A different way of being smart: global leaders accept they don't have all the answers.

Executives tend to be an anxious bunch of people. Their collective anxiety tends to drive "management fads" to deal with perceived dangers and to gain competitive marketplace advantages. Two of the hot topics in today's workplace are "globalization" and "leadership." Together, these concepts create the definition of "global leaders", a new idea to ponder. But is there such a thing as a "global leader"?

Most experts agree that a key component of leadership is "strategic thinking," which needs to be complemented by the ability to carry out or implement the strategy. A second frequently cited skill is "vision," which is considered to be a critical leadership capacity. So, we have two components; the first related to cognitive capacity, and the second related to what we now know to be "emotional intelligence". We also need to consider an international variable: does our culture affect our leadership style?

Culture means the characteristic behavior which defines a group of people, and is the result of their sharing the same set of values, beliefs and assumptions. Of course, our culture is influenced by the history, religion and geography of where we grew up.

Culture influences our notion of leadership and helps determine whether the style is participative or autocratic. In countries like Japan, Holland and Scandinavia, leadership style involves consensus. Some Latin and Anglo Saxon countries tend to favor a more charismatic style of leader. Other countries--such as Russia and Saudi Arabia--tend to favor a style based on centralized decision making. Hence, the first attribute of a "global leader" is a keen understanding and deep respect for cultural differences.

In the practical world of international business, this ability to understand and respect differences is tied to the ability to reconcile the ethical dilemmas that can result from cultural differences. Business problems can be solved. Dilemmas, on the other hand, need to be reconciled. As long as we manufacture in low wage environments and sell the resulting products in high wage markets, we will face culturally derived ethical dilemmas. So, can one be a global leader without knowing all the answers to cultural dilemmas?

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A leader who truly understands and respects the dynamics of cultural differences will quickly become aware that a "global leader" knows--and accepts--that he or she does not have all the answers. This is the second important attribute of our international leader. This new breed of leader must know how to learn from their associates, and they must "learn to learn" in different cultural environments. Each day, the global leader has to ask: Where am I today? Who am I talking to? How can I be most effective here? Getting the right answers to these questions requires a well-honed ability to pick up on all the clues offered by the new international environment.

Which brings us back to the notion of "emotional intelligence", sometimes referred to as EI. Emotions contain data and provide an indispensable foundation for global leadership skills. But where does emotional intelligence come from and how can leaders learn to use it?

The new view of EI

Research is leading us to a more scientific understanding of emotional intelligence and helping us separate the "management fad" (for instance, the notion that emotional intelligence is a greater predictor of success than cognitive intelligence) from reality. Investigators believe that perhaps 10%-20% of "success" is attributable to cognitive intelligence (IQ). Emotional intelligence is an important component of the remaining 80%-90%, but no one is quite sure what that exact percentage is. What we know is emotional intelligence is not just a loose collection of personality traits. Nor is excelling in emotional intelligence the only way to be a leader. For instance, a brilliant financial strategist who knows how to leverage the markets and maximize profits may very well attract a devoted following without ever establishing personal connections.

What is the new scientific view of EI? Based upon a decade of research and theorizing by psychologists Jack Mayer and Peter Salovey--the originators of the theory of emotional intelligence-, the new scientific view is that EI is the ability to accurately perceive your own and others' emotions and to understand the signals that emotions send about relationships. Equally important is the ability to understand and manage other people's emotions. This is an understanding based on measurable skill, which defines emotional intelligence as the ability to reason with and about emotions. Emotions influence both what we think about, and how we think. The challenge for the global leader is to leverage the power of emotions to lead others to superior work performance across cultural and national boundaries.

So how do global leaders connect? They know that emotions contain data and information about themselves, other people, and the world around us. Hence emotions assist us in thinking and making decisions. Emotions are not chaotic. We can learn to understand them and, once we understand that they follow certain rules and patterns, we can learn to predict emotional outcomes. Global leaders are especially open to the information transmitted in emotions no matter how uncomfortable they may sometimes feel, because they are aware of the power of "emotional contagion". They know the leader's "mood" affects the emotions of others and this contagion works both ways, providing critical data points for decision-making. Above all, leaders know that the ability to develop and sustain interpersonal relationships is perhaps the key to international success. Without emotional intelligence, this is not easy to do.

Jack Keogh is VP, Human Capital Strategies at Prudential Relocation, a worldwide provider of mobility services. Prudential Relocation offers institutional clients a variety of services for the relocation of their employees. For additional information see www.prudentialrelocation.com or write to [e-mail].