Attributes and Competencies of the Global Leader
Attributes and Competencies of the Global Leader
Introduction
Today we are living in a globalized world, where organizations are multicultural and diverse, people are sharing a global language (English) and a global medium of communications (Internet), technology is booming, small connected world and changes are faster than ever. To be an effective leader of emerging organizations in the global world one will need to see the world and the workforce with a global mindset (Marquardt & Berger 2000). To cope with the changes in a globalized business world, leaders will need to develop different attributes and competencies, such as: visionary, effective communication, innovation, motivational, creative, spirituality and concern of ethics, charismatic and risk taking.
However, some of these skills are not essential for a leader to succeed, for example not all successful leaders are charismatic or creative. On the other hand, there are some leadership competencies like effective communication, visionary, honesty/integrity, motivational/inspirational are essential for a real leader. In my opinion, if these skills aren’t available in a leader, then he/she is not practicing the leadership effectively and will not be distinguished from the crowd. In this paper I will examine the four attributes most needed by men and women to lead in the new world, and will highlight how these attributes are going to evolve over time.
Visionary leaders
Leaders start to envision when they are unhappy with the present situation, and want to change the future. Leadership starts with having a vision, then developing a plan to achieve it through the followers (Giuliani 2002). Real leaders envision an exciting highly attractive future for their organizations, inspire and share the vision, enlist others in a common vision, keep visioning as ongoing process. According to Kouzes & Posner the visionary leaders as described in The Leadership Challenge book "compared to all other the other
Introduction
Today we are living in a globalized world, where organizations are multicultural and diverse, people are sharing a global language (English) and a global medium of communications (Internet), technology is booming, small connected world and changes are faster than ever. To be an effective leader of emerging organizations in the global world one will need to see the world and the workforce with a global mindset (Marquardt & Berger 2000). To cope with the changes in a globalized business world, leaders will need to develop different attributes and competencies, such as: visionary, effective communication, innovation, motivational, creative, spirituality and concern of ethics, charismatic and risk taking.
However, some of these skills are not essential for a leader to succeed, for example not all successful leaders are charismatic or creative. On the other hand, there are some leadership competencies like effective communication, visionary, honesty/integrity, motivational/inspirational are essential for a real leader. In my opinion, if these skills aren’t available in a leader, then he/she is not practicing the leadership effectively and will not be distinguished from the crowd. In this paper I will examine the four attributes most needed by men and women to lead in the new world, and will highlight how these attributes are going to evolve over time.
Visionary leaders
Leaders start to envision when they are unhappy with the present situation, and want to change the future. Leadership starts with having a vision, then developing a plan to achieve it through the followers (Giuliani 2002). Real leaders envision an exciting highly attractive future for their organizations, inspire and share the vision, enlist others in a common vision, keep visioning as ongoing process. According to Kouzes & Posner the visionary leaders as described in The Leadership Challenge book "compared to all other the other
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