Global Leadership

While the empirical study of leadership dates back a century, leadership within a global context is a new focus in the literature. This book argues that the ever-expanding forces of globalization have given rise to a new category of leader - the Global Leader - separate from other types of leaders (local, national, international). While international leaders represent their respective countries on the world stage (e.g., country representatives at the United Nations), the global leader works transnationally through global issues and organizations (e.g., Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Prize winner who has become a global champion of K-12 education for girls). As globalization breaks down socioeconomic and political barriers, and transnational issues become more salient, global leaders are becoming more visible players on the world stage. From executives of multinational corporations to activists in nongovernment agencies, individuals from many different backgrounds and ages are leading the way in reshaping the way we see global leadership. These global leaders have to contend with a variety of transnational contexts that call for different leadership styles. This book assesses four of these - transactional, participatory, transformational, and autocratic - but it is not simply a theoretical examination of leadership styles. It also introduces the reader to practical skills that global leaders must master in order to be more effective at the transnational level - a global mindset, embracing diversity, conflict resolution, team building, intercultural communication, and adapting to change.