Multicultural Orientations for 21st Century Global Leadership

Abstract

Multicultural orientation is an important focus area in developing managers for international assignments. This chapter extends the frontier of knowledge on the benefits of developing multicultural orientations in line with business and stakeholders' needs in the global economy. A brief literature review was conducted on multicultural orientations and global leadership effectiveness in the 21st century. It was found that multicultural learning experiences and communication skills, deep self-awareness, multiple intelligences and sensitivity to cultural diversity, humility, cautious honesty, global strategic thinking and good negotiating skills are necessary in the 21st century. The managerial relevance of this chapter centres on further research and development of global psychological capital, vertical development of bigger minds and multiple intelligences to navigate in the midst of volatilities, uncertainties, complexities and ambiguities in the 21st century.