What makes an effective leader ¿ particularly in a multicultural environment?
The ability to be aware of one's influence on others is critical for successful leadership, according to Prof. Scott Taylor of Boston University. This skill remains important in cross-cultural contexts, although it is more challenging to put into practice, he said.
Prof. Taylor was one of several experts to participate in a recent conference, sponsored by IESE's International Research Center on Organizations (IRCO) and the newly-launched Cross-Cultural Management Network (CCMN). The network is an initiative that seeks to generate research on cross-cultural issues in organizations.
Also delivering presentations during the event were IESE Prof. Pablo Cardona, CCMN researcher, and Michael Morley of the University of Limerick. Carlos Viladrich, Director of Adecco Human Capital Solutions in Spain, which co-sponsored the event, provided opening remarks.
An expert on emotional intelligence, Taylor said that one of the key abilities that separates an average leader from an excellent one is self-awareness.
The effective manager is "aware that he or she is being experienced or perceived as manipulative or visionary. The person has the ability to see how subordinates are experiencing the leadership." He discussed the tools and methods that can be used for carrying this out.
Next, Prof. Michael Morley presented an overview of the key lines of international people management research. Cross-cultural research is becoming more complex, as the aims of international business become more complex, he said.
Morley highlighted some of the main challenges that lay ahead for companies in the areas of global staffing. These include: availability of international managers, dual career issues, female expatriates and repatriation issues.
Research suggests that there has been an "ad hoc" approach to repatriation and a failure on the part of companies to cull the knowledge gained from employees once they have returned from an international assignment, he said.
In his presentation, Prof. Cardona addressed the 12 universal competencies that his research has shown are important to be effective as a leader. The competencies fall into three dimensions: business, intrapersonal and personal. In the personal dimension, the key competencies were discipline, humility, personal equilibrium and courage.
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