It’s becoming more important than ever for leaders to operate with a global perspective. Think about how much technology is enabling us to interact and engage with colleagues around the world simultaneously. Technology is the main driver behind the rise in the remote workforce trend – that and the preference for flexibility that newer generations value.
It has always been beneficial for leaders to be well-read and informed on current events. It’s a necessary part of being an informed contributor to the world of work and being able to add more value with your stakeholders.
Today, the need is even greater due to the way organizations are integrating and leveraging work teams around the world. It is quite common for leaders to lead a team that spans several geographies, time zones – even continents.
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Leaders need to better prepare themselves for these leadership opportunities by developing a deeper understanding of broader world trends, issues and cultural frameworks. Harnessing this knowledge will allow leaders to be able to contribute to conversations, better understand and deal with different perspectives and be better prepared to manage any conflict that may arise in leading diverse global teams.
There are numerous ways leaders can stay abreast of global events and issues. The simplest ways are quite accessible to all leaders. The first requirement is to make a personal commitment to start building this personal development into your schedule.
Consider:
- Spending more time with the global sections of your daily news sources to identify global trends and issues.
- Adding a global online newspaper into your daily reading.
- Following global leaders from different geographies on your LinkedIn page.
- Following social media from organizations that are developing solutions to global issues.
- Reaching out to a global colleague to develop a business relationship – helping each other to better understand each other’s main issues and opportunities.
- Volunteering for global committee work, global stretch assignments.
- Asking for a Mentor outside your geography, current business line.
- Exploring global career opportunities as they arise.
- Sponsoring or mentoring a leader outside your geography – you will learn from them!
- Listening to educational webinars and podcasts on world events, topics.
- Attending a global conference or following global conferences such as the World Economic Forum.
- Asking your clients to share their global vision, goals, issues and opportunities with you during a business review.
- Volunteering in global social causes.
This list is limitless and, as you can see, relatively easy to add into your schedule. So what is holding you back from moving forward? How would you like to see yourself in six months’ time in regard to broadening your global perspective? With a little bit of effort, you can expand your point of view, increase your knowledge of global events and increase your ability to lead with a global perspective, thereby adding more value to your key stakeholders. You may even increase your chances of promotion if that is what you might want!
Reach out to me if this is an area you’d like to explore further, as there are key leadership competencies for successful global leaders that you will want to develop.
Here are some of my other thoughts on leadership. LEAD WELL!
