Global Leadership Development: Models and Best Practices

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Short Description

This case-study tracks the progress of 150 MBA students in two intensive global oriented programs and examines their global competencies before and after the programs. The study also tests the relationships between their psychometrically measured dimensions and their individual performances in negotiation and global virtual teams.

Detailed Abstract

Global leadership development requires unique instructional design in order to cultivate leaders who are able to deal effectively with a unique set of global challenges and work successfully across cultural and organizational borders. In this session we will begin with what is known and unknown about global leadership development. We will describe two models of global leadership development that are based upon research. Next, each presenter will share an example of best practices for developing this complex form of leadership. The first presenter will explain how cognitive behavior therapy is used as the basis for developing competencies in a global leadership assessment center at a regional public university. The second will be an Executive MBA program at a regional public university employing pre and post testing with an assessment tool. The third will be a program-wide initiative at a private research one university. A commentator will summarize and comment on the process and outcomes of these three case-studies.

Global leadership development requires unique instructional design in order to cultivate leaders who are able to deal effectively with a unique set of global challenges and work successfully across cultural and organizational borders. In this session we will describe two models of global leadership development, along with three examples of best practices for developing this complex form of leadership.

We will start the session with an overview of the shared model of Global Leadership competencies and the developmental model that the three campuses employ. Each campus utilizes these shared models in ways that are unique to their campus, programs of study, and student body.

An Experiential Approach to Global Leadership Development:
Joyce Osland
How can university instructors actually develop global leadership skills in students vs. simply teaching about them – especially in institutions that do not have financial deep pockets to fund students to participate in rigorous study abroad programs? The first case-study reports an experiential approach, that has been used over the past five years in an attempt to tackle this problem, and the presentation will focus on sharing a learning framework based on Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) that was found to facilitate the development of both global and leadership competencies in university students. This four-phased framework relies heavily on individual competency assessment, personal development planning, and the implementation of personal development plans in a context of individual accountability.

Global Leadership Development in an Intensive Executive MBA Program:
Leigh Anne Liu & Ila Gandhi – co-authors … Leigh Anne presents

The second case-study tracks 150 MBA students in two intensive global oriented programs and examines their global competency that was measured before and after the programs. We also test the relationships between their psychometrically measured dimensions and their individual performances in negotiation and global virtual teams. Results show that relationship management dimensions are significantly associated with performance in both competitive and collaborative social interactions such as negotiation and global teams. The presentation will also discuss implications for theory building about global leadership competency and professional training and coaching.

A Program-Wide Initiative for Global Leadership Development:
Allan Bird - presenter

The third case-study is of a program-wide global leadership initiative that is designed to introduce and then re-enforce increasing levels of intercultural complexity over eight semesters. This program includes multiple matched psychometric baseline and post treatment assessment, the creation of a Personal Development Plan, an Expatriate Year that includes a semester of study in the country language followed by a six-month international internship, and specific global leadership training interventions sequenced over the program of study. Additionally, content is coordinated across a four-course sequence, with one course in each two-semester cycle and “red thread” elements that are used to connect the learning and development.

We will conclude with a commentary from a senior global leadership scholar and educational administrator who will critique each case-study on their merits, the theory they are grounded upon, and the degree to which they have employed best practices in applying these developmental theories to their specific campuses.

Participants will have ample time to pose questions to each of the presenters on their case-studies.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Education

Chair

• Chris T. Cartwright, Intercultural Communication Institute

Commentator

• Joanne Barnes, Indiana Wesleyan University

Individual Presentations

• A Program-Wide Initiative for Global Leadership Development - Allan W. Bird, Northeastern University

• An Experiential Approach to Global Leadership Development - Joyce Osland, San Jose State University

• Global Leadership Development in an Intensive Executive MBA Program - Leigh Anne Liu, Georgia State University; Ila Gandhi, TMC Corp/Berlitz