7 TRAITS OF TODAY’S GLOBAL LEADERS
1. GLOBAL LEADERS ARE SELF AWARE
Developing self awareness as a leader does not only improve individual performance but also organisational performance. Ultimately, they are prepared with vital skills for success through the enormous amount of knowledge, trustworthiness and experience that self-aware leaders possess. While being humble, leaders who are self-aware are always looking to change. They identify their own strengths, shortcomings and implicit prejudices and take responsibility for them, and regularly seek suggestions for change. Not only they are open to feedback, but they will constantly asking ‘What can I do better?’
2. GLOBAL LEADERS HAVE A TALENT FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships are the key to successful leadership. Building relationships with your team has a profound effect on their attitude and commitment towards you, as well as the vision and mission of your organisation. By listening with compassion, empathy and sincere curiosity, you’ll start building a base of trust and creating an atmosphere where your team feels more vulnerable. And there’s powerful innovation, creativity and collaboration on the other side of vulnerability.
3. GLOBAL LEADERS ARE EAGER LEARNERS
As we know, information changes often. With the growth of technology and rapid developments in all fields from agriculture to medicine, staying up to date with the changes in their profession is more important than ever for a leader. A true leader understands they need to be able to pass on new information, and that is best achieved when the leader makes sure they are kept updated. It is also easier to find solutions to workplace problems when a leader has access to up-to-date information, and they will be less likely to make avoidable mistakes. When you are yourself a boss, you will always understand the value of keeping your team up to date.
4. GLOBAL LEADERS ARE FLEXIBLE
Leaders who believe they know it all better than anyone else in their company will probably fail. The best leaders learn from others, and adapt their strategies to situations that change. Where appropriate, they have the opportunity to pivot but still lead by keeping to core values. Every team faces challenges each time they set out to achieve a target. By addressing these obstacles, leaders need to help their people and their organisations succeed. The best way for any leader to surmount obstacles is to step back to see what works and what does not work. It is an ability called learning agility, and it is a vital skill for all leaders to know how to do it all.
5. GLOBAL LEADERS UNDERSTAND SYNERGY
Global leaders are collaborative, eager to work together with local organisation and corporations. Profit and purpose are converging. More than 80 percent of millennials believe it is more important to make a positive impact in the world than professional recognition. They no longer agree that the primary aim of business should be profit making, but rather social value formation. Business interests and societal interests can be one and the same. A research done at Columbia University and have identified many examples where CEOs benefit their businesses by partnering across sectors with public officials, nonprofit managers, and community members.
6. GLOBAL LEADERS UNDERSTANDS THAT EVERY CULTURE IS UNIQUE
Leaders have always needed to consider the variations between human nature and personalities. The key to effectively running a multicultural office is to stop ethnocentrism. Clearly, expectations and norms for leaders vary significantly depending on their community and experience in society, and how they function. The acknowledgement of cultural differences in leadership style and how workers communicate is critical when operating in a multicultural environment. That makes it easy to adapt and be versatile in leadership style and direction. In fact, workers may feel more secure if they know the group’s manager or’ chief’ acknowledges and appreciates those discrepancies.
7. GLOBAL LEADERS ARE CREATIVE
Creativity is an important quality of a modern business leader. Creative thinkers are able to look at problems in different ways and fix challenges by doing stuff other people do not. The position of innovation in leadership is essential for any organisations to succeed in today’s ever-changing business and cultural environment. Also, creative leadership benefits businesses by creating new possibilities for problem solving and development. New insights from a creative approach to problems will contribute to innovative and even previously unheard-of solutions.