REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

256 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

recognize major themes. They have to be masters in sense - making, in

bringing order out of the chaos that surrounds them. They also need to

know how to prevent themselves from being swamped by sensory and

informational overloads. Without this skill, fast and accurate decision -

making is hampered.

Hardiness

Hardiness is a quality identifi ed in stress literature (Kobasa, 1979 ). The

global company in the information age puts incredible stresses on its

leaders: regular travel through different time zones, the massive exposure

to information mentioned above, long hours, and so on. Hardy people

(those more able to cope with these strains) are resilient; they possess a

sense of internality, a belief that they can control and infl uence the events

in their lives. They are of the opinion that they can make a difference,

as opposed to believing that whatever happens to them is dependent on

fate or luck. Hardy people tend to be deeply committed to whatever

activities they are engaged in and anticipate change as an exciting chal-

lenge to further development.

Cultural Adaptability

There are also a number of values or assumptions that indicate that a

person has a propensity for cultural adaptation, another factor in the

success of a global leader. The most obvious, perhaps, is the person

holding the belief that every culture has developed its own way of man-

aging and that one (his or her own) country ’ s way is not necessarily

superior. Another is the belief that cross - cultural learning is enriching.

Yet another may be the feeling that ‘ home is where I am, rather than

where I come from. ’ The understanding of where one ’ s roots are —

whether in oneself, one ’ s family, or one ’ s country of birth — can greatly

affect the ease with which a person can move from culture to culture.

Unfortunately, recommendations made by many researchers inter-

ested in the question of what qualities are found among people who are

culturally adaptive can be excessively broad. Some of the characteristics

most often listed are:

• Open - mindedness


• Self - confi dence


• Ability to deal with ambiguity