Global leadership development, strategic alignment and CEOs commitment

Abstract

Purpose – Global corporate strategy has moved faster than global leadership development in many companies. This outcome has created some leadership problems: global companies may not have enough leaders in their growth markets or leaders with the required global competencies in their headquarters. The purpose of this paper is to offer some concepts that may help companies tackle those problems. Design/methodology/approach – This paper has a conceptual basis. It draws on previous theoretical knowledge on global leadership development and the experience of some leadership programs in global companies. Findings – The first is that global leadership competencies should be based on the functions that global leaders need to perform and their specific context, not on some theoretical notions isolated from the business context. The second is the need for alignment of global leadership development with the firm's purpose and strategy. The third is that CEOs’ commitment is a key factor in making global leadership initiatives successful. Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper based on business experience. It needs to be complemented with additional empirical work. Practical implications – Global leadership development should be based on real global business functions. Global leadership development should be aligned with the firm's purpose and strategy and its success depends on CEOs’ commitment. Originality/value – The study of global capabilities needs to observe what happens in companies that have global leadership programs. Global leadership development takes place in specific organizations. This paper gets theory closer to the practice of global leadership development.

(Re)Discovering Organizational Purpose

“…Many are asking CEOs and executives to rethink the role of their companies, their impact and the legacy they will leave for future generations. 11 As we have seen in previous chapters, purpose is an organization's cornerstone. The role of purpose can be described as follows.…”

Alinhamento organizacional para a implementação de estratégias

“…Recomendações para obter o alinhamento com a estratégia Canals (2014) a) As competências dos líderes se baseiam nas funções que ele deve desempenhar e seus contextos específicos. b) O desenvolvimento de lideranças considera a estratégia da organização e seus objetivos.…”

“…Por segundo, em relação às ações direcionadas para implementar a estratégia (quadro 5), depreende-se da base teórica consultada que o resultado obtido a partir dos colaboradores começa a ser viabilizado no topo da estrutura organizacional. Ou seja, a alta administração deve apoiar os envolvidos nas iniciativas estratégicas (PETT, 2015) e estar comprometida com o sucesso das ações das lideranças (CANALS, 2014). O principal executivo da organização precisa envolver-se com a implementação da estratégia, reconhecendo e conduzindo comportamentos apropriados nesse sentido (EDWARDS;2000).…”

Critical Review of Global Leadership Literature: Toward an Integrative Global Leadership Framework

“…In reviewing the leadership literature, however, little consensus exists among researchers and practitioners about what constitutes global leadership and how to develop global leaders. Scholars have suggested multiple approaches to developing global leaders and global leadership competency models (Blaess, Hollywood, & Grant, 2012; Caligiuri, 2006; Canals, 2014; Cumberland et al, 2016; Lokkesmoe et al, 2016; Terrell & Rosenbusch, 2013). One reason is that related disciplines present different perspectives when explaining global leadership (Mendenhall, Osland, Bird, Oddou, & Maznevski, 2008).…”

“…Dinh and colleagues (2014) reported 23 distinctive themes of leadership research (e.g., disposition/traits, ethics/morality, social exchange/relationships, diversity/culture, contingency, and error and recovery) to describe the maturity and breadth of the field, and noted that most leadership perspectives are grounded in functionalist-driven Western views. Therefore, more indigenous and cross-cultural perspectives in developing global leadership theories are in order (Canals, 2014; Dinh et al, 2014; Holt & Seki, 2012).…”