What qualities define an outstanding leader? Are the same qualities valued all over the world, or are our ideas about good leadership to some extent determined by the society and culture in which we live?
These are the questions that GLOBE, the largest ever international comparative study on leadership and organisational culture, seeks to answer. Iceland is now taking part in the project for the first time. Inga Minelgaité, Svala Guðmundsdóttir and Ingi Rúnar Eðvarðsson, professors at the UI Faculty of Business Administration, are leading the Icelandic part of the research on behalf of UI.
GLOBE – (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is an international study exploring the connections between organisational culture, practice and leadership. Using systematic comparison techniques, the researchers examine how people in different societies understand effective and outstanding leadership and which leadership qualities are valued across cultures.
The new phase of the GLOBE project reaches 134 countries and societies, spans over 95% of the world’s population and more than 99% of world GDP. A total of 44,971 managers and professionals took part, responding to 118 versions of the surveys in 60 languages.
Inga explains that the scope of the project enables researchers to compare ideas about outstanding leadership in societies across almost the whole world. This makes it possible to analyse both the similarities in how people think about good leadership and also how ideas are shaped by culture and social context.
Eight leadership dimensions
The initial findings of this new phase of the GLOBE project have been published in the Journal of World Business. The paper presents a new and updated model for outstanding leadership based on data from all 134 societies.
The model defined eight leadership dimensions. Six of them describe behaviour and qualities that leaders should cultivate while two describe behaviour they should limit or avoid. The findings, presented as statistical data and colour-coded maps, enable comparison of how these dimensions are valued across different societies.
According to Inga, the project is founded on the idea that we all have certain ideas about what makes someone a good leader, but these ideas are not conceived in a vacuum. Our culture and social environment influence the qualities that we value in a leader, and different societies can therefore have different ideas about what constitutes outstanding leadership.
Iceland scored highest of 134 societies for participative leadership
Inga Minelgaité argues that Iceland’s inclusion marks an important milestone for research on Icelandic society. The data enables researchers to analyse much more clearly which ideas about leadership people in Iceland share with other societies, and to what extent Iceland takes a unique approach.
It is now possible, for the first time, to compare Icelandic conceptions of good leadership with the attitudes of people in the other Nordic countries, in Europe and in the rest of the world. The findings show that Iceland immediately stands out in two important areas.
Svala Guðmundsdóttir, professor at the UI Faculty of Business Administration, says the Icelandic results are particularly interesting regarding participative leadership. “Iceland scores 6.28 for that dimension, which is the highest of all 134 societies that took part in the research.”
This indicates that in Iceland, particularly high expectations are placed on leaders to consult subordinates, encourage their involvement, and ensure transparency in decision-making.
Iceland also stands out for strategic vision. The country scores 6.19 for that dimension, compared with an average of 6.10 and the highest of the Nordic countries. “So, according to the results, a good leader in Iceland should not only be consultative, but also have a clear vision for the future and the ability to inspire other people to work towards it,” explains Svala.
Good leadership does not always follow the same formula
Svala also points out that the study has clear practical value. The findings provide an important knowledge base for Icelandic managers and leadership education, since they reveal what people in Iceland expect of leaders and what qualities and methods are most associated with good and effective leadership. The findings could be used to promote self-awareness in managers and strategically support their professional development.
According to Inga, it will become increasingly important to understand different expectations of leaders as businesses and institutions expand their international operations. Leadership strategies that are effective in one society may not automatically have the same impact in another, so an understanding of the cultural differences will help leaders adapt to different situations.
“Our involvement in this unique project arose through our active membership of the Academy of Management, the world’s leading international association in the fields of management and leadership studies,” says Ingi Rúnar Eðvarðsson. “This is an excellent example of the importance of supporting academics to actively engage in international collaboration and attend conferences.”
More articles based on this phase of the GLOBE project are planned. The new model is intended to lay the foundation for extensive comparative leadership research. The first article presents information on the methodology and results from the 134 societies.