In general, global leadership skills refer to the ability to exercise effective leadership in a variety of countries. The definition stems from the idea that the essence of global leadership is the ability to influence people who are dissimilar to the leader and stem from different cultural backgrounds. Such skills would therefore include the concepts already reviewed of cultural sensitivity, being a multicultural worker, and cultural intelligence. Understanding the culture from another country is also important.

Here, we look at global leadership skills from several perspectives including success factors in international positions, motivating workers in different cultures, and the effectiveness of management practices. Global leadership skills are so important that they improve a company’s reputation and contribute to a sustainable competitive advantage. A study was conducted of success factors in international management positions. Two traits were specifically related to success in conducting international business: sensitivity to cultural differences and being culturally adventurous.

Tolerance for ambiguity is important for leaders in general, and especially important for developing global leadership skills. Every country he or she works in represents a new way of doing things. A general challenge confronting the global leader is that techniques that work well in one culture may not necessarily work well in another culture.