CULTURAL ADAPTABILITY AND LEADING ACROSS CULTURES

Abstract

Managers with global responsibilities work across distance, across differences in country infrastructure, and across differences in cultural values and expectations. Although the work of global managers is in some respects the same as the work of domestic managers – they must provide leadership, direct action and manage information – in order to be effective, global managers must adapt how they do their work to the global context. Research indicates that success as a global leader depends significantly on the leader’s ability to interact effectively with others who are culturally different. To do this, leaders must be able to adapt their behavior appropriately to the particular circumstances in which they are working. Cultural adaptability is critical to successful global leadership. Research shows that cultural adaptability is related to a number of different experiences, both on and off the job. In this chapter we review the literature on cultural adaptability and leading across cultures; and building on what we know about learning from experience, we suggest developmental experiences which can help leaders develop their cultural adaptability.

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