Today’s training and development professionals must navigate a milieu of technological advances, globalization, demographic shifts, and political instability as they identify top talent to cultivate and fill their leadership pipeline. A groundbreaking study—conducted by Leadership Research Institute and the American Management Association, with support from ASTD, The Ken Blanchard Companies, FranklinCovey, and Marshall Goldsmith—examines the challenges facing organizations in selecting and developing global leaders.

During two sessions—“Leading in a Worldwide Market: Understanding the Challenges and Getting Ahead of the Curve” and “Leading in a Worldwide Market”—expert panelists discussed findings from the research study and offered ideas on how to put these findings into practice.

The study reveals key challenges facing global leaders, as well as the skills and attributes required to lead effectively. Survey participants rated 14 drivers of change that leaders must address. Making the top five are:

  • focus on the customer (63 percent)
  • product/service quality (42 percent)
  • need for innovation (38 percent)
  • talent retention (38 percent)
  • operating efficiency (36 percent).

Although these drivers are not unique, they require different skills when viewed through the lens of a shifting and complex global context.

Indeed, managers must navigate a real patchwork of people and culture to lead effectively in a global context. So although traditional skills of leaders, such as communication and strategy development, were deemed keys for success, international experience (16 percent) and dealing with ambiguity (9 percent) also were identified as necessary attributes. 

The study offers unique insight because it not only examined managers and leaders, but also the training and development professionals tasked with developing them to pinpoint how organizations can create an environment that supports the identification and development of global leaders. First and foremost, respondents agreed that there needs to be genuine support throughout the organization—only then will conditions be ripe for building a strong bench of leaders.

Not surprising, essential ingredients for creating this environment includes valuing diversity and setting clear goals for leadership development. In addition, organizations need to invest in technology to enhance the connectivity of virtual teams. Furthermore, the organization also needs to identify future capabilities and support that with a multifaceted approach to development that employs action learning and coaching.