I believe that to win, it is critical to get people in global organizations working toward common goals that lead toward a bigger vision - specifically when they are a team of people with different functional, geographical, and cultural backgrounds.
As many of you already know, I blog about what has been successful for me throughout the years in real global organizations that work to overcome intercultural challenges every day. I am an international business person with a solid educational background that has lived and learned much in my 20+ years in global business. Today, I do what I do because I believe that through education and information dissemination, we can create stronger leaders, more equipped to navigate the ever-changing global marketplace successfully. I communicate practical concepts that are not necessarily taught in business school, but that may facilitate good leaders in considering what they need to do to become great leaders...
I believe that to win, it is critical to get people in global organizations working toward common goals that lead toward a bigger vision - specifically when they are a team of people with different functional, geographical, and cultural backgrounds. I have found, in my experience, this is typically not done well. I have also found that the easiest and most productive way to facilitate global team success is to leverage "Rapid Result Initiatives" - small, high-impact projects that lead people toward a larger goal or vision. These RRI's provide a platform to grow - as individuals and as a team. This is a practical method to:
Help global teams understand their potential as a unit
Teach people how to work together despite their differences
Facilitate diversity and inclusion to facilitate innovation and growth
Enable the ability to actively reflect on, and leverage, the richness of the different backgrounds residing on the team
Help each individual fully understand the value their diversity brings to the success of the team and the organization
Leveraging Rapid Result Initiatives creates the unity that drives teams toward victory. RRI's enable all of the above, while moving in a focused, strategic direction - critical to organizational success. They are not about speed or control - RRI's are about bringing people together who are different from a functional, cultural, and/or geographical perspective and teaching them, demonstrating for them in the process of delivering results, how valuable each and every one of them are in the context of their unique skillsets, experiences, and backgrounds - how critical they are to organizational success. It demonstrates to them, in a very real way, how they fit into the complex environment of the global organization.
RRI's drive unity that embraces the amazing diversity available to us in global organizations: They create an environment where all kinds of difference is valued and leveraged. They facilitate organizational progress and create an inclusive environment where these unique teams can discover that they fully develop in the process of continually delivering results toward a greater goal. They help teams and individuals to discover the value of partnering and the excitement of achieving their goals successfully, together, as a global unit - it is about creating a culture of "global unity while getting things done" in culturally and functionally diverse environments.
It is ALL about helping people to be successful in bringing people and cultures together across the organization for the greater good. If we do not move past traditional learning and outdated leadership models and begin to understand what is needed to be successful, global organizations will never evolve to fulfill the enormous potential that is out there... waiting.
So, What are you doing to ensure unity drives victory on your team(s)?
As for me, I do my very best to go out there each and every day and play the long game to make a difference for global business!
You can contact me at SheriLMackey@gmail.com or by visiting our website at sherimackey.com. Check back soon for the next installation of Leadership Across Boundaries & Borders.
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