Blog

^{By Melissa Lamson & Jennie Walker}

Are you a global leader? In the increasingly globalized business environment, employees across organizations often work with teams of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and locations - a recent survey revealed that 89% of employees say they work “at least occasionally” on global teams. The concept and practice of leadership itself has also evolved, transcending hierarchy and role in many organizations to promote accountability, collaboration, and innovation at all levels. So, whether you’re working for a local or international company, as an executive or employee, you’re likely a global leader.
 
Research continues to find that working with diverse groups requires a global mindset – the agility to quickly recognize different beliefs, values, and approaches across cultures and to adapt behaviors accordingly. For example, when I (Melissa) travel to Singapore, I know I need to adjust my sense of time (not...

^{Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons}

I do not love politics. Much of this year, and all of last week, captures my why: people are forced to find and accentuate the worst in each other (during the primaries, even attacking people who are mostly ideologically aligned) and no matter the outcome, there are a lot of people who feel that they lose. As a person who’s spent my entire life fighting to expand access, only having two options has always felt limiting to me. At a DJA team meeting last Friday, three days into ballot counting, and with us all in an uncertainty-filled fog, I broached the elephant in the room. One of our team members said “we are up” and held up a “fingers crossed” symbol with their hand. Torn but needing to stand in my values I said, “I know that we are all watching with anticipation as the election results...