Effective Global Leaders Need to Be Culturally Competent

Newly appointed chief engineer “Amina” opened her third monthly virtual team meeting by stating that she welcomed everyone’s input and valued all ideas and feedback—especially innovative and creative thinking.

But the meeting didn’t go as she had hoped. She sensed low engagement and a reluctance to brainstorm and share information on projects. Recalling her former colleagues’ vocal and robust exchanges, she began to doubt her team’s performance—and her fit for this role.

This hypothetical challenge will be familiar to leaders of cross-cultural teams with varying patterns and styles of interaction based on various value and belief systems around power, authority, and courtesy.