”We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are”.

(Attributed to Anaïs Nin, The Seduction of the Minotaur, 2016).

Reality is in the eye of the beholder. A mindset can be seen as a filter through which we experience and make sense of the world in the manner of ”you are what you think”. Mindset is an attitude or way of thinking which results in a ”cognitive bias” – a kind of mental selective hearing which makes you prick up your ears in response to certain expressions while turning a deaf ear to others that are perceived as wrong or as just background noise. The word ”mindset” thus refers to an outlook, way of thinking or mentality which is crucial to the framework within which we experience the world and operate within it.

In relation to global leadership, a global mindset may then be seen as a special global mentality which pulls together what global leaders need to master in order to do their job: ”So there is no consistent way to point out what a global manager is. What we are left with is the search for good ’conventional’ managers with a global mindset…” (Baruch, 2002, p. 36).

There are various definitions of the ”global mindset” concept in use; the one we have found most helpful in the work of the Academy says of the global mindset that ”a manager with a global mindset understands the need for global integration and local responsiveness and works to optimize this duality. The global mindset includes an appreciation for diversity as well as homogeneity and openness to learning from everywhere.” (Pucik, 2006, p. 88). So we are talking about an ability to influence, develop and produce results together with other people who are fundamentally different from yourself.

This tool does not subscribe to the idea that there is one particular form of global mindset which is productive in all organizations and situations. It is also difficult to document from the research that any such relationship exists. (However, there are for example personality tests on the market which claim to reveal the degree to which individuals possess some kind of ”one size fits all” global mindset). We have found it more useful to regard the global mindset as a strategic global mindset, in the sense that the specific shape of the global mindset has to be linked to the strategy and objectives or the company, the department and the individual. So the practical work on the global mindset also has to be tied to the company’s strategy and the context in which it is to be used to bring results.

As a consequence of this, our aim with this tool is to clarify the situations in which a global mindset is needed, and how it can be developed under these conditions. There are three steps to this clarification process, which can ultimately be summarized in your personal global mindset development plan:

Step 1:
Global mindset – yourself and other people, your organization and other organizations

Step 2:
The global mindset mix: How much focus on the global, and how much on the local?

Step 3:
Development measures for a global mindset – where and how should you invest your resources?

On the principle that you yourself should embody the change that you want to see in the world, developing a global mindset has to start with an analysis of your own personality. In this connection, you can assess your readiness on three different fronts:

1. Self-awareness: How well do you know your own culture? And can you reflect critically on it? Knowledge of one’s own culture is essential to becoming what we might call a ”grounded cosmopolitan” – a citizen of the world who feels at home anywhere.
2. Personality: Do you have a personality that favours you with regard to a global mindset? For example, research suggests that traits like curiosity, empathy, boldness, trustworthiness, self-awareness, intolerance of uncertainty and a willingness to change are especially relevant.
3. Handling complexity: Are you able to handle a high degree of complexity? Research suggests that a certain cognitive level is required to be able to handle a high degree of complexity, which is to be expected in a global leadership position.

Personality and IQ cannot be influenced directly, but your understanding of these factors, and not least your active work on them, can be. Look at yourself in a new way – there may be character traits which are not seen as ”positive” in your own (national/cultural) background but which are viewed differently elsewhere, and vice versa. Some people incline towards authenticity – being true to yourself – and believe that the best thing you can do is to be who you are, for good or ill. Against this, one might say that, by definition, your authentic self is not the same thing as your best possible ”global leader self”. And if you always stick to being and doing what you have always been and done – being authentic – there will be no development, as learning may be seen as boundary-spanning activity where you displace yourself, moving out of your ”authentic” comfort zone and engaging in new ways of thinking which may become part of your ”authentic” repertoire over time. This idea is often expressed as ”fake it till you make it”, in the sense that, by experimenting with other types of behaviour, you become the person you are acting like and would like to be seen as.

”Being on an international assignment puts you in a position where you have to act – often without being 100 percent certain about what would be the right thing to do.”(Storgaard & Skovgaard-Smith, 2012, p. 29)

Global experience is often equated with visits or prolonged residence abroad, but although foreign postings can be a rich source of global experience, it is not the only one, and time spent abroad is not necessarily a benefit in itself.

4. Networking: Do you have an extensive international network to draw on? And what role have you played in this network that could be useful to the company? For example, have you demonstrated a strong ability to network across cultures?
5. Positive, productive global experience: Does the leader have (successful) spells abroad on his/her CV? And was the experience abroad marked by extensive contact and collaboration with ”locals”? Successful integration and positive contact with other cultures can provide good input to other activities.

We cannot all have dual nationality or be multilingual from childhood, but international experience helps – possibly. It very much depends on what you have made of your experience abroad. Research suggests that if there is no time for contemplation, feedback and reflection while building up overseas experience and after, you will not gain anything like the benefit that you might imagine. Tourist is not the same as cosmopolitan. Negative global experience can also have a negative impact on the development of a global mindset. So it is worth considering what you can do to turn negative experiences into personal development.

”Mobility itself is however sometimes more an idea, a mental state of mind, rather than actual, constant and never-ending physical mobility.” (Storgaard & Skovgaard-Smith, 2012, p. 57)

6. Travels in the world of literature: Even without moving physically, you can ”travel in the mind” and take input from this – move out of your cultural comfort zone and perhaps even become a better, smarter and more globally-minded person. In an acceptance speech reported in Politiken when he was presented with a literature prize in 2007, the Israeli writer Amos Oz pointed out that ”As you read a foreign novel, you are actually invited into other people’s living rooms, into their nurseries and studies, into their bedrooms.” And he went on: ”I believe curiosity can be a moral quality. ... Imagining the other will make you not only a better businessperson or a better lover, but even a better person.” (Amos Oz acceptance speech, Prince of Asturias Award for Literature 2007)

7. Global media consumption: In the same way, it is good to keep abreast of what is going on in the world. You don’t need a degree in journalism to keep your pulse and your ear to the ground – not just in the local media but in the foreign press too.

There is a lot of talk about how the internet and cookies target news feeds at us in such a way that we hear most about the things we are most in agreement with. In an interview on Danish TV on the occasion of her 100th birthday, Lise Nørgaard, Danish author and journalist, said that she took several newspapers, or differing political persuasions, including some she was downright opposed to, to keep herself alert. This principle can usefully be transferred to media and cultural consumption generally, if the aim is to develop a global mindset.

A Turkish saying claims that you are as many people as the number of languages you speak, and research also suggests that language skills are helpful in themselves to developing a global outlook, whatever their practical usefulness.

8. English: Do you have good English skills, both written and oral? It takes more than basic school English to succeed in building good relationships and trust in employees, colleagues and business partners.

9. Several foreign languages: Do you have multiple foreign language skills? Acquiring several foreign languages is helpful in building international contacts and stimulating curiosity, and it is often easier to learn other new languages if you already have several under your belt.

The work of developing and maintaining a global mindset in the individual global leader can make use of this clarification tool below.

We recommend working at the following levels of assessment: very high, high, medium, low and very low. The form can be used by the leader and perhaps by someone who knows him/her and/or the job well.

It is also a good idea to enter a brief note explaining/expanding on the perceived need, so it is clear what it means in practice. This will make it much easier to continue with the process in terms of revealing the distance between the desired level and where you are now, and what development activities may be appropriate.