Six Leadership Fundamentals for Global Success

Global organizations need leaders who can drive business on a global scale. No organization can afford to overlook optimizing the performance of leaders who are successful in this regard.

Individuals who are required to lead across cultures often need to make decisions in complex or ambiguous environments and understand cultural nuances. In all, they have to adapt.

A good track record in one country does not guarantee success in another — nor will merely exposing high-performing leaders to new cultures make them effective multinational leaders.

Right Management and Tucker International recently partnered on a study titled “Leading Across Cultures in the Human Age.” The study surveyed 1,867 leaders of 13 nationalities to help multinational clients address the challenges of developing leaders with global responsibilities.

The research identified six competencies essential for global leadership success:

• Adapting socially — to socialize comfortably with new people in unfamiliar social situations, and to demonstrate genuine interest in other people.

• Demonstrating creativity — to enjoy new challenges, namely from social and situational issues, and to learn from a variety of sources. Aim to find more creative approaches, which, despite often being more difficult, have proven to be more successful in ambiguous environments.

• Even disposition — to remain calm, not be critical of oneself and learn from mistakes.

• Respecting beliefs — demonstrate respect for the political and spiritual beliefs of people in other cultures.

• Instilling trust — to build and maintain trusting relationships, even though trust does not mean the same thing to members of different cultures.

• Navigating ambiguity — to see through vagueness and uncertainty, not become frustrated, and figure out how things are done in other cultures.