Exercising Global Leadership: A dynamic process approach

Helen Spencer-Oatey

The talk will start with a brief consideration of the concept of leadership and the different elements involved in it. Then it will turn to the main focus of the talk – the ‘leader-follower’ relationship in global contexts and the criticism and opposition that can easily occur within that relationship. With the help of authentic case studies from various parts of the world, it will illustrate the need to understand the impact of contextual factors, such as differing conceptions of the nature of the leader–follower role relationship, and entrenched beliefs about the suitability for leadership of people with certain identity characteristics. The ‘Interaction Compass’ will be introduced to throw more light on these problems and to illustrate the range of strategies that are available for overcoming them. The Interaction Compass will be linked with / placed into a broader framework to identify the range of different factors that need to be taken into consideration when exercising global leadership. The main thrust of the argument is the need for leaders to take a flexible and dynamic approach, not implementing a pre-determined solution but instead taking a wide range of variables into account and selecting strategies with mindful flexibility.

CV

Helen Spencer-Oatey is Managing Director of GlobalPeople Consulting Ltd. (GPC) and Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Communication at the University of Warwick, UK. Working at the interface of psychology and communication, she is internationally renowned for her writings on intercultural rapport, relationships and communication, including her most recent books Intercultural Politeness (CUP, 2021) and Global Fitness for Global People: How to manage and leverage cultural diversity at work (Castledown, 2022). She has developed a wide range of popular diagnostic tools and professional development resources for organisations, teams and individuals – most now available via GlobalPeople Consulting Ltd. – and is currently working on a new book on ‘rapport in workplace relationships’.

*Please register for the event: bizcomm.lectures@wu.ac.at