GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Dr. Adalat Khan
July 31, 2007
“Every country is our country because it is the country of our God” were the words of Tariq Ibn Ziad a Muslim General in 711 A.D who after landing on Spanish sea shores ordered all the ships burnt and conquered the Spanish peninsular Gibraltar which in Arabic means the rock of Tariq. Today without burning one’s boats, or risking one’s life or that of others any business leader in the world can expand its product and services to any market in the world. Thanks to Globalization which has crumbled national boundaries and pooled together the whole world as a single market, businesses big and small alike for the first time in human history has the opportunity to become global players. Reciprocally it has also created an opportunity for your competitor to enter your market and compete with you in your own turf. As such no one has a choice but to be a global player. This holds true for governments too. Governments also need to be competitive on the global scene or else they lose their own markets to foreign businesses. To run global businesses and lead modern day governments it is not enough to be a good leader, one must become an excellent global leader and acquire global leadership skills. Armed with these skills one can only then be worthy of running businesses, nations or even non-governmental organizations.
The skills inventory for global leadership can be very long but grouped together the following core skills will be required for effective global leaders:
1. CULTURAL SENSITIVITY:
The first quality and perhaps the most important quality of a global leader is cultural sensitivity and the ability to step outside one’s own culture and adapt to the cultures of others. Good global leaders take the time and pain to understand the dos and don’ts of other people and their cultures and start respecting them. . Sensitivity is the most important characteristic for leading people form other cultures because stereotypes rarely provide entirely reliable guides for dealing with others. Such sensitivity requires the ability to understand the perspective of those living in different societies and the willingness to put oneself in another shoes. Understanding and the acceptance of others cultures can give leaders an advantage in successfully competing in global markets while the opposite may lead to catastrophic results.
2. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT:
Toady most of the organizations use the services of people who hail from diverse racial, ethnical, religious, and social cadres of a society. If not managed well diversity can lead to friction, in-fights, turf wars, and other destructive consequences for the organization. It is therefore extremely important that the leader not only learn himself how to deal with diverse groups but help diverse persons and teams how to work cohesively towards the goals of that organization. One of the ways to manage diversity is to conduct diversity training. Diversity training is aimed at enhancing workplace harmony by teaching people how to get along better with diverse group associates. It will be helpful for any organization to come up with such training and orient people how to deal with people of other cultures, countries, or any other diverse background.
3. ADAPTABILITY AND INNOVATION:
Change is not just a fad word but a reality and a harsh reality to be embraced and dealt with. As such global leaders must be very comfortable with rapid changes and competent in adapting to these changes. Moreover one also needs to be extremely innovative to keep pace with these changes. One fine example of adaptability is the Windows the computer operating system of Microsoft Micro which is available 24 languages i.e. English, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, Brazilian, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish. Imagine where would this software giant stand if Bill Gates would have decided that Windows will be only in English and had refused to offer it in other languages.
4. PROFITABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT:
According to Durbin a leadership guru and the author of leadership book excellent global leaders have a leadership style that generates superior corporate performance in terms of four criteria: (1) profitability and productivity (2) continuity and efficiency (3) commitment and morale and (4) adaptability and innovation. Profitability and productivity are the two most important areas which need to be managed. Business is about making profits and achieving maximum out put with less inputs and at times it becomes difficult when businesses venture out globally. Every effort must be made to ensure that the business remains profitable and grow rather make losses and vanish.
5. CONTINUITY:
Organizations are meant to be entities which must thrive, survive and continue to exist. For it to happen a great global leader must not only create great organization at his own tenure but ensure that when he leaves or retires the organization do not crumple but continue to exist. For this purpose good leaders must also develop others who could walk into their shoes. According to Jim Collins who wrote the best selling business book, "Good to Great." great leaders encourage others by preparing their successors for success. They are not afraid of losing their jobs to an upstart. They do this by giving their subordinates plenty of developmental help (e.g., coaching, training, etc.) and by allowing their subordinates to shine.
Twenty first century is a Global Century. It is a century where individuals, businesses, and even governments can not guarantee its survival unless they become world class. The single most important factor and probably the key factor for success in this century is the quality of becoming a global leader. A leader who not only achieve success at local scene but also succeed in the global scene. To be successful as a global leader one needs to be culturally sensitive, adept in motivating diverse teams, creative, be able to run profitable organizations and develop successors to continue the organization.
Dr. Adalat Khan is the president of Mina Resources Sdn Bhd a leading training organization providing training in Global Leadership Skills who can be reached at 012-5010033 e-mail mina@streamyx.com or visit the website: www.mina.edu.my
The skills inventory for global leadership can be very long but grouped together the following core skills will be required for effective global leaders:
1. CULTURAL SENSITIVITY:
The first quality and perhaps the most important quality of a global leader is cultural sensitivity and the ability to step outside one’s own culture and adapt to the cultures of others. Good global leaders take the time and pain to understand the dos and don’ts of other people and their cultures and start respecting them. . Sensitivity is the most important characteristic for leading people form other cultures because stereotypes rarely provide entirely reliable guides for dealing with others. Such sensitivity requires the ability to understand the perspective of those living in different societies and the willingness to put oneself in another shoes. Understanding and the acceptance of others cultures can give leaders an advantage in successfully competing in global markets while the opposite may lead to catastrophic results.
2. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT:
Toady most of the organizations use the services of people who hail from diverse racial, ethnical, religious, and social cadres of a society. If not managed well diversity can lead to friction, in-fights, turf wars, and other destructive consequences for the organization. It is therefore extremely important that the leader not only learn himself how to deal with diverse groups but help diverse persons and teams how to work cohesively towards the goals of that organization. One of the ways to manage diversity is to conduct diversity training. Diversity training is aimed at enhancing workplace harmony by teaching people how to get along better with diverse group associates. It will be helpful for any organization to come up with such training and orient people how to deal with people of other cultures, countries, or any other diverse background.
3. ADAPTABILITY AND INNOVATION:
Change is not just a fad word but a reality and a harsh reality to be embraced and dealt with. As such global leaders must be very comfortable with rapid changes and competent in adapting to these changes. Moreover one also needs to be extremely innovative to keep pace with these changes. One fine example of adaptability is the Windows the computer operating system of Microsoft Micro which is available 24 languages i.e. English, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, Brazilian, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish. Imagine where would this software giant stand if Bill Gates would have decided that Windows will be only in English and had refused to offer it in other languages.
4. PROFITABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT:
According to Durbin a leadership guru and the author of leadership book excellent global leaders have a leadership style that generates superior corporate performance in terms of four criteria: (1) profitability and productivity (2) continuity and efficiency (3) commitment and morale and (4) adaptability and innovation. Profitability and productivity are the two most important areas which need to be managed. Business is about making profits and achieving maximum out put with less inputs and at times it becomes difficult when businesses venture out globally. Every effort must be made to ensure that the business remains profitable and grow rather make losses and vanish.
5. CONTINUITY:
Organizations are meant to be entities which must thrive, survive and continue to exist. For it to happen a great global leader must not only create great organization at his own tenure but ensure that when he leaves or retires the organization do not crumple but continue to exist. For this purpose good leaders must also develop others who could walk into their shoes. According to Jim Collins who wrote the best selling business book, "Good to Great." great leaders encourage others by preparing their successors for success. They are not afraid of losing their jobs to an upstart. They do this by giving their subordinates plenty of developmental help (e.g., coaching, training, etc.) and by allowing their subordinates to shine.
Twenty first century is a Global Century. It is a century where individuals, businesses, and even governments can not guarantee its survival unless they become world class. The single most important factor and probably the key factor for success in this century is the quality of becoming a global leader. A leader who not only achieve success at local scene but also succeed in the global scene. To be successful as a global leader one needs to be culturally sensitive, adept in motivating diverse teams, creative, be able to run profitable organizations and develop successors to continue the organization.
Dr. Adalat Khan is the president of Mina Resources Sdn Bhd a leading training organization providing training in Global Leadership Skills who can be reached at 012-5010033 e-mail mina@streamyx.com or visit the website: www.mina.edu.my
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