BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE GLOBAL LEADER
(Chapter 30 of "Coaching for Leadership" Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2000)

Maya Hu-Chan, Jeremy Solomons, and Carlos E. Marin

“To lead the people, walk behind them” (Lao-Tzu) “In a beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities. In an expert’s there are none.” (Zen Master Suzuki Roshi) Nature versus Nurture Although there may never be a definitive answer to the nature versus nurture question, most people will agree that no amount of nurturing can make someone into a global leader if he or she does not have a fundamental desire, passion, and talent to be one. And no potential leader, however naturally gifted he or she may be, can become fully realized without a tremendous amount of nurturing. Throughout childhood and adolescence, even the divinely reincarnated Dalai Lama had to undergo intense and lengthy preparation for his weighty role as the spiritual leader of Tibet. But the preparation does not stop at the onset of adulthood; in some ways, it is only just starting. Potential global leaders must continue their formal education by expanding their theoretical and technical knowledge in various arenas of higher learning, but they must also begin to live the reality of being a global leader through practical experience, particularly traveling, living and working in cultures and countries that are not familiar to them. 1

Are global leaders born? Or are they made? Is global leadership an innate competency? Or is it an acquired skill, learned and honed throughout a lifetime? On the “nature” side of the argument, there are strong beliefs in such factors as genetic predisposition and karmic predestiny. Some people are natural leaders; others are most definitely not. On the “nurturing” side of the argument, there are equally strong beliefs in the need for a caring and supportive family structure, a safe and healthy living environment,