Managers of large companies are today increasingly addressing the issue of building a global base of leadership talent. They should therefore expect that leadership may be dramatically different in different parts of the world. That is at least according to an international study by Bersin & Associates called Global Leadership, which is one of the largest studies of its kind. Based on assessments of more than 30,000 leaders in ten countries, the study describes the characteristics of leadership in different parts of the world.
The study focused on eight different factors defining leadership. It turned out that in emerging economies such as India and China, the greatest emphasis was placed on the skills needed for operational execution in companies. Leaders in these countries are primarily concerned with practical management, operational processes and management of individual performance.
In the Benelux and Scandinavia, on the other hand, leaders are much more focused on planning, strategy, communication and promoting change. They think more long-term and strive for the so-called common good. U.S. and UK leaders should be categorized between the above mentioned two groups of leaders. They combine strong focus on operations with strong responsibility for individual performance.
What do these differences mean for companies that want to build their base of leadership talent at the global level?
1. Sending employees abroad is not as simple as it seems
If your workers are to succeed abroad, you must prepare them for the radical change of culture and management style. Countries of the Middle East are for example a very challenging change for women in leadership positions. The decision-making process here is much slower and often the changes are dictated from above.
2. Leaders should be developed locally
Developing new business opportunities requires local leadership development programs focused on finding and developing local talents with high potential. They should not be imposed to follow the management principles from foreign countries.
3. Take your global business as a community
Do not try to suppress the cultural differences caused by the different values of people from different countries. Instead of trying to build a common "globalized" culture, rather build a set of global competencies and values and allow individual countries to optimize the management of their business for the local markets.
The entire study is available for download on the Bersin & Associates website here (for free after registration): http://marketing.bersin.com/GlobalLeadership.html
-kk-