“Companies that ignore the global mindset do so at their own peril.”
(Chief Learning Officer Magazine, June 2008.)
If your company’s leaders are innovating across political, social and cultural boundaries in ways that suggest they are looking for opportunities, then they’re already talking “global leadership.” One characteristic of global leaders is they can see many different perspectives and views at once – even contradictory ones. And rather than having a single interpretation of an event and an immediate response, a global leader chooses from a broader behavioral repertoire than a domestic leader. That’s what’s meant by a “global mindset.”
How do you get a global mindset? Many sabbatical takers, like Jamie White, are opting for an experience that plops them into a different culture. He leaves the end of this month for two weeks at the Goethe Institute where he’ll study German and then travel. (I think there’s even one of those family reunions thrown in. EEEaaahhh). Stephanie Kress, his wife, and Maxwell Kress White, his eighteen-month-old son, will enjoy the experience with him. (Don’t we wish we all had an opportunity to develop our global mindsets at age two? Go Max.)
Although Jamie didn’t cite “developing a global mindset” as a learning goal in his sabbatical plan, interestingly he did zero in on key aspects of just how to do it. Growing up in Foley, Alabama – a good place, yes, but not exactly cosmopolitan – this opportunity is far more than sight-seeing and developing new language skills.
Here’s what Jamie wrote in his Sabbatical Proposal submitted to his senior management at AppRiver, an award winning, high-growth company committed to preventing internet pollution.
What I Expect to Learn:
1. Increased proficiency in conversational German
2. Greater understanding of a different culture
3. Learn about the “Green Ways” of Europe
4. Increased knowledge and appreciation for a part of the world that is not my home
5. How to deal with problems/challenges in unfamiliar surroundings
Unknowingly, Jamie’s learning objectives zoom in on characteristics Global Leaders must possess. He’s doing just what Duke Corporate Education’s Schon Beechler, academic director, and Dennis Baltzey, head of signature solutions, advocate leaders do: Get themselves in developmental situations that stretch their inquisitiveness, tolerance for ambiguity, open-mindedness and nonjudgmental behaviors. (Three of the 10 characteristics of Global Leaders.)
Sustaining worldwide success means companies must develop leaders who can be effective and influence people different from themselves. This benefit shouldn’t be underestimated in the sabbatical experience, because leaders cannot find their global mindset in the office.
So how’s your Global Mindset?
On a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being Non-Existent and 5 being Fully Integrated and Operational) just where is your global mindset today?
And where should it be?
Look for future posts with more information on the global mindset and how to fill the demand. For a complete list of the 10 characteristics global leaders possess see this digital version of Chief Learning Officer Magazine, June 2008, Creating a Global Mindset by Schon Beechler and Dennis Baltzley, page 40.
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