ABSTRACT

Global business today requires leaders who can effectively work in complex, ambiguous, and dynamic environments and lead those from different cultures and in different cultures. These leaders are critical but they are currently in short supply. The dearth of globally competent business leaders is negatively affecting organizations’ ability to compete globally and execute their plans for strategic growth. Global CEOs from more than fifty countries named “managing diverse cultures” as one of the top concerns threatening the competitive success of their organizations (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2007). These CEOs identified that they needed more leaders in their organizations’ talent pipelines who could manage the complexity of foreign environments, who could negotiate cultural challenges, and who understand sometimes conflicting regulatory requirements and stakeholder demands in foreign countries (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2007). It follows that the global organizations with a robust pipeline of cross-culturally competent leaders should gain a competitive advantage in the future.