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Criteria for success
The cost of failure makes it imperative that organizations need to carefully 
select their potential leaders. The first step is to attempt to identify the 
competencies, motivational and personal attributes required in order to 
achieve success. Experience shows that technical competence, while highly 
desirable, does not in itself necessarily produce a successful international 
business leader. It is therefore important that organizations define the 
requisite criteria for success.
The development of an international elite of executives drawn from a 
company’s operations worldwide is described by Schneider and Barsoux as: 
‘Members of a global commando or a SWAT team’ (2003: 185). The ‘global’ 
manager can be seen as someone who pursues a ‘borderless career’ and whose 
corporate identity may even override that of his or her country of origin.
Heller described the requirements of an international manager which still 
hold good today as follows.
The stamina of an Olympic runner
The mental agility of an Einstein
The detachment of a judge
The tact of a diplomat
The perseverance of an Egyptian pyramid builder
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Figure 7.2 Requirements of an international manager (Heller, 1980: 48)
In addition, Heller listed the following as desirable attributes: ‘The import-
ance of sensitivity to other cultures, to show no sign of prejudice and the ability 
to merge with the local environment with chameleon- like ease’ (1980: 48).
Research by Tung (1998) suggested that the following should be consid-
ered important criteria when selecting global managers:
conflict resolution skills;
social orientation;
leadership style;
flexibility and open- mindedness;
effective communication style;
the ability to cope with stress;
interest in and willingness to try new things and ideas.
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Leadership Across Cultures 129
Tung’s list of criteria remains essentially valid today. However, we should 
add to this list other criteria to emphasize the cultural implications related 
to living and working effectively in other cultures. These could include the 
ability to adapt to operating in different cultures, to work effectively in multi-
national teams and to be able to deal with increasing complexity, diversity 
and ambiguity in uncertain environments characterized by unpredicted 
change.
Marx (1999) claimed that the majority of companies base their selection 
of potential international leaders on their technical competence without 
paying much attention to their ability to operate successfully overseas. This 
situation has now changed, with more emphasis on what Marx describes 
as the ‘soft issues’. There is clear evidence of this change in the following 
list of competencies in A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice 
(Armstrong, 2006):
cultural sensitivity;
linguistic skills;
the ability to manage ethical and cultural differences;
resilience;
adaptability;
the ability to manage the work/family life balance;
building, leading and sustaining multinational teams.
We could, perhaps, add to these the need for a sense of humour.
Apart from the obvious paramount requirements of technical and profes-
sional competency, the majority of the other competencies or requirements 
have strong cultural implications.