Building Human Capability - Globally    
Global Leadership Development PDF Email
In order to develop leaders who can effectively lead global operations, it is important to understand what makes leaders effective across cultures. Culture shapes how we think about what is good leadership, and the definitions of an "effective leader" vary from one culture to another. In fact, effective leadership behavior in one culture could (and will) be completely ineffective in others.

Therefore, a one-development-approach will not work when developing global leaders. While true leaders can envision what they want to achieve, know how to meet the challenges of the market and take steps to make that vision a reality, how they interact with people will define their success. Leaders with cultural sensitivity can be more effective than those without. Leadership is complex and leading across cultures is more complex. (For specific information on Global Finance Leadership Development, click here.)

The framework for Global Leadership Development should include:
  1. Identification of talent
  2. Assessment of the talent capabilities (and this should include cultural assessment for global leaders)
  3. A gap analysis (one to identify needs for each individual and a general one regarding the talent pool so the organization can leverage needs across large employee populations)
  4. A variety of development approaches that address culturally appropriate learning styles
  5. Measurement processes to track actual development
ITAP can help your organization:
  • assess the effectiveness of your recruitment, selection and succession policies to insure that your talent pool is diverse and matches the qualities and characteristics that will succeed in various cultures
  • define what qualities and characteristics (competencies) are necessary to succeed across cultures
  • design learning opportunities that match leaders' learning styles, because these too differ across cultures
  • provide cross-cultural coaching for executives and leaders working in a multi-cultural environment
  • assess each leader's cultural profile to help him or her with self-understanding, the first step to appreciation of cultural differences.

Cross-cultural Competency

Best practices in one culture can be career limiting in another. Through training, education or coaching ITAP can support the development of global leaders. With attention to cultural flexibility and understanding, ITAP develops leaders who focus on outcomes within a global process framework.

Leadership Competency

The definition of an effective leader in one culture may be exactly opposite to the behaviors needed to be effective in another. ITAP helps leaders and executives understand the perceptions of their global workforce, customers and vendors. With ITAP, leaders focus on the behaviors necessary to achieve results across cultures, to motivate global employees to achieve business outcomes and to succeed in the global marketplace.

Assessment and Development

Global leaders often find out too late about the different assumptions among their management team members from other cultures concerning their priorities in the business and their preferred management styles. A leader's cultural sensitivity to local ideas about business goals and values, performance improvement systems, conflicts between quality and quantity, standards of customer service, work rules, decision making and information management has a strong impact on his/her effectiveness.

ITAP designs and staffs virtual assessment centers specifically to support the development of global talent. ITAP can help:
  • Identify the development needs within organizations
  • Establish a development protocol, the first step of which is gathering data through assessments
  • Define how to use existing assessment information, cultural assessments and standard assessment processes and tool.
  • Design individual reports for those being assessed
  • Design institutional reports that retain the confidentiality of those in the development process while providing a summary of development needs to the organization
  • Provide executive coaching using the ITAP Alliance network of globally experienced coaches. International coaches are not enough.

Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is designed for senior managers, directors, VP's and high potentials. Coaching assists these individuals to acquire higher level management skills and to refine leadership competencies. Executives can learn how to:
  • Lead teams effectively
  • Communicate clearly and decisively
  • Use their authority with more confidence, accountability and integrity
  • Enhance cross-cultural awareness and global business skills.
Coaching prepares leaders for succession and helps them achieve more personal satisfaction. To develop global leaders, coaches need to have work experience in their home country as well as out of their home country. The ITAP Alliance can provide global coaching covering a wide range of capabilities, in many languages and across many functional areas of expertise.

Global/Virtual/Remote Team Leader Support

ITAP can support the team leader throughout the life of the team (as necessary) in areas such as:
  • Chartering teams
  • Mentoring, development, coaching and/or training based on analysis of the type of support needed
  • Measuring team interactions over time and providing interventions or training to support effective team interactions, including those that may be based in cultural differences or the use of technology to communicate - or both
  • Measuring team outcomes using In The Know™ software that allows managers and stakeholders to have on-line access to information regarding the team outputs, in progress tasks and any identified barriers to completion of the work of the team.
 

Regional Sites

ITAP Alliance Affiliates