24 January 2008

Redefining global business leadership

By Jim Pinto

Strong leadership primarily at a central corporate headquarters location is an outdated concept. In a global environment, depth and breadth of leadership is critical to growth and success.

In the past, leaders used corporate mandated ground rules to get results. Many large global corporations operate this way. But today, that no longer works, especially with knowledge workers in multinational environments.

Today, good leaders find a sensitive and sharing approach is much more effective. There’s clearly a direct connection between employee involvement in all global locations and overall corporate profitability. To achieve this, leadership must be re-defined.

Consider GE. When he took over as chief executive in 1980, Jack Welch wrote in a letter to shareholders: “In the old culture, managers got their power from secret knowledge: profit margins, market share, and all that ... In the new culture, the role of the leader is to express a vision, get buy-in, and implement it.” Under Welch’s leadership, the company grew into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world.

Yet when he took over as chief executive in 2000, Jeff Immelt led a dramatic shift in thinking and turned GE’s culture upside down. He worried the obsession with bottom-line results would make managers shy about taking risks. So he developed a mission to transform the process-oriented company into a creative machine, driving growth through global innovation. All of GE’s far-flung worldwide facilities needed to provide new and different kinds of leadership. 

In today’s global business environment, all employees become part of team and share in setting mutual goals rather than being forced to achieve remotely imposed goals. The team shares in the feeling of success and the rewards. Local groups should not suffer from failures in other, remote locations. And yet, a spirit of company-wide teamwork is important.

Today’s leaders need to exceed goals by maximizing diverse strengths and resources that tap into the growth and success of local markets in the global arena.

Related links:

• Redefining Leadership for the 21st Century
  http://ezinearticles.com/?Redefining-Leadership-for-the-21st-Century&id=582642
• Redefining leadership by outcomes
  http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/542015/redefining-leadership-outcomes/
• Defining Leadership
  http://www.mindrs.com/mindrs/?p=126

Behind the byline

Jim Pinto is an industry analyst and founder of Action Instruments. You can e-mail him at jim@jimpinto.com or view his writings at www.JimPinto.com. Read the Table of Contents of his book, Pinto’s Points, at www.jimpinto.com/writings/points.html.