A key component of global leadership is complexity. When you begin to cross-cultures, your business becomes more complex. Galbraith (2000, p. 2) says it bluntly: “Serious students of cross-border organization have arrived at the position that keeping it simple is stupid; the world is complex, and simple organization in a complex world becomes less and less viable.” McCall and Hollenbeck cite this quote and add to it, continuing to argue about the complexity of cross-cultural business. The tendency, when dealing with complexity, is to segment it – reduce it so it is easier to understand. Consider traditional medical education, which reduces the complexity of the human body down to smaller components (circulatory system, respiratory system, etc).

I propose the opposite.

I propose that dealing with cultures in the future will involve what Senge (1990) calls systems thinking. Systems thinking involves understanding how things influence each other inside a larger whole. Within globalization, it involves understanding how countries work to influence each other. It’s easy to study cultural trends in Indian – easy but incomplete. In order to truly understand the business culture of India, one needs to understand how it was influence by colonization by England and how it’s current relationships with Western countries such as the United States are evolving.

When understanding cultures, don’t divide – think of the global as a complex system.

McCall, M. & Hollenbeck, G. Developing global executives. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Galbraith, J (2000). Designing the global corporation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, p. 2.

Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency.

David Burkus is the editor of LeaderLab. He is an executive coach, a sought-after speaker and an adjunct professor of business at several universities. He can be reached by email here or at his website: davidburkus.com.