New challenges for international leadership: Lessons from organizations with global missions

Abstract

Ill PREFACEIs the United States producing the leaders it will need in the 21st century? The research reported here {New Challenges for International Leadership: Lessons from Organizations with GlobalMissions, MR-1670-IP) was undertaken to address this question. It was prompted by concerns about America's capacity to develop among its people the intellectual and professional expertise that will be required for leadership in the increasingly globalized environment of the 21st century.RAND proposed to explore this issue by interviewing representatives of internationally oriented organizations, which confront these questions daily, as well as by querying experts who could provide insights into the answers to those questions (see Appendixes A and B). We also proposed to review recent literature on this topic. Directed by Jerrold Green, the program's mission is to take on global policy research questions that cut across functional disciplines and regional boundaries, eclipsing old patterns of state-to-state relations.Complex issues such as international security, transnational trade and investment, education, health care, information technology, and energy and environment are all topics that benefit from the multidisciplinary, uncompromising analytic approach of researchers in NSRD's International Programs.International Programs is part of RAND's National Security Research Division (NSRD). NSRD conducts research and analysis for a broad range of clients including the US Department of Defense, the intelligence community, allied foreign governments, and foundations.

Problem‐focused versus emotion‐focused coping strategies and repatriation adjustment

“…Internal development strategies outperform lateral hire approaches ( Bikson, Treverton, Moini, & Lindstrom, 2003 ), and the international assignment may well be the most effective method for the development of global competence (Bingham, Felin, & Black, 2000 ;McCall & Hollenbeck, 2002 ;Mendenhall, Dunbar, & Oddou, 1987 ;Mendenhall, Kuhlmann, Stahl, & Osland, 2002 ). High-potential employees are sent abroad to stretch their perspectives, skills, and networks (e.g., Conner, 2000 ).…”

Impacts of Industry Attractiveness and Competitive Position on Leadership

“…Explorations of the effects of the competitive environment on the leader's role as the organization's chief strategist (Finkelstein, Hambrick, & Cannella, 2009;Ireland & Hitt, 1999;Schoemakaer, Krupp, & Howland, 2013) launched the field of Strategic Leadership. The globalization of economies generated studies of the effects of global competition, multi-national operations, and cultural diversity on leadership roles, responsibilities, skills, values, and 'mindsets' (Bikson, Traverton, Moini, & Lindstrom, 2003;Goldsmith, Greenberg, Robertson, & Hu-Chan, 2003;Mendenhall, et al, 2013;Osland, 2013;Wibbeke & McArthur, 2014). These and other studies expanded understanding of the effects of external factors on leadership, but many questions remain about the interactions among the external competitive environment, the complex organization, and fundamental leadership functions, characteristics, and effectiveness.…”

Leading Global Teams

“…However, organizations have been slow to capitalize on these opportunities, because they do not have enough people with the necessary skills to lead global initiatives (Boatman & Wellins, 2011 ). The gap in the global leadership pipeline not only threatens growth and stability in the private sector, but it also equally challenges nonprofi t and government entities (Bikson, Treverton, Moini, & Lindstrom, 2003 ). We now face threats on a global scale that no one individual, no one organization, or no one country can handle alone.…”