Developing Effective Global Leaders: 

Balancing Business Acumen and People Leadership Skills

Abstract

A multinational automobile manufacturer tackling a challenging strategic environment looked to Insight Experience to integrate both business acumen and people leadership skills into one program, which received consistently high feedback from participants. Because of its success, the client committed (approximately eight years after the program's inception) to a redesign of the program to reach even more leaders. 

Challenge

The client recognized the need to extend their reach and operate as a truly global business in an environment in which change and uncertainty were persistent. They wanted leaders to have the skills to innovate while capably interacting with a world of diverse stakeholders (within the company and outside of it). The organization pursued a relentless focus on quality improvement, cost efficiencies, and the leveraging of their brand worldwide. This business context created a challenging environment for all levels of leadership.

Solution

Insight Experience's Developing Effective Global Leaders business simulation provides an opportunity for teams of participants to explore concepts of global leadership and to demonstrate and practice interpersonal and leadership skills required to deliver results. Simulation participants step into the role of General Manager of a business unit within a larger multinational enterprise, selling a B2B technology product and service to customers in multiple market segments with differing needs. Simulation teams work independently and interdependently with other corporate business units located across the globe — in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — with cultural differences in employees and customers. The actions of each business unit have consequences for the others. For the corporate parent to be successful, the business units must work together to develop global economies of scale and scope while simultaneously satisfying regional needs.

The simulation algorithm drives business results through both the analytical and the interpersonal/ empathetic dimensions of leadership. Teams receive information presented not only in quantitative business reports but also in qualitative perspectives and comments from employees. Insight Experience teaches this dynamic using a model called the Business Cycle of Leadership™.

Learning Objectives

As a result of the Developing Effective Global Leaders program, participants learn to:

• Understand the interplay between their leadership actions and business results.
• Think strategically about the issues facing an interdependent global business.
• Apply their leadership skills in business interactions.
• Consider the long-term implications of short-term actions.
• Synthesize feedback on their business acumen and leadership.

Program Design

After pre-session readings, participants engaged in three in-person gatherings via a classroom structure. The second week of the in-person learning involved leaders working collaboratively in the simulation. A newer streamlined schedule a few years later resulted in two week-long live training sessions held six months apart. The simulation took place at the beginning of the first week to enable the teaching of key content, which carried through both weeks.

After making the investment to build new skill sets, mindsets, and momentum in their leaders, the client worked with Insight Experience to create a case study based on a company similar but different to the client's business, one that mirrored real-world conditions and the challenges of both the tactical and collaborative work that leaders can expect in a global automotive firm. The simulation merged the objectives of building business decision-making skills and the development of interpersonal and collaborative effectiveness. The client Program Manager for this training, who continually pushed for innovation and relevancy in the content and for practice opportunities for the participants, eventually decided to provide the simulation at the outset of the training sessions. This meant that participants could rely on the outcomes of the simulation as starting points for discussion, and this new approach provided a way for participants to immediately identify strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, it allowed time for participants to delve even deeper into leadership themes during the second week.

Simulation Overview

Participants assume the role of a General Manager for InfoMaster, a message management provider and an independent business unit of International Information Corporation (IIC). Their leadership challenges as the GM are to drive profit and growth; identify opportunities for growth in new markets; develop the InfoMaster team; and achieve the strategic objectives.

The teams work together to make a series of quarterly operational decisions. The decisions require participants to consider the end-to-end business system and the interplay of strategic and operational decisions on business results. As they make their decisions, teams can engage in real-time conversations with simulation peers and stakeholders to help drive business results and gain valuable market and organizational insights.

After each round of simulation decision-making, the simulation facilitator leads large-group discussions to help participants understand the impact of their simulation choices as well as identify opportunities to apply new skills, behaviors, and insights back on the job. Participants integrate insights about global leadership, business system dynamics, and the impact of leadership behaviors and actions.

The simulation provides a foundation for dialogue and insights in several ways:

• It generates charts that compare decisions across teams. Participants discuss the decision processes that lead to different paths of action.
• In providing reports that project business results, it can highlight the multiple business impacts of a single decision.
• The facilitator summarizes the leadership conversations conducted by each team and highlights how those interactions have influenced the information that leaders see and the quality of execution in the organization.

Beyond the decision-making cycle, the simulation experience challenges participants to have live conversations and interactions with the characters of the simulation. Teams initiate interactions with peer leaders and other stakeholders, role-played by facilitators, in the simulation business. The themes of the issues presented by these interactions parallel real global leadership challenges, including achieving a standard product design; sharing cross-organizational resources; and collapsing market boundaries. The role plays are tremendously useful vehicles for the reinforcement of leadership behaviors, including the notions of inquiry and advocacy; they allow facilitators to point at leadership behaviors from the program content and query participants about whether or not they were present in their conversations.

History and Results

The impact of the Developing Effective Global Leaders business simulation was significant for the client. The program received consistently high feedback from participants, and the business impact was best described through individual stories and actions. The success of the program was also seen at a more global organizational level. The client described the training as being a "trailblazer" in "applying next practices to achieve excellence in leadership development." In 2016, they noted that "[u]nusually high correlations to market performance make [simulations] a next practice of the most elite top organizations."

Here is what some participants have said about this program:

• “In [this program], I learned how I can set my vision and execute them with my team buy-in. I know how to actually network well, manage chaos and crisis and think more strategically. I am more successful at business relationships, and have really improved my influencing skills.”
• “I identified that Customer Satisfaction and Profitability were the two priorities. Using all the tools provided by [this program], mainly the materials on influencing and strategic planning, my business was able to deliver so far the best Customer Satisfaction and Profitability ever.”