The New Job Demands for Leaders in the Globalised Environment - Literature review Example

How Leadership has changed in the Context of a Globalised Environment Name: Course: Tutor: Introduction Globalisation has changed the way in which organisations and leaders across the across the world manage their operations. In fact, globalisation is one of the most significant challenges facing today’s leaders – the other being the increase of knowledge-based business. This means that today’s leaders have to deal with increased access to information, more knowledgeable workers, culturally diverse personnel and management of organisations beyond the confines of one country among other factors. In essence, globalisation implies that leaders need to deal with increased communication, increased movement of people across the globe, increased access to various infrastructures, working across time zones and cultures and so on. There is no doubt that leaders who are able to deal with the effects of globalisation are the ones who can ensure the success of modern day organisations. In view of this perspective, this essay seeks to discuss the way in which leadership has changed within the context of a globalised environment. The essay will also profile the leadership and communications styles of Bill Clinton, former president of the United States – in order to understand the qualities that leaders in the globalised environment should possess. How leadership has changed within the context of a globalized environment Before proceeding to evaluate how leadership has changed over time with respect to globalisation, it is important first to define the term globalisation. There is no single definition of the term since “globalisation” is usually defined in different contexts. In spite of the ambiguity involved in defining the term, this essay attempts to present a definition that is related to leadership. The definition is basically premised on the thinking that the world has become flat as opined by Thomas Friedman. In providing this view, Thomas Friedman (cited by Martin, 2007, p. 4) argued that the world has been flattened in that individuals and their firms are now being asked to lead and work in an environment that has no boundaries and where there is no defined working time as was the case for organisations and individuals that existed in the past. This view of globalisation is consistent with the definition of the term as offered by Ritzer (2004, cited by Bottery, 2008, p. 5) that globalisation is the worldwide diffusion of practices, growth of relations across continents, organisation of social life on an international scale, and the development of shared global consciousness. Notable changes have occurred in leadership in the face of globalisation since the 1960s. Some of the changes include the progressive removal of dehumanising elements of the industrial age as theories by work psychologists such as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gained prominence (Chin & Gaynier, 2006). The psychodynamic approach by such theorists appreciated the fact that human beings, whether followers or leaders, have needs and qualities in common, irrespective of their rank. Since then, there has been a growing recognition of the fact that mutual influence and interconnectivity exist inherently amongst people living or working together (Chin & Gaynier, 2006). Even before the 1960s, many theories emerged before and during the Cold War, suggesting that nation states are no longer sovereign actors in the international system. This is because over time, states became subject to factors such as shifts in international capital markets as well as commodity prices, the influence of multinational corporations, and the regulations and rules of the transnational organisations such as the World Bank, World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund (Krznaric, 2007, p. 21). The implications of such developments is that many leaders today are leading organisations that are subject to laws not just of one country but of the international system as regards having employees from different countries, selling products to many countries and so forth. Ideally, a decision made by a leader of an organisation in one country may have reverberations across the world, especially if the organisation has subsidiaries in other countries or has a worldwide market target. Three dimensions of complexity that affect leadership due to globalisation have been identified by Mendenhall (2013, p. 17). The first one is multiplicity, which reflects the exponential increase in the number and type of issues that leaders in the globalised environment must deal with. Multiplicity implies that most organisations have to deal with more competitors, governments, customers, other stakeholders and many other issues along the value chain. The second dimension of the complexity in the globalised environment relates to interdependence. Because of the rapid and seamless movement of information, capital and people, no business today can operate in isolation. Interdependencies between organisations create complexity that leaders must be able to deal with. The third component of complexity is ambiguity. This implies lack of clarity in information, uncertain cause and effect associations, and equivocality concerning information (for instance where many interpretations of the same facts can be made). A good analysis of how leadership has changed with respect to globalisation is presented by Hogan and Cvitkovich (2011). Hogan and Cvitkovich note that many companies have gone through significant changes in recent times in response to dynamic events associated with globalisation. Such companies have shaken up their activities and increased, reorganised or curtailed investments to cope with unprecedented volatility in the market. But as Hogan and Cvitkovich (2011) indicate, the challenge for most organisations, which tend to react considerably quickly to the changing global landscape, is in getting their workers to change as fast (p. 1). The point here is that organisations have to find a ways to align the attributes of their employees with the changing needs and characteristics of companies in the present day. According to Martin (2007), today’s business world is interconnected with greater access across the entire world. The world is thus experiencing off shoring of jobs; in fact many companies have been outsourcing some of their IT jobs to companies outside their countries of operation. Martin (2007) argues that similar trends are expected to be replicated in many other professional jobs. The trend is further bolstered by the fact that there is a rising level of education in countries such as India and China as well as in many other developing nations. Further, as a result of the increase in the global rate of literacy, more competition is expected as companies seek to outsource various services, employ their personnel from the global talent pool, sell their products globally and so on. The result is that as a result of the increased access to informational technology, there is a greater level of cultural exchange between different countries. The question that begs, therefore, is whether global organisations have leaders who can manage the changes brought about by globalisation. An analysis by Rondinelli and Heffron (2009) as regards the impact of globalisation on leadership revealed that globalisation is affecting the roles and styles of leaders in at least three ways (p. 269). The first one, and which is quite clear from the discussion thus far, is that globalisation is increasing the complexity and variety of responsibilities and challenges that leaders face in the 21st century. Such challenges include dealing with a lot of information and leading multicultural teams. The second aspect is that globalisation is shaping the expectations of leaders’ behaviours and roles. This is because unlike the situation in the past today’s leaders must be in a position to shape their organisations to be more agile and flexible, less hierarchical, and more networked. That is, today’s leaders must be able to make their organisations better organised to deliver value (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2008, p. 1). Along the same line, Gregersen et al. (1998, cited by Jokinen, 2005, p. 208) assert that since the globalised environment is characterised by uncertainty and complexity, routine application of extant knowledge is not appropriate. That is, today’s leaders must be more knowledgeable to deal with the problems in the globalised environment by applying a new way of thinking. The third point, and which is related to the first two, is that globalisation influences expectations about the attributes of effective leadership in bringing about economic, social and political changes. This point implies that globalisation has impacted leaders not only in various organisations but also those leading in other contexts such as political leaders. In any organisation, organisational performance and effectiveness are usually achieved through effective leadership, an elaborate organisational culture, and strategic readiness of the organisation to excel. The kind of leadership in an organisation usually determines the organisational culture and hence defines its strategic readiness to achieve its goals. In today’s world, the definition of leadership in the context of a globalised environment cannot be limited to John Kotter’s notion that leadership involves coping with change by defining a direction, aligning people, and inspiring and motivating – in most cases through influencing informal networks within an organisation (cited by Hogan & Cvitkovich, 2011, p. 15). While this definition is still relevant, there is need to add more weight to it by looking at the role that a modern-day leader has to play vis-à-vis the traditional role of leaders reflected in Kotter’s definition. Today’s leader must have a global mindset, be willing to work as an equal with people of diverse backgrounds, have a long-time orientation, be able to facilitate organisational change, be able to motivate employees to be more effective, and be capable of creating learning systems. Leaders in the globalised environment must also have the ability to skilfully manage the employment cycle, be willing to lead and participate effectively in multicultural teams, be able to precisely profile the culture of others, be capable of understanding their own assumptions and values, and have the capacity to demonstrate knowledge and respect for other nations (Jokinen, 2005, p. 202). It can be noted from the points suggested by Jokinen (2005) above that leadership in a globalised environment is different from the kind of leadership that existed before the recent advances in globalisation. Hence, today it is possible to talk of ‘global leaders’, a term that appreciates that such leaders have the leadership traits outlined above. A definition of a global leader can thus be borrowed from a literature review by Osland, Bird and Oddou (2012). In their definition, Osland et al. (2012) point out that global leaders are individuals who initiate significant positive change in organisations by establishing and developing communities through the development of trust and the laying out of organisational structures and processes in a perspective that involves a wide array of cross-boundary stakeholders, many sources of external cross-boundary authority, and many cultures under conditions of temporal, spatial and cultural complexity (p. 108). A summary of the new job demands for leaders in the globalised environment can be provided based on information by Osland et al. (2012, p. 109) as follows: a greater need for wider knowledge that covers functional and national boundaries; a stronger need for broader and more frequent boundary that spans both within and across organisational and national border lines; more pressure to understand a wider array of stakeholders during decision making; a heightened need for cultural understanding in the context of a setting characterised by wider ranging diversity; a more challenging and wider list of competing tensions both within and outside the job; increased uncertainty surrounding decisions and the related outcomes; and more challenging leadership ethical dilemmas due to globalisation. Leadership and Communication Styles of a National/Global Leader: Bill Clinton Bill Clinton is man who apart from being former president of a largely multicultural nation that is the United States (1993-2001), is also the founder of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). CGI was established in 2005 and brings global leaders together to formulate and implement ground-breaking solutions to the most pressing challenges in the world. CGI yearly conventions have brought together over 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize winners, and many leading CEOs, leaders of foundations and non-governmental organisations, leading philanthropists, as well as members of the media. From the meetings, the leaders have made more than 2,300 commitments, which have helped improve the livelihoods of more than 400 million people in over 180 nations (CGI, n.d). Clinton’s achievements both during his term as president and in other initiatives such as the CGI show what kind of leader he is. Leading can involve a one-on-one interaction or leading a small team, a large group or unseen masses in a global organisation. Leaders require people skills and relational skills to manage different situations. The leadership skills and communication or relational skills that people possess differ to a large extent when leaders work with different size groups (Western, 2007, p. 34). For instance, in the case of Bill Clinton, the communication and leadership approach required when leading a country such as the United States is different from that required when leading a CGI conference. For instance, when communicating, a leader should ensure that communication fits the culture that the message is intended for. Western (2007), identities Clinton as one of the people renowned for their ability to communicate across different groups and make a leadership impact on individuals, teams, large groups, as well as global situations (p. 34). Clinton’s leadership style can best be described as transformational (Wendt & Fairhurst, 1995, p. 104; Felzenberg, 2010, p. 253). According to Bertocci (2009), transformational leaders are able to inspire and motivate followers to attain results greater than initially planned through internal incentives rather than external incentives (p. 48). Such leaders motivate followers to work for longer-term or more substantial goals as opposed to short-term self-interests. Transformational leaders also inspire or motivate their followers to accomplish a vision or objectives through internal rewards such as self-satisfaction or being part of the team. Wendt and Fairhurst (1995) argue that Clinton portrayed himself as a transformational leader right from his campaign speeches in 1992. Although the presidency is not like an organisation where leaders can be assessed on the basis of their direct achievements, Wendt and Fairhurst (1995) assert that to some extent, Bill Clinton accomplished the basics of transformational leadership as stated by Bass (1985, cited by the same authors) since he had a vision that inspired, he was intellectually stimulating, and he provided consideration for all individuals by appearing to reach out to every individual voter (p. 104). Clinton is particularly remembered for having a clear and pragmatic mission through his statement that “Where there is no vision, people perish” (Wendt & Fairhurst, 1995, p. 104). Being an effective public communicator particularly bolstered Bill Clinton’s rating as an effective leader (Dorsey, 2008). In particular, Clinton’s communication style included using natural and powerful body movements to emphasise the points he was putting forward, synchronising body movements with vocal cues, and using vocal volume to accentuate points. Clinton also emphasised informal interactions and close interactions, had a very low blink rate, always appeared to really enjoy his speeches, and played a friendly and pleasant “good old boy” role (Egolf & Chester, 2007, p. 308). Apart from being a good communicator, Bill Clinton was able to work effectively with his team to deliver on the promises he had made during his presidential campaign. According to Cohan (2011) in an article for the Forbes magazine, when Clinton became president, the economy of the United States was recuperating from a recession. Clinton worked to improve this situation such that by the time he left, the country had created 22.2 million new jobs and had a budget surplus and a low national debt. Cohan (2011) also notes that leading a country such as the United States demands creative thinking that produces valuable solutions to new and intricate challenges, and this is the type of leadership that Bill Clinton offered. It is the same thinking that led the former president of the US to establish the Clinton Global Initiative, and there is no doubt that the organisation is finding solutions to the challenges that keep on arising in the world – many of which can be attributed to the impacts of globalisation. Conclusion In summation, this essay has discussed some of the changes that have occurred in leadership as a result of globalisation. It has been agued that globalisation has brought about new challenges which leaders have to deal with. That is, globalisation has shaped the expectations of leaders’ behaviours and roles. Notable changes due to globalisation include multiplicity, or an increase in the number and type of issues that leaders have to deal with such as more competitors, customers, governments, other stakeholders and more issues along the value chain. Another development is an increase in interdependence between organisations, which presents leaders with more complexity since organisations cannot exist in isolation. Leaders are also faced with more ambiguity due to increased information, need for more detailed interpretation of facts from different perspectives and so on. All these changes mean that as a result of globalisation, leaders need to be more knowledgeable, able handle more challenges, and to have the capacity to handle diversity in terms of issues and people among other capabilities. The essay has used the example of Bill Clinton as a leader who used his leadership skills to lead in the globalised environment by applying a new way of thinking. 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