Relevance of global leadership cannot be overstated in today's business world. This is more so the case given that the boarders that existed between nations three or four decades ago are slowly becoming nonexistent as the globe becomes more and more interconnected. Indeed, to remain relevant, businesses are increasingly exploring opportunities beyond their traditional markets. It is for these and many other reasons that global leadership has become so important. In this text, I largely concern myself with global leadership and why its relevance cannot be overstated going forward.
Global Leadership: Its Definition and Relevance
The global economy significantly differs from the domestic economy. For this reason, the skills a leader would need to succeed in a domestic situation are not the same skills he or she would require in the global marketplace. It therefore follows that some differences exist between global leaders and domestic leaders. However, it should be noted that although in essence most of the tasks global leaders undertake are similar to those of leaders in the domestic markets, leaders operating in the global landscape must in addition to having a global mindset also have the ability to adapt their approaches to leadership to fit various situations. So, with that said, how should global leadership be defined? Before I give my own definition of global leadership, I will examine two definitions of same as offered by various authors in the past. Global leadership according to one school of thought should be seen "as the abilities of a leader to act differently in different cultural settings within a globalised world" (Rothwell, 2012, p.46). On the other hand,...
It is in the course of providing leadership across boarders that an individual encounters a myriad of complexities and opportunities provided by the diverse economic, regulatory, as well as social and cultural systems of other jurisdictions. In that regard, for an individual to be referred to as a global leader, he or she must have a number of competencies in addition to the ones he already has in his or her leadership portfolio in a domestic setting.
Why Global Leadership is so Important
To begin with, as I have already pointed out elsewhere in this text, the world is increasingly becoming borderless. In that regard, organizations of today are expected to go out of their way to exploit opportunities elsewhere in the world in an attempt to enhance their bottom-line and serve underserved markets. It is for…
