Changing Employee Behavior

Alex Reinhardt was brought in to turn around a renewable-energy company that had been on the verge of bankruptcy until the German government bailed it out. After he fainted from overwork and burnout and had to take a medical leave, the board appoi...

This note explores the critical skill of leading across cultures in global and diverse business environments. It addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by cross-cultural teams, providing leaders with strategies to navigate cultural differences and leverage diversity for enhanced performance and innovation. The note begins by outlining potential pitfalls in cross-cultural leadership, such as miscommunication, cultural stereotyping and varying expectations around decision-making and work styles. It then highlights the value creation opportunities, including diverse perspectives, enhanced creativity and increased organizational adaptability. A significant portion of the note is dedicated to understanding key areas of cultural difference, including communication styles, decision-making processes, attitudes toward time, relationship expectations, power dynamics and tolerance for ambiguity. It provides a comparative analysis of these dimensions across different national cultures. The note offers ten comprehensive strategies for effective cross-cultural leadership, ranging from cultivating cultural intelligence to managing virtual cross-cultural teams. It emphasizes the importance of developing cultural intelligence (CQ) and provides guidance on how leaders can enhance their CQ and foster it within their teams. Practical tools, such as a cross-cultural leadership preparation checklist, are included to help leaders apply the concepts in their work. The note concludes with a list of references for further reading on the subject.

Not getting enough sleep affects not only your leadership performance but that of your team. Follow these eight tips to get a good night’s sleep and become a better leader.

How quick thinking, strategic choices, and trust in the team kept one of the world’s most iconic landmarks from destruction – lessons every leader can apply in times of crisis.

Typically, negative experiences hit with about four times the force of positive experiences. Critical feedback hits most of us harder than reinforcing feedback. Here we consider three mysteries of negativity bias and how to solve them.

In today’s business environment, traditional annual planning cycles are increasingly insufficient. Markets shift rapidly, new competitors emerge unexpectedly, and technological disruptions can upend entire industries in a matter of months. This in...

Ada Tsang became the fastest woman to climb Mount Everest, beating the previous record. She shares her powerful learnings.

Peter Voser, former CEO of Shell and Chairman of the Board of Directors at ABB and PSA offers his unique perspectives on guiding businesses through difficult times.

Foxconn, a Fortune Global 500 giant and the world's largest electronics manufacturer, made headlines in 2023 by announcing a shift to a five-day, eight-hour workweek in its Chinese factories - a significant departure from its long history of exten...

Boards are playing an increasingly active part in shaping change efforts.