Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2010 - (Page 25)
[STRATEGIES]
THE ESSENTIAL TENSION:
DEVELOPING LEADERS AROUND THE GLOBE
B Y
D R .
T O M M Y
W E I R
O
rganizations are well aware of the necessity and importance of developing leaders and have made hefty investments in leadership development programs, yet many still struggle to find qualified leaders for key positions. Developing executives from a variety of cultural settings in a global environment and who are on the other side of the world is a significant challenge for leadership development experts. Actually, it is the crux of the essential tension for leadership development professionals as the days of being a one-country company are gone. Unfortunately, many companies
still practice a single approach to developing leaders, while operating on the assumption that ‘‘leading’’ is the same all over the world. The apparent perception from the adopted practices is that leadership development should come from the West, which makes sense since the vast majority of multi-national companies are headquartered there. And this raises the essential tension between the headquarters and the growth markets with the idea of having one leadership development model to fit all. While your current practices may be effective, it is important to step back from the cur-
rent practices and question how to improve developing leaders in your global organization. What are the practical considerations for global organizations? Understand the Uniqueness of the Leaders’ Experience and Environment Just as streetwise business operators get to know the customer and sophisticated organizations invest in consumer insights, leadership development specialists need to get to know who the participants are. There is no question that globalization is changing the world’s culture
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