As more and more of our operations stretch across borders, it’s increasingly important that our organizations develop global-leadership capabilities.

The difficulties in doing this were highlighted by a survey a few years ago that showed that whilst 76 percent of executives accepted the importance of developing global-leadership capacity, just 7 percent thought their organizations were doing so effectively.

This then leads to a sizable number of organizations failing to capitalize on international opportunities because their managers are insufficiently competent in working internationally.

A recent paper by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and the American Management Association found that this lack of global leadership competency is placing a real strain on performance.

Producing global leaders

It found that the most effective leadership development programs begin when the leader is relatively junior, and that delaying development until the individual is in a senior position is a serious mistake.

They recommend that any development opportunities offered to people be as experiential as possible, and that this is a better option than the provision of on the job training.

I’ve touched on the importance of mindset a number of times in respect to learning, and those in possession of a global mindset were found to be particularly good at embracing their diverse teams and cultivating a full range of partnerships.

Global leaders are good leaders

A particularly noteworthy finding from the study is that global leaders tend to have a liking for innovation and open expression of ideas; they are aware of global differences and have good interpersonal skills.

This has been shared by previous studies, which have found that good global leaders have many of the traits traditionally assigned to good leaders in general.  These include support for innovation, the desire and willingness to mentor others, great communication skills and clear strategies.

With the demand for global leaders nearly always outstripping supply, it seems that few organizations are willing to give managers the global experience required to help them develop their skills and experiences.

Whether that’s working in another country, participating in multi-cultural teams, helping out with voluntary activities within which you are a minority.

All of these are good ways to help develop a more global mindset, and much evidence suggests that the sooner one can be given such an immersive cultural experience, the better and more cost effective it is for the leadership development ambitions of organizations.