GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
Kendal Callison
Global HR Services
SHRM Global HR SME
GLOBALHR Business Leaders Conference, Seattle, March 31st 2011
MY BACKGROUND
17 years in Global HR
 5 years as co-owner of IT/Global HR services
 12 years in various global HR roles (Canada, US,
Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific ) with
multinationals
Education MBA; GPHR; GPHR exam prep
course instructor certified
Volunteer Roles
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2010-:
SHRM Global HR SME
2007-2010: SHRM Global HR Expertise panel
2003-2005: SHRM WA State Council Int’l HR Dir.
2003:
co-founder of IHRRT (became the
Global HR Consortium in 2005)
TODAY’S FOCUS
 Global Leadership Development (GLD)
 Definition, Key Questions & Important Traits
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Creating a People Advantage
Overcoming Shortfalls
Leadership Pipeline
Competencies & a Global Mindset
Development Tools
Conclusion
GLD DEFINITION & KEY
QUESTIONS
Definition…
 Training to assist the development of required
leadership skills with the goal to unify a global
workforce around a common vision through
demonstration of personal mastery, thinking
globally, anticipating opportunities and
effectively using shared networks.
Identify…
 Talent & related capabilities
 Essential competencies
 Gap analysis
 Pathways to gain leadership experience
 Measurement tools to track actual development
IMPORTANT TRAITS
Effective Global Leaders
 Envision what they want to achieve
 Know how to meet market challenges & take
steps to make that vision a reality
 Realize that effective interaction between
leadership and employees strongly impacts
their future success
 Have organizational commitment to learning &
the development of a global mindset
LIKE A FINE WINE…
… it takes time to develop a leader who can
manage effectively within a global context
 Working in different cultures
 Understanding complex relationships
 Developing cultural skills & attitudes
 Employees:
 develop leadership skills & behaviors
 grow & develop at different speeds
SHRM’S RESEARCH QUARTERLY
 Q4 2010 SHRM Research Quarterly
“Global Leadership Development”
www.shrm.org
 Includes:
 Issues important for GLD success & related
strategies
 Academic studies highlighting these issues
 Perspectives on trends, challenges &
opportunities
CREATING A PEOPLE
ADVANTAGE
How companies can adapt their HR practices
to respond to volatile times…
 The demand for leadership development
 Other issues:
 Managing talent
 Enhancing employee engagement
 Measuring workforce performance
 Improving performance management &
rewards
The Boston Consulting Group & the WFPMA Associations; www.bcg.com; 2010;
Creating people advantage 2010
OVERCOMING SHORTFALLS
…in developing leaders
 75% identified improving or leveraging
talent as a top business priority
 Only 50% had a process to identify highpotential leaders and…
 …only 39% of those had a program to
accelerate candidates’ development
Development Dimensions International, Inc; www.ddiworld.com; 2009; Global
leadership forecast 2008/2009: Overcoming the shortfalls in developing leaders.
LEADERSHIP PIPELINE
 Organizations must have a process within
their talent management strategy
 Leadership focus should begin early in a
potential candidate’s career
 The best leadership companies focus on
attracting young leaders
Bloomberg Businessweek.com/Hay Group; February 18, 2010; 2009 best
companies for leadership. The future of leadership: A spotlight on the best.
COMPETENCIES
 A lack of the right competencies in existing
global leaders can cause critical challenges
 Strategic planning & implementation
 Interpersonal misunderstandings and / or
miscommunication between executives from
different cultures
 Global mindset is an integral part of GLD &
the foundation for successful global
leadership
COMPETENCIES
 Innovation comes from:
 New ideas
 New thinking
 New ways of looking at the world
 Need to develop a new global mindset
 Need to examine:
 Talent management & development
 Connection between diversity of thought
& innovation
Bloomberg Businessweek.com; www.businessweek.com; (1-26-2010); The New
Global Mindset
GLOBAL MINDSET
 Diversity includes:
 Not just race or gender
 Personality, level and type of education
and skills, culture, generation and life
experiences
 Leveraging inclusive ways of thinking
Bloomberg Businessweek.com; www.businessweek.com; (1-26-2010); The New
Global Mindset
COMPETENCIES
Four principles:
 Get the mindset
 Nurture a spectrum of talent
 Anticipate the next big thing
 Consensus is not always desirable
Bloomberg Businessweek.com; www.businessweek.com; (1-26-2010); The New
Global Mindset
GLOBAL MINDSET
 Developing a global mindset includes:
 Cultural competency skills
 An understanding of & appreciation for
different preferences & communication styles
 Cultural sensitivity
 Commitment to develop & support a different
organizational mindset
 Open to learning new perspectives
 Capacity to learn from failure
 Enables working effectively across functional,
organizational & cross-cultural boundaries
 Essential for a worldwide corporate vision balancing global & local needs
COMPETENCIES
 Global mindset / global intelligence
 Effective communication
 Strategic thinking
 Cross-cultural intelligence
SHRM; 2010; What senior HR leaders need to know: Perspectives from the U.S.,
Canada, India, the Middle East and North Africa.
COMPETENCIES
Global business knowledge
Cross-cultural resourcefulness
Cross-cultural agility
Assignment hardiness
Organizational-positioning skills from
remote locations
 Cross-cultural sensitivity
 Humility
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Lombardo, M.M., Eichinger, R.W.; Center for Creative Leadership; 2006; FYI for your
improvement, 4th edition.
COMPETENCIES
Five mediating keys:
 Systemic thinking
 Embracing diversity & managing risk
 Balancing global & local perspectives
 Meaningful dialogue & developing a new
language
 Emotional awareness
Hind, P., Wilson, A. & Lenssen, G; 2009; Developing leaders for sustainable business.
Corporate Governance, 9(1), 7+.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOOLS
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Assignments - temporary & stretch
Mentoring &/or coaching
International business travel
Experiential or action learning assignments
International cross-functional teams
Expat assignments (long & short-term)
Language training
Cross-cultural training
360-degree feedback
CONCLUSION
 The right talent continues to be key to
maintaining &/or expanding a company’s
global marketplace position
 Effective global leadership is at the center
of this success…
 … with broad requirements of essential
competencies, skills & knowledge and…
 …a receptiveness to learning &
understanding of cultures and…
 …developing new & diverse perspectives.
CONCLUSION
 Essential parts of the GLD equation include:
 Willingness to explore new ways of leading &
learning
 Influencing others by example for the benefit of
the company
 HR’s role:
 keep the doors of learning open
 help guide the organization to become a better
corporate citizen
 Strengthen the organization’s outreach for
diverse talent with a goal to create global
leaders of the future
REFERENCE LIST
 SHRM (2010). Global Leadership Development; SHRM 4th
quarter Research Quarterly.
 The Boston Consulting Group and the World Federation of
Personnel Management Associations; www.bcg.com;
(2010); Creating people advantage 2010: How companies
can adapt their HR practices for volatile times.
 Development Dimensions International, Inc;
www.ddiworld.com (2009); Global leadership forecast
2008/2009: Overcoming the shortfalls in developing
leaders.
 Bloomberg Businessweek.com/Hay Group; Hay Group
webinar; (02-18-2010); 2009 best companies for
leadership. The future of leadership: A spotlight on the
best.
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REFERENCE LIST
 Bloomberg Businessweek.com; www.businessweek.com;
(1-26-2010); The New Global Mindset
 SHRM (2010); What senior HR leaders need to know:
Perspectives from the U.S., Canada, India, the Middle East
and North Africa.
 Lombardo, M.M., Eichinger, R.W.; Center for Creative
Leadership (2006); FYI for your improvement, 4th edition.
 Hind, P., Wilson, A. & Lenssen, G (2009); Developing
leaders for sustainable business. Corporate Governance,
9(1), 7+.
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QUESTIONS?
Kendal Callison
Global HR Services
SHRM Global HR SME
Kendal.Callison@gmail.com
206-218-8001