Transnational Leadership Development: Preparing the Next Generation for the Borderless Business World »

Beth Fisher-Yoshida, Ph.D. (Teaneck, NJ) is the Founder of Fisher-Yoshida International, LLC, and works globally with organizations on organizational development and intercultural competency.

Kathy Geller, Ph.D. (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is Managing Director of Areté Leadership International Limited, an international consultancy working with Fortune 500 leaders in Asia.

As the global business world changes, so do the cultures that compose it. But many traditions and cultural mores are long standing, and their influence on business practice does not come and go with new developments— even the kind of sea change that is rendering much of the business landscape borderless.

As a business leader in this new world order, it is just as important for you to recognize and respect cultural differences as it is to find common ground with your counter parts across the world.

With Transnational Leadership Development, authors Beth Fisher-Yoshida and Kathy Geller introduce a new philosophy of managing, what they have identified as the five paradoxes of cross-cultural interaction. Although rife with substantial challenges, these paradoxes are hardly “problems” with easily packaged “solutions.” (Such simplistic approaches most often lead to misguided initiatives, lost productivity, and long-term unease within a company’s global family.) But by understanding these paradoxes, you will learn to view the world through different lenses, find new and more effective ways to communicate, and move forward in a global context quickly and confidently while still taking the critically necessary time to reflect upon the effects of your actions.

Whether your leadership role takes you to far flung locations throughout the world or has you managing culturally diverse teams right in your own neighborhood, Transnational Leadership Development—with its revealing assessments, challenging exercises, and genuinely illuminating case studies—is a practical and engaging tool for laying the groundwork for the continued growth of your business in the global arena.

Ch. 1 Introduction 1

Ch. 2 Paradox of Knowing: Knowing Self and Honoring Others 23

Ch. 3 Paradox of Focus: "I"-Centric and "We"-Centric 47

Ch. 4 Paradox of Communication: Communicating Across Difference 64

Ch. 5 Paradox of Action: Doing and Reflecting 91

Ch. 6 Paradox of Response: Short Term and Long Term 118

Ch. 7 Embracing the Paradoxes 138

Appendix 1 Tools 149

Appendix 2 Transformative Learning in Human Resource Development and Successes in Practitioner Applications: Conflict Management and Leadership Development 159

Endnotes 173

References 179

Acknowledgments 185

Index 191