Research and experience indicate that most executives, even though they are
highly competent and decisive in their “normal” environment, fundamentally
freeze when faced with the uncertainties and unknowns of new global business
situations. Organizations can pay a massive price for these lapses.
Only learning can bridge this chasm. Providing that learning bridge is the
mission of the GLP.
The
global marketplace demands conceptual pluralism and the ability to master
context before designing a strategy. Successful managers already possess
many useful mental models, paradigms or maps, which represent their idea of
their business, the world around them, and how the two interact. They use
these mental models to process information, make judgments and determine how
best to get things done. Approaches that rely upon such maps or models are,
of course, hazardous in markets that operate with different structural
realities, cultural assumptions and mindsets.
Effective global leaders must be able to shift their mental map, or frame of
reference, to fit reality. The GLP focuses on the activity of framing as a
managerial skill. A frame is a context-based way of looking at a given
situation or event. Frames become tools by which managers can master
different business environments. The truly effective manager and leader
will need multiple frames, the skill to use each of them, and the wisdom to
match frames to situations. To cling to a single vantage point in global
business invites catastrophe. People who understand their own frames of
reference, and who have come to rely on more than one perspective, are best
equipped to understand and manage complex business situations in diverse
global environments.
To
be effective, global managers must first understand their own frames and
identify gaps and blind spots. In the GLP, we use classroom exercises
and diagnostic tools to assist participating executives in identifying their
developmental needs and building their global leadership skill set.
In
many instances, reference to an existing map or mental model will provide
the global manager with all the analysis that a situation requires; such is
often the case within finance, even though the mastery of the tools of
financial analysis – project valuation, currency exchange, tax optimization,
risk management, etc. – will be necessary.
In
other situations, however, managers will find that they do not really
understand the context in which they are operating and thus have need for a
new set of tools and frameworks. In those moments, managers will need to
inquire into exactly which frames and tools will best render an
understanding of the situation at hand. GLP will both increase the number
of frames and tools each executive can draw on, and it will increase
executive insight about which tools to use when.
Each
session within the three weeks of the program becomes an opportunity to
learn and apply new tools and frames involved in dynamic settings, as they
engage in sessions focused around the four key GLP themes of Business,
Strategy, Culture and Leadership.
The
primary dimensions of the GLP are leadership vision and its partner, strategy,
both of which have a dominant place within the program. What flows out of
such an emphasis on vision is the necessity of understanding contexts before
designing a strategy. Here, a working portfolio of tools and frames are
critical.
The
three foci of the program are then as follows:
