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Running head: GLOBAL MANAGERS

Global managers

Student’s Name

Institution’s Affiliation

GLOBAL MANAGERS

CHAPTER 1.0: INTRODUCTION

Global managers are people who possess the capacity to efficiently and effectively

organize, plan, evaluate and successfully lead other people to achieve the corporate goals as

well as attain better levels of personal development. According to Samson & Daft (2015),

globalization has intensively raised the levels of managerial requirements for individuals

within the global business arena. Thus, these functions must be performed in a controlled and

carefully coordinated environment with expertise and objectivity (Samson & Daft, 2015).

The primary theme of this report is to intensively investigate and analyze the current and

trending global management capabilities. The focus will be on the personality traits and

abilities which include both hard and soft skills in management. According to Kwantes, Et al.

(2016), personality is often analyzed using five broad dimensions of agreeableness,

conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. This method is

known as the big-five personality model.

This discussion will look at the depths of agreeableness and its relationship with my

personality. For an individual to have the necessary global capabilities, they must begin

recognizing their strengths and weaknesses and be ready to appreciate the fact that they

need to improve on their weaknesses. The available body of literature will be reviewed to

have a broader understanding of what other people have said concerning the relationship

between personality and management capabilities. The report will have a self-reflection

section where assessment of my capabilities will be conducted and opportunities for

improvement detailed. Personal evaluation will be done using the Big-Five Model, the

Belbin Test, and the Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool. Regarding the

personal weaknesses that will be revealed by the three personality testing mechanisms, the

paper will have a plan section where the process of improvement for those areas will be

GLOBAL MANAGERS

outlined and discussed. This action plan will provide a strategy in which I will use to

address my goals.

CHAPTER 2.0: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Global Management Capabilities

A successful global manager ought to be an individual who possesses the highest levels of

personal strength and capabilities (Steel, Schmidt, & Shultz, 2008). The global level of

management requires different capabilities and traits as compared to the local leadership, thus

demanding a deeper attention to the strengths and weaknesses possessed by individuals.

According to Zhang (2012), there exists particular soft and hard skill that must be possessed

by all the individuals aspiring to become global managers and successful ones for that matter.

A global manager must possess some key competencies including teamwork, responsibility,

self-awareness, trustworthiness, leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving among

others.

The requirement for hard and soft skills differ between organizations depending on

the level of leadership traits required, but according to Zhang (2012), character traits, social

skills, communication skills, social intelligence, attitudes, career attributes, and emotional

intelligence quotients are some of the most important among soft skills. Technically, the

abilities of an individual can be improved through training and development in both academic

and professional levels. Kwantes et al. (2016) argues that hard skills depend on the industry

and the level of technical requirement for every department in a firm, but soft skills are

universal. This makes it prudent for every aspiring global manager to possess most of the soft

skills since they facilitate the development of the other levels of traits required.

Mills, Mcdowelle, & Jr, (2010) asserts that both hard and soft skills are influential in

the development of the big five personality traits. This makes it paramount to seek all the soft

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skills and put more concern on the ones that emphasize personality. The most emphasized

soft skill by Wikle & Fagin (2015) is self-awareness as it helps the individual in realizing

their weaknesses and understanding their inner capabilities. Harkins (2015) believes that an

individual has to be aware of themselves and ready to recognize and appreciate their

weaknesses for them to consent to improvement procedures. Therefore, one has to be fully

aware of their personality before they can begin improving their inner capabilities and traits.

2.2 The Impact of Personality

Over the years, personality has been found to have a tremendous impact on managerial and

leadership competencies and skills. According to de Vries (2012), personality is the shaping

tool for a person’s professional and personal relationships. Hence, it is paramount to have a

strong personality as part of the traits possessed, since it binds other elements together.

Personality drives an individual into approaching situations with professionalism, thus

solving problems without opening avenues for more. Nonetheless, different people have

come up with different perceptions and beliefs regarding the relationship between personality

and leadership. Gnambs (2012) argues that personality is not the only leadership and

management determinant. Human beings have made up of numerous elements which make

up behavior, perceptions, capabilities and emotional stability. Therefore, one has to have

more than just good personality for them to become a good leader.

Studies reveal that an overall team’s performance is a consequence of the leader’s

personality. Employees tend to work hard depending on the personality of the person leading

them. According to Stelmokiene & Endriulaitiene, (2015), in the year 1991, a study was

conducted by Foushee, Chidester, Helmreich on the relationship between the flight crew and

the captains (Stelmokiene & Endriulaitiene, 2015). The revelation positively linked the

captain’s attitude and personality to the performance of the crew. This shows that there is a

GLOBAL MANAGERS

strong correlation between one’s personality and the performance of their colleagues. In the

report, the crews that were agreeable, confident and more emotionally stable performed better

and were happier.

2.3 Agreeableness and Global Leadership

Everyone possesses the big five traits to some varying levels, and this is what makes the

difference in leadership styles between individuals. According to Stelmokiene &

Endriulaitiene (2015), among the leadership traits studied through the use the big five model,

agreeableness stands out as one of the most influential in the management. Agreeableness is

considered to be the personal warmth, trust, acceptance, and cooperation with other people.

An individual with high measures of agreeableness on the big five test tends to be more

friendly to other people, warm for an approach and are known to be very tactful

(Judge, Bono, & Murphy, 2000). These are people who are more optimistic and have a

positive view of issues, even when the end is not certain. Xu, Yu, & Shi (2011) agree that

agreeableness becomes a positive personality trait when consensus is a priority.

According to Judge, Bono, & Murphy (2000), agreeableness demands that shared

decision making be rewarded. One interesting element as pointed out by

Langford, Dougall, & Parkes (2017), is that agreeableness is easily affected by the people

around an individual. This element works more on attitude as the founding component which

is easily altered by the environment. The big five personality traits revolve around an

individual’s perception and attitude towards the surrounding as the basis for behavior. Thus,

personality is about relating to people and it a predictor of global management success.

Global managers must be agreeable for their relationship with their juniors to flourish.

In global leadership, different cultures and beliefs are brought together by the fact that

individuals are working together. Thus there is a need for everyone to be agreeable to the

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working relationships to stand. This is due to varying levels of acceptance between cultures

which raises leadership tension. Langford, Dougall, & Parkes (2017) assert that you cannot

lack agreeability and become a successful leader since hostility will be imminent. The study

by Stelmokiene & Endriulaitiene, (2015) confirm that one has to have high levels of

agreeableness for them to drive their team to success. Human beings need to be shown

empathy and concern for their personal problems by their leaders for them to feel appreciated

and as part of the important components in the firm. Agreeable people are open and have the

ability to cope with challenges and maintain a positive attitude (Samson & Daft, 2015). This

element is very important in leadership since it motivates other people to remain optimistic

and fight to succeed in every situation. Nevertheless, Gnambs (2012) argues that not all

people who are agreeable can make good global managers since agreeableness alone does not

drive leadership skills.

CHAPTER 3.0: EVALUATION

In the process of evaluating my personality levels, the big five test was used.

However, the test results did not surprise me since all along I knew that I could be possessing

high levels of agreeableness based on my positive attitude and likable character. I scored

highest in the agreeableness among the five elements suggesting that I am a kind person,

warm to friends and strangers, considerate of other people situations, sympathetic and

cooperative. Typically, I have always felt warm around people, and I get emotionally

distracted when another person goes through a difficult situation. The results from the

questionnaire shows that Extroversion- (E) = 23, Agreeableness- (A) = 39,

Conscientiousness- (C) = 35, Neuroticism- (N) =36, and Openness to Experience- (O) =32.

The trait with the highest ranking is agreeableness with 39/40; something that is not very

common with many people.

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The agreeableness result shows that an individual is more hospitable than others and I

have the heart for empathy as well as have a sympathetic character towards other people

(Stelmokiene & Endriulaitiene, 2015). However, I tend to believe that this is extreme and

could mean that I am more emotional than what the global manager requires. Nevertheless,

agreeableness does not only show emotional and being empathetic, but it also carries some

considerable weight in being optimistic and tactful in actions. The lowest score is in

Extroversion where an individual is expected to spend more time thinking about other things

other than their inner self. This is important to a global manager since innovation is the most

fundamental element in problem-solving (Xu, Yu, & Shi, 2011). One has to be tactful and

optimistic and have the ability to use their creativity rather than over depending on the

external forces to solve problems.

I decided to go ahead and test my capabilities and traits regarding working with other

people in workplace teams using Belbin Test. The results for the team roles revealed that I

am good at working within teams since I am an innovator and can become a good leader. My

Team player score was 19%, the Innovator was 17% while that of Chairmanship was 14%.

This is a revelation that the big five score of extroversion was right since I do not depend

much on other people in solving my problems and giving ideas. I am an innovator, and that

capability is ideal for managers and global leaders. Just like the big five test, the Belbin team

roles test reveals the fundamental weakness of an individual (Sanz, Garcia-Vera, & Magan,

2010). I have very low levels of expertise, and that is not very positive for someone who

seeks to become a global manager in the future. This will be addressed in the plan section

where the procedures of personal development will be elaborated.

The last test to be used in the evaluation of personality was the Stress Management

Competency Indicator Tool which revealed that I have reasonable levels of integrity and

ability to manage my emotions, even if the big five model showed that I get more emotional

GLOBAL MANAGERS

than most people. According to this test, I need to work extra hard to improve my element of

managing and communicating existing and future work to other people. The results show that

I am below the reasonable levels by 1 percent. In this test, I scored the highest in the first

class of being respectful and reasonable with other people. High scores reveal the element of

having integrity, and other people can trust you since you are reliable and honest (Schmidt &

Shultz, 2008). This score is not a surprise to me since I have always known myself to be an

honest and reliable person.

CHAPTER 4.0: PLAN

Goal 1: To develop my global leadership capability through networking and mentorship

To make sure that I have advanced levels of global management and leadership skills, I will

follow the following strategy in ensuring that I find the right people to mentor me and help

me in creating and sustaining networks. The world is in need of leadership motivation and

mentorship since dynamics have changed regarding job creation and sustainability

(Xu, Zhong, & Wang, 2013). Specific: In the next student career development workshop I

will make sure to establish connections with at least four business managers from reputable

institutions. This will help me in understanding the managerial requirements needed to realize

my goals.

Measurable: The measurement of my goal will be based on the number of people I

will approach and accept to be part of my network. It will also be determined by those

managers who will agree to make follow up after the workshop. Achievable: My goal is

achievable since we are heading to a season when the university witnesses a number of

workshops and conferences coming up regarding self-management and career development

tools. This makes me confident that I am at the right time to pursue my goal since chances of

achieving it are high. Realistic: I have attended several conferences regarding business

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communication, and I believed I am equipped with the starting power to pursue my goal. I

have also bought several books and DVDs which explain how networking works and the best

ways to pursue them. This will help me in starting conversations with the target group and

also push me into building lasting relationships with them. Timely: This will be done in the

next two months since some upcoming workshops in the university.

Goal 2: Enroll in a short course to learn leadership skills and communication skills in

multicultural teams.

Following the rising global unemployment for young people, it is prudent to become equip

oneself with global leadership and corporate level communication skills that will make one

stand out among employment candidates (Xu, Zhong, & Wang, 2013). Therefore, more

training is needed to nurture the upcoming global managers and equip them with the

necessary skills and traits to overcome multicultural challenges.

Specific: In the next two months, I want to enroll in a short course to learn leadership

skills and communication skills in multicultural teams. Measurable: The success of my goal

will be measured by offering voluntary service at local government departments and global

institutions where the staff is derived from different cultures and age groups.

Achievable: The goal is achievable since there are several short courses and internship

opportunities from both local and global institutions aiming at equipping students with the

necessary leadership and communication skills. Realistic: Leadership and communication

form the primary basis for good managerial capabilities, and therefore, it should be a priority

for every young person to have both of them before venturing into the corporate world.

Learning leadership and corporate level communication skills helps in working with both

millennials and older people in teams without conflicts. Timely: The first six months will be

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set aside for the short course while the next four months will be dedicated to voluntary

assignments in the corporate world for the sake of gaining experience and exposure.

CONCLUSION

In global management, personality traits play a significant role in determining the

level of success that is why the Big-five model, the Belbin test, and Stress Indicator Tools are

employed in self-evaluation. This process is a significant part of personal development

process since it exposes the hidden weaknesses as it reveals strengths that could be exploited

for both personal and professional endeavors. As a young person, I have objectives that have

timelines in life, and they have to be achieved. That is why a lot of self-awareness and

understanding is needed for the strong points to be boosted and the weaknesses addressed.

The information used in the evaluation came from personal experiences where my emotional

standing is challenged as well as professional skills engaged. The experiences serve as core

sources of self-understanding information since they all end up with a question that needs to

be answered. The information is consistent since it is something that has been occurring over

the years. In fact, the results were not surprising to me since I had a feeling that I could

possess such traits even before the test. Self-evaluation only works to reveal the strength of

traits and not to help you discover new elements about yourself. Since I have found out my

strong and weak points, I intend to work on my emotional balance since I have found out that

I could be more emotional than necessary. I intend to enroll in personality traits development

programs and also get mentors who will help me in strengthening my personality.

GLOBAL MANAGERS

References

Bidjerano, T., & Dai, D. (2008). The relationship between the big five model of personality

and self-regulated learning strategies. Learning and Individual Differences, 17(1), 69-

81.

De Vries, R. (2012). Personality predictors of leadership styles and the self–other agreement

problem. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(5), 809-821.

Gnambs, T. (2012). A personality-competence model of opinion leadership. Psychology &

Marketing, 29(8), 606-621.

Harkins, R. (2015). Hard facts on soft skills. Quality Progress, Vol.48 (12), p.64

Judge, T., Bono, J., & Murphy, K. (2000). Five-factor model of personality and

transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 751-765.

Kwantes, Peter, et al. (2016). Assessing the big five personality traits with latent semantic

analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, 229-233.

Langford, P., Dougall, C., & Parkes, L. (2017). Measuring leader behavior: Evidence for a

"big five" model of leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal,

38(1), 126-144.

Mills, L., Mcdowelle, J., & Jr, W. (2010). Hard science and soft interpersonal skills.

Academic Leadership Journal, 8(4), 271-275.

Samson, D. & Daft, R. (2015). Management (Fifth Asia Pacific Edition). South Melbourne:

Cengage Learning Australia.

Sanz, J., Garcia-Vera, M., & Magan, I. (2010). Anger and hostility from the perspective of

the big five personality model. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51(3), 262

Steel, P., Schmidt, J., & Shultz, J. (2008). "Refining the relationship between personality and

Subjective well-being." Psychological Bulletin. 134 (1): 138–161

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Stelmokiene, A., & Endriulaitiene, A. (2015). Transformational leadership in the perception

of subordinates. Baltic Journal of Management, 10(3), 331-344.

Wikle, T., & Fagin, T. (2015). Hard and soft skills in preparing GIS professionals:

Comparing perceptions of employers and educators. Transactions in GIS, 19(5), 641-

652.

Xu., Zhong, J., & Wang, X. (2013). The impact of substitutes for leadership on job

satisfaction and performance. Social Behaviour and Personality: An International

Journal, 41(4), 675.

Xu, X. , Yu, F., & Shi, J. (2011). Ethical leadership and leaders' personalities. Social

Behaviour and Personality, 39(3), 361-368.

Zhang, A. (2012). Peer assessment of soft skills and hard skills. Journal of Information

Technology Education: Research, 11, 155-168.

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APPENDIX 1.0

The Big-Five Questionnaire Results

Where;

1= strongly disagree, 2= slightly disagree, 3= neutral, 4= slightly agree, 5= strongly agree

Extroversion- (E) = 23

Agreeableness- (A) = 39

Conscientiousness- (C) = 35

Neuroticism- (N) =36

Openness to Experience- (O) =32

The trait score should be between 0 - 40.

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The formula for calculating the personality trait score is

E = 20 + (1) ___ - (6) ___ + (11) ___ - (16) ___ + (21) ___ - (26) ___ + (31) ___ - (36) ___ +

(41) ___ - (46) ___ = _____

A = 14 - (2) ___ + (7) ___ - (12) ___ + (17) ___ - (22) ___ + (27) ___ - (32) ___ + (37) ___ +

(42) ___ + (47) ___ = _____

C = 14 + (3) ___ - (8) ___ + (13) ___ - (18) ___ + (23) ___ - (28) ___ + (33) ___ - (38) ___ +

(43) ___ + (48) ___ = _____

N = 38 - (4) ___ + (9) ___ - (14) ___ + (19) ___ - (24) ___ - (29) ___ - (34) ___ - (39) ___ -

(44) ___ - (49) ___ = _____

O = 8 + (5) ___ - (10) ___ + (15) ___ - (20) ___ + (25) ___ - (30) ___ + (35) ___ + (40) ___

+ (45) ___ + (50) ___ = _____

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APPENDIX 2.0

The Belbin Test Results

The nine team roles are the

Team player = 19%

Innovator = 17%

Chairman = 14%

Executive = 11%

Explorer = 11%

Analyst = 8%

Driver = 8%

Complete = 6%

Expert = 6%

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APPENDIX 3.0

Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool

Stress Management Competence Profile

Competency

Percentage

Effectiveness

Respectful and responsible:

Managing emotions

and having integrity

Reasonable

Managing and

communicating existing and

future work

Development Need

Managing the individual

within the team

Reasonable

Reasoning/Managing

difficult situations

Reasonable

75% or below = Development Need

76% to 89% = Reasonable

90% and above = Effective

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