Global Mindset Secrets of Superstar Expats
ompanies often send executives overseas on the assumption that a successful domestic track record is a good predictor of success in the global arena. Unfortunately, such assumptions often lead to painful experiences for the executive and the corporation.
The conventional wisdom among experts and global leaders seems to be that the best way to develop an individual’s global leadership capabilities is by posting that person in different parts of the world. Exposure to other cultures and other ways of doing things, the argument goes, will help develop the manager’s skills in dealing and working with people from other cultures.
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Image: Reuters
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GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADERS: Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered PLC, and Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase | |
While we agree with the logic, we also have found that the trail-by-fire method is not foolproof. Far too many executives going through such a developmental experience actually fail. They can’t handle the complexities in their work environment and fail to learn and build their capabilities.
Even when this approach works, it usually takes many years to produce results. Posting the wrong type of executive — the type who does not have the propensity to learn and succeed in global environments — can be a long, painful and expensive process for the executive and the company.
Conventional wisdom surrounding effective global leadership development is missing a key ingredient.
We believe this key is “Global Mindset,” a set of individual attributes that help a global leader influence those who are different from them. The three critical dimensions of Global Mindset include:
– Intellectual Capital, which refers to global business savvy, cosmopolitan outlook and cognitive complexity.
– Psychological Capital, which refers to passion for diversity, quest for adventure, and self-assurance.
– Social Capital, which refers to intercultural empathy, interpersonal impact and diplomacy.
Our research has focused on the meaning, measurement and development of a Global Mindset. Combining Global Mindset attributes results in global leadership effectiveness.
Global leadership is best defined as the ability to influence others who are unlike the leader, in order to achieve an organization’s global ambitions, goals and strategies. The core of global leadership is a process of influencing a variety of individuals, groups and organizations from different social, cultural, political and institutional backgrounds.
The world is not flat
Contrary to what you may have heard, the world is not flat. Tom Friedman’s bestselling book argues that the world is flat because nations, communities and individuals are more interconnected now than at any other time in human history. While this is true, it does not mean that leaders are ready for this level of interconnection.
As one executive put it, “The fact that I now know more about you does not mean that I like you or that I want to work with you!” While influencing people who are like you is not always easy, influencing people who are different from you is even harder.
After interviewing more than 200 senior global executives in the United States, Europe and Asia, and surveying nearly 6,500 individuals all over the world, we developed a definition of Global Mindset as a set of individual attributes that help global leaders better influence those who are different from them.
Individuals with high levels of Global Mindset are likely to be more effective global leaders because of their ability to do three things:
1. Understand and interpret what is going on in a global situation by being better prepared to understand and interpret the signals and messages around them;
2. Exhibit high doses of flexibility, which allows an individual to see different ways of doing things, and which gives the individual the willingness to act differently in different situations;
3. Choose the right behavior and approach in different circumstances.
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