Learning
leadership
Across continents,
Rabobank International (Rl)
has developed partnerships
and corporate relationships
in very different cultures,
bringing both the Rabobank
co-operative spirit and the
Dutch banking sensibilities
to places where Dutch
corporate culture is not the
norm. Rl has adapted to
these new places and fit in.
At a three-day bi-annual
meeting for General
Managers and Senior
Managers of RI's
international offices
held in Amsterdam this
summer, multiculturalism
and leadership were high
on the agenda. What do
the experts have to say?
1 Your cognitive intelligence (IQ) may get you hired but your emotional intel-
ligence (EQ) will get you promoted. Think across the spectrum of responses to
leadership situations and choose from both the cognitive and the emotional.
Then improve the organizational EQ of your team by allocating, as much as
the culture supports it, ownership and accountability to employees.
2 Learn aboutthe major themes of the clinical paradigm and apply them to
prevent leadership derailment. While team playing and team building across
cultures practice self-awareness, empathy, courage, and positive reframing.
Tryto maintain a pan-cultural helicopter overview of situations.
The Word 29