Executive Overview Global leadership has been identified as a critical success factor for large multinational corporations. While there is much writing on the topic, most seems to be either general advice (i.e., being open minded and respectful of other cultures) or very specific information about a particular country based on a limited case study (do not show the soles of your shoes when seated as a guest in an Arab country). Both kinds of information are certainly useful, but limited from both theoretical and practical viewpoints on how to lead in a foreign country. In this paper, findings from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program are used to provide a sound basis for conceptualizing worldwide leadership differences. We use a hypothetical case of an American executive in charge of four similar teams in Brazil, France, Egypt, and China to discuss cultural implications for the American executive. Using the hypothetical case involving five different count...

In the Eye of the Beholder: Cross Cultural Lessons in Leadership from Project GLOBE

Purpose – From the competency point of view, this article aims to review and discuss existing global leadership and other related literature, and to combine findings and suggestions provided in previous literature in a more integrative framework of global leadership competencies.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews and discusses the terminology used in the international global leadership literature. This is followed by a review of the main outcomes of previous research. Finally an attempt is made to combine these outcomes into a more integrative framework of global leadership competencies, offering suggestions for further research.Findings – This paper provides information about previous research, integrating earlier findings into a more comprehensive framework of global competencies. It also discusses deficiencies in use of terminology and research methods used in earlier studies giving suggestions for further research.Research limitations/implications – The references used for this review are...

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Global leadership competencies: a review and discussion

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate some factors that have an influence on employee retention. Based on the literature and previous research, both employee and organisational factors are taken into account.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that was distributed on a voluntary basis in professional organisations and among employees, both electronically and in hard‐copy, during 2008‐2009. The study sample consisted of 972 employees, mainly clerks, from diverse profit and social‐profit organisations.Findings – The results show that when organisations want to retain their employees it is important to pay attention to the learning of employees. Letting people do more and learn more of what they are good at will encourage them to stay with the organisation. Results concerning the selected employee variables show that only age has a significant relationship with retention. Regarding the intention to stay, there exists a positive relationship between age an...

Influence of learning and working climate on the retention of talented employees

In this continuously changing contemporary economy, companies have to be able to anticipate technological innovations and to compete with other companies worldwide. This need makes important a company’s ability to evolve through its employees’ learning and through continuous development. Securing and retaining skilled employees plays an important role in this process, because employees’ knowledge and skills are central to companies’ ability to be economically competitive. Given that employee retention is very important for the functioning and competitiveness of a company, this study focuses on the organisational and personal factors that influence employee retention. A special interest is taken in employees’ learning, because this is seen as a retention supporting activity. A questionnaire was administered to 349 employees, and 11 employees were interviewed. The interviews are used to illustrate and contextualise the quantitative results. The results show a large positive contribution of appreciation and stimulation of the employee to employee retention. This result is consistent with findings of earlier research. However, the retention benefits arising from personal development offer new possibilities when attempting to enhance employee retention. This study also showed that individual differences influence employee retention. Leadership skills and seniority have a positive relationship with employee retention and the level of readiness and initiative regarding learning are negatively related to retention.

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Employee retention: organisational and personal perspectives

– The purpose of this paper is to address the research question of “How does a global career involving multiple international relocations influence the career capital of an individual manager?”, and to examine the typical career‐capital‐related characteristics, drivers and outcomes associated with global careers. The importance of understanding the careers of global leaders, whose work paths typically include various international positions and assignments, has increased due to the globalization of business. A particularly relevant approach for studying such careers is through a framework of career capital, which adopts an individualistic perspective to explain how actors consciously acquire portable capabilities, construct networks and identify their own motivations, applying them in their specific work contexts., – The study adopts a qualitative design based on interviews with 20 managers on a global career path involving multiple international assignments., – The results indicate that international work experience has an extensive developmental effect on the career capital of managers. First, the interviewees reported that their global careers had strongly increased their knowing‐why career capital, referring to meaning and self‐awareness. With regard to knowing‐how career capital, their multiple international experiences had considerably enhanced several work‐related competencies. The key drivers behind this development included the broad range of responsibilities, the nature of the international environment, a high level of autonomy, and cross‐cultural differences. Finally, in terms of knowing‐whom capital, the results of the study indicate that the contact network managers acquire during their international assignments was of very high importance for their future careers. As a further outcome of their global careers, the managers were found to have a very strong career identity., – This paper provides a novel perspective on a topic that is of increasingly critical importance in today's global business.

The career capital of managers with global careers

To achieve aggressive growth goals, many global companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of developing leadership talent—those individuals who demonstrate the ability to become the company's future senior executives. This article focuses on the efforts of one $8 billion consumer products company that has proven itself a leader in global leadership development. It describes how the company is developing its leaders around the world. In-depth observations were made over a period of several years, during which time the author served as both an inside participant in the decision making process and an outside observer of the company's progress. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jill Conner

Papers

Developing the global leaders of tomorrow