleagues at the United Nations do not have an extraordinary opinion of him as a global leader.

Many of Mr. Ban’s American and European colleagues in particular think that his contributions to the UN have been minimal. They also complain that he often becomes an invisible presence in public, especially when compared with his predecessor Kofi Annan. Unfortunately they seem to forget about Mr. Ban’s successful contributions to issues such as global warming and peacekeeping in Darfur, as well as his position regarding the situation in the Gaza bank.

So why do some people have a negative perception of Mr. Ban? Some might suggest that this is caused by his way of operating which tends to be characterised by discretion and personal meetings away from the limelight.

Interestingly, UN Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka feels that the core reason for this misunderstanding is the cultural perception of leadership. Mr. Ban is an emblem of Confucian values which are reflected in his modesty and discipline as well as his ability to blend in with the crowd in an attempt to establish harmony. These skills are highly valued in certain cultures, and Mr. Ban is seen as a strong leader in the Far East where Confucian values are most prevalent.

Perceptions and expectations about what a global leader should do or say differ greatly from one culture to another. Many Westerners tend to prefer strong and charismatic leaders who lead by example and show strong beliefs and values. Others from Confucian cultures would instead prefer their leaders to have a strong ability to maintain harmony within the group and avoid boasting or taking all of the credit for an achievement.

Understanding some of the cultural traits evident in Mr. Ban’s cross-cultural leadership style, we can see why his style may be less appreciated by his American and European colleagues. However, employees of the UN, a strong and truly international organisation, should adjust their expectations and try to be objective in their evaluation of UN representatives. Equally, as the leader of an international organisation, Mr. Ban should also adapt his communication and leadership style and be able to adopt a wide range of manners depending on the context in order to appeal to a bigger audience and be better understood and appreciated

Mr. Ban’s example reminds us that anyone leading across cultures must be aware of how cultural values can shape and influence your own and others’ expectations and leadership styles. Cross-cultural training programmes like Leading across Cultures are absolutely imperative for global leaders who must effectively manage and anticipate any cross-cultural barriers that different cultural perspectives can create.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

Tagged with: • • • • • •
Jul 26

Global Leadership: What Makes the Perfect Leader?

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

 

Many anthropologists and intercultural specialists like Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars have developed cross-cultural comparative models showing the main cultural differences between cultures. Their contributions as well as those of many other interculturalists such as Edward T. Hall are recognised as foundation models in the field of intercultural communication.

Although comprehensive, most of the work in the field to date is comparative, country-specific and focuses on elements of interaction and communication. Only of few cultural studies have focused specifically on how culture affects leaders and managers around the world. Even fewer studies have analysed the required set of skills and leadership capabilities managers need when working in a cross cultural environment.

Business People 4 Neustockimages i Global Leadership: What Makes the Perfect Leader?

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

The GLOBE project is one research programme that looks to determine what qualities and characteristics the ideal leader should have in different cultures and what impact these cultural values and qualities have on global leadership, organisational culture and processes. Initiated by Robert J. House in 1991 and managed at Thunderbird University in Glendale California, the GLOBE project involves about 170 scholars from 61 countries.

By reviewing expected leadership qualities across these cultures, the GLOBE model shows what leaders should be aware of when operating in that country. For example, the research suggests that Americans look for leaders who will give them power and autonomy and lead the way with bold and clever ideas. Chinese on the other hand typically want their leaders to be able to give precise directions and orders but also inspirational and someone to look up to.

To find and isolate the most relevant cultural features, researchers working on the GLOBE project wrote and translated two questionnaires which focused on working styles within companies as well as the society as a whole. Through the analysis of the completed questionnaires nine cultural orientations were identified that relate to the characteristics of the perfect leader.  These nine cultural orientations are described briefly below.

Uncertainty Avoidance: the extent to which person or organisation tries to avoid unknown or unexpected situations and controls future events. In a management context this can be illustrated by the number of processes companies implement, the use of social rituals or the importance of bureaucracy.

Power Distance: how the power is shared within society or an organisation. The power distance value directly impacts organisational charts, the way decisions are made or even how people interact.

Individual Collectivism: how organisations and society incite people to share or undertake collective actions. In the business world, this value impacts the way people work, for instance alone or within groups.

Societal Collectivism: the level of pride and loyalty displayed by individuals toward their family, social group or company.

Gender Egalitarianism: how power is shared between men and women and how differences between genders are perceived. In organisations, this value is illustrated by the presence (or not) of women within the decision making sphere.

Assertiveness: the accepted degree of directness and aggressiveness within social and work relationships between individuals.

Future Orientation: the extent to which persons and organisations are ready to plan for the future. In organisations this value is illustrated in the confidence displayed in the future, the will of investing or the entrepreneurial spirit expected from the employees.

Performance Orientation: how performance and striving for excellence is rewarded by society or organisations. Organisations in strong performance oriented cultures will emphasise professional success before personal development.

Humane Orientation: the degree of reward individuals can get through kind, generous and altruistic behaviour.

The research conducted to date has been presented in the following two books:

  • Culture, Leadership and Organisation – an overview of the methodology and an analysis of 62 countries
  • Culture and Leadership across the World – an in-depth analysis of 25 countries

Cross cultural awareness training courses like Effective Global Leadership or Building International Teams can increase your understanding of cultural models such as the GLOBE project and how you can use them in your working context. Being aware of cultural differences and leadership expectations around the world will help you to motivate, inspire and manage counterparts more effectively while minimising the risks of critical incidents or misunderstanding.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

pixel Global Leadership: What Makes the Perfect Leader?
Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •
preload preload preload
Allow Cookies?
Powered by Strategic Internet Consulting