An Organizational Model to Teach Global Leadership

• In Event: Globalization and Global Leadership: Progress and Pitfalls

Short Description

As future leaders, students need an understanding of political, economic, social, and global forces and the skills to manage those forces within diverse organizations. This presentation will examine three dimensions of global leadership: transformational and transactional leadership, organizational dimensions of global leadership, and applications to contemporary global challenges.

Detailed Abstract

In this age of globalization, leadership takes on new and complex meanings. Today’s students, as future leaders, will need to display an understanding of political, economic, social global forces, and the skills to manage those forces within diverse organizations.
In this era of conflicting interpretations over global cultural norms, global economic policies, and global political ideologies, students are confronted with a troubling environment, but one that requires individual engagement. Many students believe that these global dilemmas and tensions, while important, reside outside their area of influence. I make the claim that students can reinterpret their role within these global dimensions by recognizing their leadership potential. Based on an undergraduate class called the International Leadership Academy at the University of Utah, my presentation explores the pedagogical framework to facilitate a greater global awareness of leadership potential in students.
This presentation examines three dimensions of individual global leadership. First, I will place global leadership into the context of transformational and transactional leadership. Studies have shown that while both forms of leadership are relevant, students are most impacted by the transformational dimension. Indeed, students respond to the transformational emphasis on the importance of followership, cultural diversity, collaboration, and ethical policies. A crucial element of this leadership dimension is the nature of power. This presentation links transformational leadership to the use of soft power. Soft power, which is the ability to attract followers, persuade others, and to rely on reputation, provides students a conceptual framework to understand the use of power in a globally diverse setting. Thus soft power is most conducive to a clearer understanding of cultural diversity.
Second, I will explore the organizational dimensions of global leadership. In particular, I will examine global leadership found in government, business, and the non-profit sector. Most students will seek a global career in one of these organizational settings. Based on the first dimension of global leadership, this paper will analyze the ways in which leadership varies according to the type of organization.
Third, I will apply transformational leadership in several global issues, including global health, global environment, global economy, and global security. In this way, students can make the connections between the conceptual studies of global leadership to the specific organizations that pertain to these contemporary global challenges.

Participant

• Howard P. Lehman, University of Utah