The Major Challenges Associated with the Implementation of Global Leadership Development - Essay Example

Today’s global business environment requires that organization understands international interactions which will help to bring the required changes through which organization can prosper. The understanding level will be predetermined by the degree of understanding which the organization has to work on a global level (Gupta & Govindraj, 2002). This has developed the need to have leaders with the required competencies (Suutari, 2002) but a gap still exist between the requirements and the actual realization that the world is witnessing (Adler & Bartholomew, 2002). The complexity for leaders have further increased as domestic organizations have started to face international competition which requires that the dynamics, complexity and diversity is understood in a manner which will facilitate best possible outcome for the business. The essay looks towards evaluating the manner global leadership is gaining prominence and the different challenges that the global leadership presents. Along with it the paper dwells on the different theories and strategies which has helped to bring the required transformation in leadership and is a per-requisite in today’s competitive world. Understanding the different aspect of global leadership will thus transform the entire operations and will help to develop the required interrelationship through which better decisions will be taken. Before moving on it is important to understand leadership on the global context. Leadership on the global context means the ability and skills of the person to understand the international environment which consists of different culture and to take decisions by formulating strategies which will help in the best possible use of resources (McCall & Hollenback, 2002). The concept of global leadership is thereby focused on finding out the prospective candidate who has the required skills to deal with culture and cross cultural communication so that they are able to work effectively with the people of his origin country and other country as well. Some research also looks towards using global leadership for people employed at the top positions in the economy and is aimed at times towards the CEO. Some research further advocates that global leadership requires internationalization level of responsibilities and activities and can be anyone one at any position within the organization who is capable of carrying out the global responsibility (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 2002). Global leaders like other leaders have to demonstrate various skills and competencies which include personality traits, behavior, value, skills and knowledge to carry out the operations in the most effective manner. Global leadership competencies are those competencies which are considered as universally acceptable and used and help the individual to perform the duties irrespective of the educational or ethnic background (McBeath, 2000). This trait helps in the generation of positive synergy which helps to guide the workforce in such a manner that better results are produced. While looking at the different qualities which a leader should have it is important to note that different traits are used in different situations so a leader who is able to effectively demonstrate all traits are most likely to become successful. Research carried out in the direction shows that a few key competencies over the normal contextual ones help a person to perform on a global level (Jordan & Cartwright, 1998). This has highlighted the importance of cross cultural interaction which shapes the person and enables to perform on a global standard. Some of the major traits which global leaders demonstrate are empathy, openness, persistence, sensitivity to intercultural factors, respect for others, role flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity, and a two-way communication skill (Srinivas, 2005). This thereby requires that global leaders should have a mindset which is different and should look towards dealing with the environment, have a vision which is for the long term, should be adaptable to changes, have an ability to motivate people, and be able to deal with conflicts and have an understanding of different culture. This will shape the performance of the leader and will help the leader to carry out different roles and responsibilities in the most accurate manner. The different skills and traits which global leaders require has resulted in the development of three level of global leadership competencies which will guide the leader and enable the best use of the resources. First major competency is the core competencies which the person should have and includes self-awareness, engagement in personal transformation, and inquisitiveness. Secondly, are the mental characteristics which will help to deal with the different situations in the most productive manner and includes optimism, self-regulation, social judgment skills, empathy, and motivation to work in international environment. Lastly, are the skills which are required from the societal point of view and includes social skills, networking skills, and knowledge. The culmination of the competency helps the global leader to perform in the best possible manner and also ensures that the person is able to transform the business by taking steps through which overall effectiveness is gained in the global arena. The fundamental global leadership competencies which are expected of a leader are self-awareness, engagement in personal transformation, and inquisitiveness as it creates the driving force through which better strategies are formulated. This helps the leader to act on a global platform and deliver results according to the predetermined standards. Self awareness in a global leader ensures that the leader has control over his emotions, knows his strengths and weakness and is able to generate the required drive through which the goals will be achieved (Goleman, 2008). This helps the leader to address the problem realistically and ensure awareness which helps in the development of relationship. This thereby transforms into maturity, self mastery and self confidence (Srinivas, 2005) which thereby ensures that the global resources are used in the most productive manner. It helps the leader to improve his focus and use his strengths towards better development of the business. Global leaders are expected to engage in personal transformation. This process commitment towards a common goal and makes the leader to work hard so that he can stay up to date with the recent developments that take place (Brake, 2007). This creates an intrinsic desire to innovate and do new things and looks towards personal engagement. The overall process ensures readiness to change which thereby helps the organization to deal with the changing business environment in the friendliest manner (Harris & Moran, 2007). Organizations as a result garner maximum productivity and are able to perform better. Global leaders have to demonstrate inquisitiveness which will create curiosity (Srinivas, 2005). Curiosity will make the leader have flexibility within the system which will provide new strategies and method to be implemented for the achievement of the objectives. This will have a direct relation on the motivation level of employees and leader within the organization and will create a motive for risk taking and better commitment from all people within the organization. Global leadership thereby requires demonstration of certain skills which enable the organization to work effectively. Global leadership apart from the competencies which is a must and needs to be demonstrated has to demonstrate certain mental characteristics like optimism, self-regulation, social judgment skills, empathy, and motivation to work in international environment. Demonstrating those skills and traits will prove beneficial for the leader as the leader will be able to act in a better way. Optimism requires that the global leader looks at the positive aspect and should have a firm belief that good will always be above the bad (Goleman, 2008). Global leaders as a result will demonstrate positive actions and become proactive while dealing with situations which are tricky. The risk taking ability of the leader will thereby increase and the leader will be able to carry out the different activities with further confidence. Global leadership requires that the leader has a strong mental frame which requires strong optimism. The other important mental competency which global leadership requires is the ability to restrain or act in a determined manner which will require increase self regulation (Bennis & Thomas, 2002). This will help the leader to control his emotions and not to be guided by those which will thereby reflect a social setting where the leader is able to handle stress and have an open mind to deal with the different issues which will crop up. Global leaders also have to demonstrate skills pertaining to social judgment. This will help the leader to visualize things on a bigger picture and will ensure that the domestic and international problems are better handled (Yukl, 2004). The overall productivity for global leaders will be increased as better judgment will ensure that the decisions which are taken will provide positive results and improve the chances of success of the business. Along with it the global leader will have to show cognitive skills and should be motivated to work in an international environment (Wills & Barham, 2004). This will help the leader to carry out the different functions in the most effective manner and will thereby increase the chances of achieving the objectives of the business. This will also make the leader perform in a better way and will guide the leader to carry out the different activities in a better way. Despite the different competencies and skills which global leaders demonstrate still working on the global arena creates difficulties for multinational companies. Multinational companies have to face an uphill task of dealing with changes in the business environment. The fact that multinational companies perform in different countries it results in additional pressure in relation to employment laws, governmental regulations, different political and social factors along with the different cultural differences which different countries have. Multinational companies’ biggest challenge in this regard is the manner in which employment rules will be dealt with. The fact that every economy has a different rule pertaining to minimum wages, health and sanitation, safety of employees, working hours and so on increases the level of complexity for organization (Harris & Moran, 2007). This will require that multinational companies understand the legislative aspect for each country and based on it look towards carrying out their activities. Organizations based on it will be able to deal with the different governmental regulations and ensure maximum productivity for the organization. Multinational companies have to lay stress on ensuring that expatriates are provided the required training to work on the international arena. This will help in understanding the culture of another country and will provide the framework through which business develops. The role of expatriates will further help to bring the required transformation in dealing with people belonging to different culture and will ensure that the decisions taken are better. The other major issue for multinationals is the manner in which cultural differences have an effect on the working style. Every economy is different and demonstrates different culture which requires that cultural integration takes place so that the multinational corporation is able to work on a globalized scale. This aspect will help to bring the required changes and will require that multinational companies are able to work on the higher level (Srinivas, 2005). This is an aspect which multinational corporations have to watch out and have to look towards determining the path through which the effect of different factors will be controlled. The complexity for leaders have further increased as domestic organizations have started to face international competition which requires that the dynamics, complexity and diversity is understood in a manner which will facilitate best possible outcome for the business. This requires that multinational organization has a better focus and looks towards the development of the business in such a manner that it includes both the domestic and the international working environment. Global leadership is thereby a concept which has gained prominence and the manner in which boundaries between nations is disappearing and it is imperative that organizations look towards developing global leaders. The concept of global leadership is thereby focused on finding out the prospective candidate who has the required skills to deal with culture and cross cultural communication so that they are able to work effectively with the people of his origin country and other country as well. Understanding the different aspect of global leadership will thus transform the entire operations and will help to develop the required interrelationship through which better decisions will be taken and will provide the required opportunity through which the business can perform better in the future. References Adler, N.J. and Bartholomew, S. (2002). Managing globally competent people. The Academy of Management Executive, 6 (3), 52-65 Bartlett, C.A. and Ghoshal, S. (2002). Managing across Borders: The Transnational Solution, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA Brake, T. (2007). The Global Leader. Critical Factors for Creating: The World Class Organization, Irwin Professional Publishing, Chicago, IL Bennis, W.G. and Thomas, R.J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 80 (9), 39-45 Gupta, A.K. and Govindarajan, V. (2002). Cultivating global mindset. Academy of Management Executive, 16 (1), 116-26 Goleman, D. (2008). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76 (6), 93-103 Harris, P.R. and Moran, R.T. (2007). Managing Cultural Differences, 2nd ed., Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, TX Jordan, J. and Cartwright, S. (1998). Selecting expatriate managers: key traits and competencies. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 19 (2), 89-96 McCall, M.W. Jr and Hollenbeck, G.P. (2002). Developing Global Executives: The Lessons of International Experience, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA McBeath, G. (2000). Practical Management Development. Strategies for Management Resourcing and Development in the 1990s, Basil Blackwell, Oxford Suutari, V. (2002). Global leader development: an emerging research agenda. Career Development International, 7 (4), 218-33 Srinivas, K.M. (2005). Globalization of business and the third world: challenge of expanding the mindsets. Journal of Management Development, 14 (3), 26-49. Wills, S. and Barham, K. (2004). Being an international manager. European Management Journal, 12 (1), 49-58. Yukl, G. (2004). Leadership in Organizations, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Read More