Throughout the CAS Leading Global Teams and Projects program, participants tap into four dimensions of developing international leadership capacity, namely
- Dimension 1: finding solutions to the four international leadership challenges,
- Dimension 2: receiving an assessment of their intercultural competence as well as a personal development plan,
- Dimension 3: being directly exposed to international management and leadership situations and stakeholders, and
- Dimension 4: transferring the knowledge and solutions to their specific leadership challenges.
Dimension 1: International Leadership Foundation
Within this dimension, we lay the foundation for successful international leadership. We focus on the four core challenges that we believe international leaders need to address and solve.
Challenge 1: Internationalizing Organizations
To successfully conduct business on across-national scale, work processes and structures as well as employees need to be attuned to creating outcomes that are understandable and useful for divergent stakeholder needs. Participants learn about techniques to shape their organization accordingly, thereby increasing the international responsiveness and competitiveness of their organization.
Challenge 2: Understanding Cultures
Good decision making is dependent on a clear understanding of the divergent stakeholder expectations and needs present in the international arena. Participants learn to forecast both the expectations and the needs present in a given situation and context, and to broker fitting and mutually beneficial solutions.
Challenge 3: Developing Intercultural Competence
In addition to having a clear understanding of cultures and organizations, an international leader also needs to know how to act and behave in an interculturally sensitive manner in order to bring about positive outcomes. Participants receive continuous guidance on how to develop their behavioral intercultural competence over the course of the program (see also Dimension 2).
Challenge 4: Leading Across Cultures
Well-versed international leaders can effectively address the three challenges indicated above. Beyond that, they are able to do so in a way that both engages and aligns their teams and stakeholders across cultures. Participants learn about leadership techniques and behaviors that enable them to ensure both engagement and alignment across cultures, thereby ensuring the positive results they are expected to deliver.
Dimension 2: Intercultural Competence Assessment & Development
Each participant receives an individual coaching session of approximately 3 hours. The goal of the coaching is to define personal development needs and to identify best practices to develop intercultural competence. To achieve this goal, students assess their intercultural competence by completing the Intercultural Development Inventory*. Based on their individual results, participants then establish a personal development plan during the coaching session, which they execute over the remainder of the program.
The objectives of the course assignment are determined during the coaching session, in alignment with the developmental needs of each participant. For this, participants prepare a brief proposal of the international leadership topic they want to work on.
Dimension 3: International Weeks
With the foundation set and the development plan defined, the participants select and participate in three of the following four International Weeks offered :
– International Week Vancouver, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada
– International Week Konstanz, HTWG Konstanz, Germany
(Please note that this International Week will be conducted in German)
– International Week Bangkok, Mahidol University, Thailand
– International Week San Sebastian-Bilbao, University of Deusto, Spain
Please be aware that the next possible dates are provided on the application form and may differ from those listed under the individual international week pages.
Please contact the Program Assistant to enquire about other years.
Dimension 4: International Leadership Excellence
At the end of the program, participants transfer and apply their learning to the specific international leadership challenges they (will) face. Thus, the goal of this fourth dimension is to secure the learning achieved, and to transfer that learning to the participants’ respective contexts.
* The IDI is a valid und widely used tool for assessing the capability to shift cultural perspectives and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences. The two course directors are certified assessors of the Intercultural Development Inventory.
