DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Today's global economy represents a volatile, complex, uncertain and ambiguous environment for firms to sustain aprofitable international growth. Organizations must continuously develop a portfolio of leaders ready to push forward growthstrategies. Despite this challenge, corporations often fail to offer the right learning organizational framework to their top executivesproposing too often standardized models. This research is aiming to develop a deep understanding of how global executives aredeveloping during their expatriations. The methodology used is highly inductive and interpretivist. The qualitative sample iscomposed of 25 top executives, expatriated in MNC's subsidiaries, men and women. We found out that the concept of cognitionand self was decisive for an effective development process abroad, this combined with an ongoing willingness and ability to learn,leading to the generation of a sort of “know how” (practical intelligence). We give two recommendations that will help enhance theglobal talent management of such an individual. Our results have indicated though that the development of global executives, when working abroad, involve the theoreticalstudy of three main concepts that are interrelated: role and influence of context with its unpredictability, complexity and constantchanges, the individual and his abilities to learn, and the organizational framework, the support expected from an organization. Presuming that, global leadership development evolves in complex and ambiguous unpredictable contexts will requireexecutives' flexibility and particular skills, abilities that will allow them to navigate in these new terrains. To do so, the ability to learnand to learn continuously is critical. Since executives work in unpredictable environments, the ability to learn from experiencesand to know how to learn efficiently appears to be the key to for successful development. It is also what has constituted the secondtheoretical pillar of our conceptual model.