The document discusses different types of global leadership roles based on two dimensions: task complexity and relationship complexity. It identifies four main types of leadership roles - incremental, operational, connective, and integrative - that vary according to where they fall on the spectrum of these two dimensions. Each role type is defined and an example role is provided. The implications are that selection and training should be tailored to the specific demands of each global leadership role type. As leaders take on more complex roles, understanding their leadership profile can help improve development offerings and evaluate training outcomes.

1. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
PROFILES
FOR YOUR
MULTINATIONAL
4

2. Recent studies suggest nearly
of executives have participated in virtual work
assignments. Meanwhile, global work
relocations are going up.
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
80%

3. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
More and more, we need
leaders who are global.
But
global
leadership
isn’t
one-size-fits-all

4. • TASKS
• (degree of variety
• within task content)
• RELATIONSHIPS
• (degree of interdependence
in relevant relationships)
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Leadership roles vary
according to the
complexity of:

5. and different kinds of leaders are
required at different points on the
spectrum.
GLOBAL LEADERSHIPGLOBAL LEADERSHIP
We see these as a spectrum…
+
+
Relationshipcomplexity
Task complexity
-
-

6. Connective
Simple tasks +
complicated relationships
Integrative
Complicated tasks +
complicated relationships
Incremental
Simple tasks +
simple relationships
Operational
Complicated tasks +
simple relationships
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Task complexity
Relationshipcomplexity
+
+
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
The 4 main types of leadership roles are:
-

7. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Whatdo
these
leadership
rolesreally
looklike?

8. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Incremental
leadership
Example role:
Export director,
operating in a firm with
international licensing.

9. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Role behaviors:
1. Focus on technical
innovation
2. Lead incremental
change efforts
3. Use routinized and
standardized forms of
communication
INCREMENTAL LEADERSHIP

10. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Operational
leadership
Example role:
Product development leader in
a firm that provides financial
services globally.

11. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Role behaviors:
1. Locally adapt task
prioritization and
resources
2. Analyze operational
information
3. Lead operational
changes at local levels
OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP

12. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Connective
leadership
Example role:
Leader of globally distributed
team, handling back office.

13. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Role behaviors:
1. Learn nuances of
interaction
2. Adapt and respond to
partners’ behaviors
(code-switching)
3. Travel frequently and
communicate virtually
CONNECTIVE LEADERSHIP

14. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Integrative
leadership
Example role:
Senior executive
at global firm.

15. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Role behaviors:
1. Handle trade-offs and
paradoxes in both tasks and
relationship areas
2. Develop synergistic solutions
3. Coordinate and integrate
across groups
3. Engage in distributive
leadership
INTEGRATIVE LEADERSHIP

16. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
typologies?
4
What are the implications
of these

17. maybe no caption needed?
Tailor hiring and training to
the realities of each global
leadership.
E.g., incremental leaders may
mostly need business acumen,
while connective leaders
require intercultural
communication and social
flexibility
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
IMPLICATIONS
Selection and training

18. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
IMPLICATIONS
As leaders move up into
more complex roles,
understanding the
leadership profile can help
fine-tune a company’s
development offerings, as
well as the measurement of
training outcomes.
Practical results

19. Based on the article “Contextualizing
Leadership: A Typology of Global
Leadership Roles,”
by B. Sebastian Reiche, Allan Bird, Mark
E. Mendenhall and Joyce S. Osland,
published in the Journal of International
Business Studies (Vol. 48, No 5).
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