By AMA STaff
Executive Summary
“There’s a lot involved in developing a global mindset, and not all of it is even quantifiable,” observes Janice Hyslip, career planning and leadership development manager for global oilfield services firm Schlumberger. Even in a company renowned for opening global mobility and exposure to diversity to all employees, an absolute definition of global mindset and the experiences required to create it can be elusive. This is a testament to the challenges organizations face in global leadership development.
This collaborative examination of effective Global Leadership Development (GLD) by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and the American Management Association (AMA) found many companies’ global performance at risk: Only half of organizations make it a priority to develop leaders’ global skills and competencies, and only a third describe their development efforts as effective.
Exploring the ways in which high-performance organizations help leaders build the skills and sophisticated perspective needed to achieve and sustain business results in the global marketplace is the core focus of Developing Global-Minded Leaders to Drive High Performance.
Key findings
- Global development that begins with first-level leaders or individual contributors fuels success. Delaying such efforts until candidates reach higher leadership levels has a negative effect on development effectiveness.
- Business and financial acumen are fundamental capabilities for leaders; social skills are the real differentiators in the global environment.
- Experience is a powerful teacher. Active, experiential learning transcends on-the-job training and builds global leaders.
- Global mindset is a distinctive characteristic of effective global leaders. Embracing cross-cultural diversity and driving collaborative relationships within and beyond organizations are hallmarks of this evolved perspective.
About The Author
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—“learning through doing”—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, Webcasts and podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books and research.