How do you effectively lead, motivate, inspire, and coach someone you lead who lives in a different country, culture, or time zone? When polled about actual time spent in face-to-face and mediated communication, most distance leaders admitted that they only had 20-40 hours of communication per year! That's only five days.Designed to be read on a two- or three-hour flight by busy executives and ministry leaders, this book flattens the steep learning curve required to be effective in 21st century global leadership. Ken Cochrum presents an easy-to-grasp paradigm of servanthood, distance leadership, and cross-cultural leadership. Based on three years of research and interviews with more than 80 global leaders.ContentsPart 1 sets the context for global leadership. Chapter 1 explores the nature of the five-day leadership challenge. Most global leaders get no more than a total of 40 hours per year of face-to-face and phone/online contact with those they lead. How does one empower another to lead effectively the other 360 days per year? Chapter 2 looks at the current reality of the changing nature of global leadership in the 21st century. It gives us hard data that defines the work environment and its impact on workers. Chapter 3 calls us back to the scope of global leadership to which we are called by God in the midst of the existing culture. Chapter 4 surveys how the apostle Paul practiced servant leadership across distance and cultures during the rapid expansion of the first century church and gave us a model to follow today.Part 2 explores three significant factors that work against effective global leadership today: power, distance, and culture. It proposes a fresh, research-grounded paradigm for 21st century global leaders. Chapter 5 summarizes discussions and interviews with 80 top leaders on what they really want and need from those who lead them. Chapter 6 proposes servant leadership as the primary means to overcome power issues based on leader egos (yours and theirs). Chapter 7 deals with overcoming physical and psychological distance, particularly through the wise use of technology and travel. Chapter 8 points out the challenges we face interacting across culture and gives us some framework from which to navigate these challenges sensitively. Each of these three chapters includes what we've learned from research among top leaders and organizations, some real-life examples, essential leader competencies, and a few highly recommended resources. Chapter 9 challenges you to reflect on how you will apply what you've learned.Endorsements“Leading well, and developing other leaders, is hard enough when you only have to walk down the hallway to complete the task. But leading across many miles and over barriers of language and culture can feel utterly overwhelming. In Close, Ken Cochrum speaks with authority on the subject of leadership. He himself is an exceptionally strong leader, and he has invested his life in developing other leaders, both close at hand and across great distance. It has been observed that the Church will only rise to the level of its leadership. Ken helps us to raise the level of our own effectiveness in a new era of global leadership challenges. I am grateful for his insights shared in this book, and especially for his investment in my own life.”Dr. BRIAN G. FISHER, Senior Pastor, Grace Bible Church
Description:
How do you effectively lead, motivate, inspire, and coach someone you lead who lives in a different country, culture, or time zone? When polled about actual time spent in face-to-face and mediated communication, most distance leaders admitted that they only had 20-40 hours of communication per year! That's only five days.Designed to be read on a two- or three-hour flight by busy executives and ministry leaders, this book flattens the steep learning curve required to be effective in 21st century global leadership. Ken Cochrum presents an easy-to-grasp paradigm of servanthood, distance leadership, and cross-cultural leadership. Based on three years of research and interviews with more than 80 global leaders.ContentsPart 1 sets the context for global leadership. Chapter 1 explores the nature of the five-day leadership challenge. Most global leaders get no more than a total of 40 hours per year of face-to-face and phone/online contact with those they lead. How does one empower another to lead effectively the other 360 days per year? Chapter 2 looks at the current reality of the changing nature of global leadership in the 21st century. It gives us hard data that defines the work environment and its impact on workers. Chapter 3 calls us back to the scope of global leadership to which we are called by God in the midst of the existing culture. Chapter 4 surveys how the apostle Paul practiced servant leadership across distance and cultures during the rapid expansion of the first century church and gave us a model to follow today.Part 2 explores three significant factors that work against effective global leadership today: power, distance, and culture. It proposes a fresh, research-grounded paradigm for 21st century global leaders. Chapter 5 summarizes discussions and interviews with 80 top leaders on what they really want and need from those who lead them. Chapter 6 proposes servant leadership as the primary means to overcome power issues based on leader egos (yours and theirs). Chapter 7 deals with overcoming physical and psychological distance, particularly through the wise use of technology and travel. Chapter 8 points out the challenges we face interacting across culture and gives us some framework from which to navigate these challenges sensitively. Each of these three chapters includes what we've learned from research among top leaders and organizations, some real-life examples, essential leader competencies, and a few highly recommended resources. Chapter 9 challenges you to reflect on how you will apply what you've learned.Endorsements“Leading well, and developing other leaders, is hard enough when you only have to walk down the hallway to complete the task. But leading across many miles and over barriers of language and culture can feel utterly overwhelming. In Close, Ken Cochrum speaks with authority on the subject of leadership. He himself is an exceptionally strong leader, and he has invested his life in developing other leaders, both close at hand and across great distance. It has been observed that the Church will only rise to the level of its leadership. Ken helps us to raise the level of our own effectiveness in a new era of global leadership challenges. I am grateful for his insights shared in this book, and especially for his investment in my own life.”Dr. BRIAN G. FISHER, Senior Pastor, Grace Bible Church