Leading with a global mindset requires these five essential skills.

BY MAYA HU-CHAN, LEADERSHIP EXPERT AND EXECUTIVE COACH@MAYAHUCHAN

For INC.

Illustration: Getty Images

As a leader, Hannah succeeds on many levels.

A senior VP in a global tech company, her role requires complex coordination in a global structure, collaborating and synchronizing with multiple functions across the organization’s boundaries. Hannah is technically extremely accomplished — a go-to expert in her field — and loved by her team, who describes her as selfless and kind, a true servant leader.

On paper, Hannah seems to exemplify a leader with a global mindset, defined as having the ability to adapt to local global cultures and environments to achieve business objectives. But recent feedback shows that she is not quite there.

Hannah is based in Asia but works with colleagues around the world. She is very vocal about her team’s accomplishments and contributions. To her peers, this cheerleading of the APAC (Asia and Pacific) region — and no other — comes off as territorial, overly competitive, and narrow in vision. They perceive Hannah as only caring about the company’s work in Asia.

This feedback troubled Hannah. She says that because she and her team are not based in the company’s U.S. headquarters, she is afraid they’ll be forgotten if she isn’t extra vocal. But as a leader for a global company, Hannah needs to be mindful of all regions, not just her APAC team.

After some coaching, Hannah was able to more fully embrace a global mindset, which is made up of these elements, as defined by Bettina Büchel and Michael Sorell of the International Institute for Management Development.

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