Raising Effective Global Leaders
This is my first read of any of Manfred Kets De Vries 20 some books. I braced myself for another economic or psychological intense reading on the same level as Taylor or Polyani, but I was pleasantly surprised as I began The Leadership Mystique: Leading Behavior in the Human Enterprise. My interest was aroused at page xx in the preface as he stated, “I’m interested in the chemistry of one person with another, especially in the ways that leaders affect the lives of those working (and living) with them.” I highlighted that statement and continued reading. The next statement I highlighted, only a few sentences later, made me a fan of this odd named Dutch, Manfred. He stated, “Although the comments and conclusions contained herein are based on a large body of research on leadership, it’s not my intention to write a highly theoretical book.”[1] Alrighty then! Let the theoretical learning and practical application commence.
I knew the amount of time that I would be able to devote to my new found friend would be limited so as I perused the book I chose only a few chapters to fully digest. With my attention for my dissertation being dedicated to cultural intelligence I gravitated to Chapter 9 entitled “Leadership in a global context.” Though Manfred’s wheel of culture differed slightly from other cultural values listed by the GLOBE study or that of Geert Hofstede or David Livermore, his understanding that a nation’s character, including leadership issues, social and organizational practices, all have to deal with culture.[2] Though this statement seems painfully obvious it is not to many. In my research of cultural intelligence thus far I have come across multiple examples of “culture ignorance.” The conclusion as to why companies or business people from another nation act a specific way is answered more with egocentric callousness, scoffing at the ignorance of the foreigner. Yes, ethnocentrism abounds, especially in America where our size and strength creates a privilege of “splendid isolation.”[3] Our domestic myopic condition is exacerbated by the our ability to be self sustained.
To overcome our myopic condition Manfred notes that global leadership is developed often through acquiring the five T’s: tradition, travel, training, transfers, and team learning.[4] But there are hurdles that need to be cleared to gain all the needed five “T’s.” Hurdles such as family influences, education, work experience, and corporate culture, all must be cleared in order to develop into a successful global leader. Though Manfred does not use the defined term “cultural intelligence,” he certainly is referring to the development of one’s cultural capability through the obtaining of the five T’s. Through the overcoming of the hurdles throughout one’s life and career one can become an effective global leader. I would say that an effective global leader has developed a high cultural intelligence quotient by the overcoming of the same hurdles that Manfred listed.
One of the interesting connections that I made through Manfred was that one’s cultural intelligence is greatly affected based upon the development that each individual had as a child. It is widely understood that a child’s development in the early stages is crucial to the success that they will have in their later life endeavors. Though I have studied much of cultural intelligence it never struck me to investigate and compare the cultural intelligence of one individual versus another individual solely on the basis of their childhood development. As Manfred states “Xenophobia and ethnocentricity are culturally contingent for the most part; they’re spawned by the kind of socialization a child experiences.”[5] That particular childhood socialization can be overcome and leveraged as a leader grows.
A question then comes to me personally. Thinking of my four kids, have I been providing those “positive internal images that act as stabilizers in an often bewildering world?”[6] We all want our kids to be healthy, well balanced, mature, Godly, caring, and now I must add, culturally intelligent, in order that they may become an effective global leader. I don’t want their first hurdle to be their family influences that has created xenophobia or ethnocentricity in their outlook. So I pose the question to each of you – how has your family influenced your cultural intelligence? And if you have kids, how are you helping them through their development process to be that effective global leader?
[1] Kets De Vries, The Leadership Mystique: Leading Behavior in the Human Enteprise, 2d. ed. (Great Britain: Prentice Hall Financial times, 2006), xxi.
[2] Ibid., 175.
[3] Ibid., 174.
[4] I found it interesting that there is one of the five T’s that stands out as the one most often given by effective global leaders when asked how their global leadership skills were developed, that “T” being travel. Manfred states, “living and working in a foreign country is typically the single most influential development experience.”
[5] Kets De Vries, The Leadership Mystique: Leading Behavior in the Human Enterprise, 189.
[6] Ibid.
About the Author
Mitch Arbelaez
International Mission Mobilizers with Go To Nations Living and traveling the world from Jacksonville Florida6 responses to “Raising Effective Global Leaders”
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Mitch,
Great post and very good application.
I believe, for the most part, we do understand the significance of early childhood learning. I also think we have not always been adept at recognizing the teaching/learning opportunities. Kets de Vries stresses how complex culture is and especially multi-culture experiences. He presents seventeen dimensions that have cultural implications. It seems to me there is no right or wrong, however there can be unhealthy extremes as is discussed, for an example, in chapter two and emotional extremes. What is important is to recognize the diversity of these dimensions in people and peoples; something the author refers to as “polarities” (276).
I think of my own childhood experience: My childhood/youth was spent in a small farming community in the Midwest. I never traveled over 25 miles from home (except one freshmen trip to Penn State Univ. with the Future Farmers of America) until a month after graduation when I boarded a twin prop plane and flew (out into the world) to Lackland Air Force base in Texas.
It is obvious that I did not have any experience with cross-culture and probably did not understand I had a culture of my own. There was not one, and I emphases the “negative” aspect of “zero,” person of color in my school or congregation. One could easily conclude I was not well prepared for diversity and I acknowledge I had a lot to learn/discover. However, I also recognize that I grew up without the suppositions, bias and prejudices that are often an outcome of childhood culture building.
Mitch,
Great thoughts. Neither my wife nor I had the chance to engage with other cultures or to travel much as children. It wasn’t until adulthood that we were able to travel and experience different ways of life. Because of this, we have both recognized that our worldview was narrow and our understanding of the world was biased towards our limited view. Because of this, we are very cognizant of the need to focus on providing opportunities for our children to be exposed to cultures other than their own. While we haven’t been able to afford to travel as much as we’d like with our children, we have made it a priority and are being diligent to ensure that they have opportunities that we didn’t. At times this requires sacrifice, but I believe that cultural intelligence can best be gained by exposure.
In addition to travel, we’ve recognized the fact that our children are greatly influenced by our own religious views and traditions. There is a careful balance we have tried to maintain between sheltering them and exposing them to new ideas. Now that they are older and able to understand theological differences, we have provided them chances to experience other churches and religions. For example, my son went to a friend’s bar mitzvah several years ago. My daughter has a friend from high school who is Mormon, and she has had many in-depth conversations with him related to his beliefs. We want them to know the world, but we’ve also tried to ground them with solid skills to critique theology. We have in-depth conversations in family devotions to explore their questions. There isn’t a parenting 101 course on cultural intelligence, but we’ve tried to do our best in this area as we feel it is important.
Mitch,
Good post. I resonate with your desire for culturally intelligent people. I have a theory that at least for Americans to become culturally intelligent, there must be a connection with two things. The first is gaining a knowledge of American history — accurate American history. The second action is personal repentance; this is the tougher of the two items. Let me explain.
As I am researching First Nations people, I have become more informed about what really happened to them in the Americas. As I studied this history in detail, my heart became heavy with what White, European immigrants did to Native peoples. This caused me to have a season of deep repentance. Even though I was not directly a part of this genocide, I was indirectly responsible as a member of White, privileged culture. Not everyone will have the same response that I did, but I believe that there would be a better sense of what minority people have gone through in America and that in turn would contribute to greater emotional intelligence. The one book that I would recommend for this journey is a text by Ronald Takaki called “A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.” If fact, I think this text should be required reading in our LGP program.
Thanks for your continued good work in this area if study.
Bill,
Your post really made me think about our American heritage in this area. It seems that a lack of cultural intelligence has been an American issue for quite some time. Thank you for recommending Takaki’s book, as I’d be very interested to read it. In South Africa we talked a lot about how with privilege, comes responsibility. We talked a lot about white privilege, but I also wonder if we should also consider the implication of “American privilege”. No matter our race or heritage, American citizens are born with certain privileges.
Mitch, this book was right up your alley! I thought of you often this week, as I was also delving into the world of Livermore with his CQ works. What a great question you pose – how has your family influenced your cultural intelligence? After this week with my family, I understood why I had the need to get out and travel and see the world. My family is a made up of a lot of “book” smarts but not a lot of “street” smarts. They can quote and spout theory all day long, but they have not a lick of real-world experience. Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindnessnes. Broad, wholesome, charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner on earth.” And that quote has had more influence on my CQ than my family 🙂
Mitch, thank you for insightful post. I did find our this week reading very helpful to reflect on my personal leadership style. It is good that de Vries insight on “Leadership in a global context” is very helpful to your research interest. You also find interesting connection to your family life. You ask, “How has your family influenced your cultural intelligence?” As a woman growing up in male dominated culture, I learned to be shy and uncritical. It was my seminary studies and exposure to other cultures that helped me to overcome my fears and become bold when I need to be. So, I agree with you and the author that our childhood development matters to be effective leaders.