Developing global leaders

DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERS

GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS NEED GLOBAL LEADERS! AT GALLUS WE WORK WITH LOTS OF ORGANISATIONS AND LEADERS ACROSS A VARIETY OF SECTORS, AT VARYING STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. MANY ARE GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS AND, OF THOSE WHO AREN’T, MANY WOULD LIKE TO BE. Globalisation is here to stay (short of a major global cataclysm) and organisations need to gear up their leaders, present and future, to make the most of a complex and ambiguous environment.

Many of us grow up as unicultural individuals; we’re comfortable when living, working, communicating and collaborating with individuals who are just like us.

Global expansion and global mobility demand multi-cultural thinking; to facilitate leading across geographical, regulatory and

political boundaries and to enable believe-able leadership of multi-cultural teams.

Great changes are afoot in the world order; new superpowers are emerging and attitudes across the globe are being influenced by the new economic powerhouses and innovative technology.

Never has it been more important for leaders to understand how to engage and motivate across boundaries – geographical, regulatory, political, cultural and psychological.

THE SUBTLETIES OF CULTURE Cultural differences are at times subtle but ignored at the leader’s peril. They are built on the history of a group, its collective experiences, the prevailing religious ideologies and the myths and heroes that pervade its shared narrative.

The Globe Study (a 10 year study of 62 societies) captured differences in culture using the scales below

POWER DISTANCE

The degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The extent to which a society, organisation, or group relies on social norms, rules and procedures to alleviate unpredictability of future events.

HUMANE ORIENTATION

The degree to which a collective encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring and kind to others.

INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIVISM

The degree to which organisational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.

IN-GROUP COLLECTIVISM

The degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organisation or families.

ASSERTIVENESS

The degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational and aggressive in their relationships with others.

GENDER EGALITARIANISM

The degree to which a collective minimises gender inequality.

FUTURE ORIENTATION

The extent to which individuals engage in future-oriented behaviours such as delaying gratification, planning and investing in the future.

PERFORMANCE ORIENTATION

The degree to which a collective encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.

House et al. (eds), Culture, Leadership, and Organisations: The Globe Study og 62 Societies. Sage, 1980 (revised 2001)

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The Globe Study built upon previous examination of culture by Geert Hofstede. He captured cultural differences across five dimensions initially and then added the sixth at a later stage in his research. Hofstede’s dimensions (below) are used widely in organisations across the world.

Geert Hofstede’s cultural Dimensions

POWER DISTANCE INDEX (PDI)

The extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

INDIVIDUALISM (IDV)

The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE INDEX (UAI)

A society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.

MASCULINITY (MAS)

The distribution of emotional roles between the genders.

LONG-TERM ORIENTATION (LTO)

A society’s time horizon.

INDULGENCE VERSUS RESTRAINT (IVR)

The extent to which members of a society try to control their desires and impulses.

It’s fair to say that cultural differences abound. Leading a multicultural team presents a complex landscape of expectations, beliefs and behaviours – all of which need to be understood and navigated.

Communication: What are the verbal & non-verbal cues? Is directness appreciated? Is brevity preferred or is there a need for detail? Do words, phrases and actions carry a different meaning?

Enthusiasm: How important is work as a part of life? Does achievement at work provide the vehicle for status in society or are there other areas of life that are considered more important?

Assertiveness: How willingly will people express their thoughts, feelings and opinions? Is the delivery emotional or grounded in facts? Will people say ‘no’, and if they do, do they mean it?

Group focus: How are accomplishment, accountability and responsibility viewed and celebrated? Do people identify as individuals or as part of a group? Is the success of the individual at the expense of the team tolerated or is the success of the team above all else?

Personal Disclosure: How much is too much and how much is too little? How is trust earned; when will people feel willing and able to collaborate and share?

Self-promotion: How acceptable and expected is it for an individual to showcase their work and aspire to be recognised publicly for their contribution?

Time Orientation: Is time important? How does respect for schedules and deadlines compare with respect for people? Do milestones and deadlines become estimates and guidelines or are they rigidly adhered to?

Formality: How do people view authority and power? Is hierarchy respected? Do people feel empowered to make decisions or do they habitually defer to authority?

Change Tolerance: How much control do people feel they have over their lives, work and contribution? How comfortable are people with change, risk taking and innovation?

Add to these the need to remain abreast of the regulatory requirements, socio-economic and political landscapes and world events, and global leadership becomes a complex picture. Whilst these cultural landscapes are useful there is as much difference (perhaps more) within a group as there is between groups. For a leader to be successful across borders and within multi-cultural teams they need to consider a number of factors and the possible approaches and responses to each, both at a cultural level and an individual level.

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DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERS

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GLOBAL LEADER? Leading global teams presents a greater variety of tensions and more challenging ethical dilemmas. We believe that global leaders need to demonstrate six globalmind enablers to really be able to navigate the landscape successfully and enjoy their global leadership journey.

GLOBAL MIND ENABLER

INDIVIDUAL LAYER

TEAM LAYER

CURIOSITY

Question everything – ask where, what, who, when, how and why often to understand the history of a culture, emerging world events, and the socio-economic and political climates in countries across the world. Find the stories of a culture - the myths, heroes and religious influences.

Learn a language!

Language skills have the obvious benefit of enabling communication on a broader scale.

Grammar and commonly used phrases provide another insight into group values and cultural norms.

Get to grips with the governance and legal requirements of different territories. How can an expanded world-view and global business savvy enable the organisation to be successful now and future?

ADVENTURE

Travel at every opportunity and go out of their way to mix with the locals and immerse themselves in the culture to have experiences that will broaden the mind. Dare to try out embryonic language skills and make the most of every opportunity to reach into a culture and connect.

Take risks and make the most of the varied experiences across the team to generate the best solutions. Show a willingness to adapt and to try alternative approaches informed by others’ experiences, regardless of how uncomfortable it may be at first.

Raise their global profile and connect with peers across the globe. Look for opportunities to work together on larger scale strategic problems.

OBJECTIVITY

Think about thinking and hold multiple perspectives simultaneously. Can suspend their own worldview and be aware of the stereotypes and prejudices they may hold.

Have a range of group thinking and decision making processes that enable the team to function effectively and make the most of their experiences without getting bogged down in emotional conflict.

Can scan the environment to identify and focus upon the most important priorities right now. Understands the interplay between a range of factors and can create an appropriate, effective and proportionate programme of actions.

EMPATHY

Understand where ideas and traditions come from and the invisible rules. Respects the values and experiences of those from differing backgrounds to their own.

Appreciates the dos and don’ts of different culture, countries and religions and leads others with respect and dignity. Able to engage with anyone from anywhere – multicultural teamwork is a core skill – leader or not! Asks genuine questions and listens to the answers.

Builds their network and understands that leading globally is about relationships and trust rather than structure. Understands and learns to apply cultural codes. Values difference and the robustness it gives to group thinking and problem solving processes.

DEXTERITY

Comfortable with ambiguity and can adapt their behaviour without losing themselves.

Manages their times effectively across multiple time zones.

Leads across time zones and uses a tailored approach to guide every individual through ambiguity and change.

Considers the bigger picture and assimilates information rapidly to adapt to fast changing contexts and to inform crisis response.

RESILIENCE

Knows when to adapt and when to hold their own. Effective application of knowledge and skills in challenging, complex and ambiguous environments.

Have confidence in their opinions and challenge others when culture is used as an excuse for poor behaviour or performance.

Has the tenacity to keep going when the team is finding its feet.

Willing to take on challenging assignments in untested territories or involving disparate cultural teams.

EMBRACING THE INNER CHILD

EXPERIENCE IS THE ROOT OF ALL LEARNING

MASTERING COMPLEXITY

NAVIGATING INVISIBLE RULES AND FORGOTTEN VOICES

ADAPTING TO A CHANGING WORLD

HOLDING THE FEAR WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

ORGANISATION LAYER

The world is changing and global mindset will be one of the differentiating factors evident in the successful organisations and leaders of the future - Thinking globally is no longer an option it’s an imperative!

Are your leaders up to the challenge?

Gallus build sustainable, high performance environments that everybody can believe in. With particular expertise in leadership capability and alignment, organisation design, business transformation and enterprise risk management, Gallus challenge assumptions, cultivate belief and drive positive change by making performance excellence systemic.

An established business with Headquarters in Northampton, UK and offices in London, Manchester and Aberdeen, Gallus work with ambitious organisations across the world from a wide range of sectors. Find us at www.gallusconsulting.com or call +44(0)20 3751 6345.

0203 751 6345

www.gallusconsulting.com