Effective leadership
How can leaders develop effective relationships in rapidly changing environments? For example, Hadders
and Miedema (2009) suggest that in order to better meet the needs for global sustainable business
performance, leaders must practice �leadership fairness�. The need for effective leaders and
leadership has likely never been greater in the world at large�in business, government, not-for-profit
organisations, and in other non-governmental organisations. What should you do, and what can you
learn, to become a more effective leader given today�s challenges and opportunities?
For this Key Concept Exercise you will begin to analyse various challenges faced by leadership. You will
consider which practices and behaviours of global leaders might be most appropriate in helping address
problems in the current global business environment.
Consider the challenges and opportunities in a global environment that require effective leadership
practice.
Identify at least two specific global leadership challenges that are of particular interest to you.
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Introduction
There has been much orientation of organizations to operate at a global level in the
modern times. This orientation requires that the organization embraces the kind of leadership that
is effective in addressing the challenges faced at this level. There are myriads of challenges that
face the global organization leaders whether in business or nonprofit organizations. These
require effective strategies by the leaders in order to have effective leadership. The global
organization must also cultivate an environment that is conducive for the impacts of effective
leadership. This paper analyses the challenges faced by the global organization leaders, the
strategies embraced to effect leadership as well as the strategies of organizations that can enable
the impact of effective leadership to be felt.
Challenges
Story, Barbuto, Luthans et al (2014) assert that; the leaders in global organizations are
facing myriads of challenges that require tightening of their leadership skills. Among the
challenges faced are corruption and financial issues. Corruption has crossed the national
territories and engulfed the international organizations. The people in the global organizations
are drawn from space, rather they originate from different countries in which most of them
corruption is prevalent. This corruption habit is carried to the global organization and poses
challenges to the leaders in tackling it. Financial crisis is also another challenge to the leaders in
global organizations. The hard economic times subject leaders of global organizations to
challenges in tackling the financial difficulties.
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In order to tackle the myriads of challenges experienced in the organizations, the leaders
ought to embrace appropriate practices and behaviors. The leaders must bring themselves to the
awareness of the happenings in the global environment. In order to achieve this; they must
endeavor to read widely and engage in the social networks so as to keep updated on what is
happening in the global environment. They must be able to synthesize the information that is
relevant to the nature of their organization. Such leaders must also exercise cultural leaders. This
denotes understanding the similarities and differences in the different cultures that may impact
on the organization.
VanderPal (2014) note that; there are barriers that prevent the leaders from being
effective in their leadership. One such factor is the prevailing circumstances in the country of
location. For instance, the political regime may act in disfavor of the leaders in the global
organizations. This mainly follows the political ties that exist between the host country and the
country of origin of the organization. The economic oriented rules that are stipulated by the host
country may also be a barrier to the effective leadership of the global organization leaders. For
instance, the laws may be weak I tackling issues of corruption.
In order to maximize the impacts of the global leaders, the global organizations must
embrace the necessary strategies. The organization must be located in areas that are appropriate
in regard to the operations of the organization. For instance, the countries that seem to promise
higher national competitive advantage are the best for business organization. Political stability
must also be considered in locating the organization. According to Sommonds & Tsui (2010) the
structure of the organization must be appropriate to the undertakings and the leadership positions
must also be filled by qualified personnel.
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References
Simmonds, D, & Tsui, O 2010, ‘Effective design of a global leadership programme’, Human
Resource Development International, 13, 5, pp. 519-540, Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost, viewed 16 April 2015.
STORY, J, BARBUTO JR., J, LUTHANS, F, & BOVAIRD, J 2014, ‘MEETING THE
CHALLENGES OF EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL HRM: ANALYSIS OF THE
ANTECEDENTS OF GLOBAL MINDSET’, Human Resource Management, 53, 1, pp.
131-155, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 April 2015.
VanderPal, G 2014, ‘Global Leadership, IQ and Global Quotient’, Journal Of Management
Policy & Practice, 15, 5, pp. 120-134, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed
16 April 2015.
