The type of global leadership described in the five principles of this book is effective in any organization. Of course the context changes, but how you manage the context and complexities will determine the effectiveness of your leadership. Working with global organizations, I see the main obstacle to being a successful global leader is the inability to develop a clear strategy. Most of the leaders I work with have a good understanding of managing and following a task or directive, but few truly have the ability to create a strategic plan in which they identify local challenges and create global opportunities. Why do many leaders have difficulty developing into global leaders? This issue involves a good deal of complexity.

What makes global leadership so complex? Is it the cross-cultural communication or the ability to develop a global mindset? Although the answer to both questions is yes, they are not the main reasons. The complexity of global leadership is most obvious when leaders have to make strategic decisions for an organization that has a diverse background of followers and the context is filled with crisis and conflict.