Global Services Blog

The Globally-Savvy Manager

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Atul

Even if a client organization
recruits and retains the best global talent, that talent has to be
managed.  And managing across
borders is a complex job that requires a special kind of manager – a
globally-savvy one. 

Yet just as there is a
shortage of other global talent, there is an even higher shortage of
globally-savvy managers.  Because many
traditional managers may not have the skills necessary to become excellent
global managers, some organizations resort to poaching globally-savvy managers
from their competitors.  But that’s
not a viable long-term solution to the management talent shortage.  To succeed globally in the long-term,
client organizations need to learn how to find and/or develop their own
globally-savvy managers.

Portrait of a globally-savvy manager

There are certain key
competencies that are required to succeed as a global manager – certain key
qualities that globally-savvy managers have in common.  They include:

• Adaptability

Globally-savvy
managers don’t just cope, they adapt. 
Surveys have demonstrated that the inability to manage change is one of
the most significant barriers to a successful global sourcing initiative.  So a globally-savvy manager will not
only know how to manage change, but how to communicate the benefits of that
change to the appropriate decision-makers.

• Global
  mindset

Globally-savvy
managers have a broadened mindset. 
They can look across situations, business segments, and cultures and
focus on the commonalities rather than the differences.  They think globally when considering
business opportunities and account for cultural differences.

• Cultural
  agility and global sourcing experience

Globally-savvy
managers have the ability to lead well across different cultures.  They’re most often strong leaders, and
have an affinity for adjusting well to unfamiliar situations.  They understand that cultural
differences are complex and have the potential to derail a sourcing initiative.
Some
organizations look to managers from the sourcing location for their
understanding of the complexities of working globally, knowledge of the local
cultural landscape and network of strong relationships in the sourcing location
(for example, the client may hire a Filipino living and working in the U.S. as
the global manager for an offshoring initiative to the Philippines). 
Or
the client may hire an American manager who has experience as an expatriate for
her knowledge of the U.S. business culture and global experience as an
expatriate.  Ideally, client
organizations will blend the two approaches, says Lori Blackman, Founder and President
of human capital consulting firm DNL Global. 

• Strong
  relationship management and communication skills

Globally-savvy
managers are not only good at managing relationships across business segments
and cultures, but they also know key individuals within the organization.  Globally-savvy managers establish and
maintain active networks and strong relationships.

• Strong
  performance management skills

Globally-savvy
managers can engage and motivate their employees – even those who are thousands
of miles away.  They also
understand how to develop local talent – instead of relying on more expensive
and sometimes less effective expatriates.

• Finding and/or developing globally-savvy managers

Some globally-savvy managers
seem like they were just born that way – they’re out there for the organization
to find.  Finding them is about knowing
the indicators of a globally-savvy manager – understanding the qualities that they
possess.

But globally-savvy managers
can also be developed from within the organization.  Key steps to developing them include:

• Creating
  global learning opportunities

Developing
programs that offer managers the opportunity to work outside the organization’s
home country – through expatriate programs or temporary assignments abroad – can
be a first step in developing the adaptability and cultural agility that are so
important in a global sourcing manager.
But
bi-cultural expatriate and temporary work-abroad assignments may not help
managers develop the necessary global mindset.  To foster that development, organizations should work to
create global teams – to internationalize their ranks.  That can allow for global learning
opportunities on both the institutional and the individual levels.

• Building a global
  leadership factory

Organizations
should invest – from the top down – in programs to create global leaders.  Global leadership factories can be
semi-formal internal programs or formal educational opportunities outside the
company.  
Corporate
education programs are great places for managers to develop global leadership
abilities – picking up relevant skills and learning from others’
experiences.  The programs are also
great places to build networks and absorb global culture and values.

 

From knowing how to identify
a globally-savvy manager to how to develop one, the ability to create a global
leadership team with the qualities of the globally-savvy manager is essential
to the success of any global sourcing initiative.  As important as other aspects of talent management are in
their own right, the client needs a globally-savvy manager to lead the
initiative to success.

- Atul Vashistha