Chapter Two
Global and Cross-Cultural
Leadership
PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP
Andrew J. DuBrin, 7th Edition
Learning Objectives
• Explain the potential ethical and competitive advantage
from leading and managing diversity.
• Describe how cultural factors, including values, influence
leadership practice.
• Explain the contribution of cultural sensitivity and
cultural intelligence to leadership effectiveness.
• Explain how global leadership skills contribute to
leadership effectiveness.
• Pinpoint leadership initiatives to enhance the acceptance
of cultural diversity.
Work Force Trends
• Work forces are becoming more diverse and cultures of
inclusion are becoming more common.
• Globalization is compelling businesses to send more
workers to other countries.
• Leaders are traveling and working abroad in greater
numbers.
• Workers with international experience and skills are
increasingly more sought-after in the workplace.
Diversity
• Human characteristics that make people
different from one another.
• Leaders should be the champions for
valuing the inclusion of these differences.
Understanding the
“Differences”
• The sources of our individual variations are complex, but
are generally grouped into two categories:
• Those over which we have little or no control
• Biologically determined – race, sex, age, certain physical
attributes, the family and society we are born into
• Those over which we have some control
• Through our conscious choices and deliberate efforts
• Work, background, income, marital status, military
experience, political beliefs, geographic location, education
Advantages of Managing
Diversity
• Reduction of turnover and absenteeism costs
• Managing diversity well offers a marketing advantage
• Companies with a favorable record in managing diversity
are at a distinct advantage in recruiting and retaining
talented people.
• Heterogeneity in the work force may offer the company a
creativity advantage, as well as improve its problem-
solving and decision-making capability.
• Diversity and inclusion programs help local economies
thereby boosting social responsibility.
Cultural Factors Influencing
Leadership Practice
• Multicultural leaders have skills and attitudes to relate
effectively to and motivate people across race, gender,
age, social attitudes, and lifestyles.
• One way to understand how national cultures differ is to examine
their values or cultural dimensions.
• The values embedded in a culture influence the behavior of leaders
and managers as well as the behavior of other workers.
• Relationships between people in a society are affected by the values
programmed in the minds of these people.
Dimensions of Cultural Values
European Styles of
Management
• French managers – who work in a strong culture
of class - tend to behave in a superior,
authoritarian, and bureaucratic manner.
• German managers tend to avoid uncertainty,
and are dispassionate, assertive, straightforward,
and stern.
Malaysian Managers
• Culture emphasizes collectivism and is human-
oriented.
• Culture discourages aggressive, confrontational
behavior, preferring harmonious relationships.
• Managers show compassion but are more
autocratic than participative.
• Managers act logically, decisively, and remain
resolute.
• Managers adopt a more formal, diplomatic style
to avoid conflict and show consideration of
others.
Northern US vs. Southern US
Managers
• Southern managers are low key and people-
oriented.
• Northern managers are more brusque, efficient,
and task-oriented.
• Culturally-based differences in leadership style
are not as important as practices that work in
every culture, for all businesses.
Cultural Sensitivity and
Cultural Intelligence
• Cultural Sensitivity is an awareness of and
a willingness to investigate the reasons why
people of another culture act as they do.
• Cultural Intelligence is an outsider’s ability
to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and
ambiguous gestures the way that person’s
compatriots would.
Global Leadership Skills
• Refer to the ability to exercise effective leadership in a
variety of countries.
• The essence of global leadership is the ability to
influence people who are dissimilar to the leader and
stem from different cultural backgrounds.
• Excellent global leaders have a leadership style that
generates superior corporate performance in terms of:
• Profitability and productivity
• Continuity and efficiency
• Commitment and morale
• Adaptability and innovation
Leadership Initiatives for
Achieving Cultural Diversity
• Hold managers accountable for achieving diversity
• Establish minority recruitment, retention, and mentoring
programs
• Conduct diversity training
• Conduct cross-cultural training
• Encourage the development of employee networks
• Avoid group characteristics when hiring for person-
organization fit
• Modify products and services for targeted demographic
groups
• Attain diversity among organizational leaders
Summary
• The modern leader must be multicultural.
• Managing for diversity brings a competitive advantage to the firm.
• The leader must be aware of overt and subtle cultural differences to
influence, motivate, and inspire culturally diverse people.
• Differences in cultural values help explain differences among people.
• Cultural values influence leadership style as well as the behavior of
other workers.
• Cultural sensitivity is essential for inspiring people from different
countries.
• Global leadership skills help improve a company’s reputation and
contribute to a sustainable competitive advantage.
• Top management commitment to valuing diversity is clearest when
valuing diversity is embedded in organizational strategy.