Leaders of multinational corporations can set the tone and pace of business, just like a conductor sets the tone and pace of a song.
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After years leading and advising multinational teams in Iraq, the image I always come back to when people ask me how to manage a cross-cultural business is that of an orchestra conductor. Global leaders of multinational corporations (MNCs) can set the tone and pace of business, just like a conductor sets the tone and pace of a song. However, they need the orchestra members to play along with them—otherwise, there is no music at all.
Getting everyone to play in the same key and rhythm is important, and it can’t be achieved by any single leadership style. That would be like having an orchestra conductor who only knows how to lead one tune or tempo. MNC leaders must be attuned to the context and adapt their approach accordingly. The most effective leaders I’ve worked with shift between servant, charismatic, empowering, and transformational leadership depending on what the context, the moment, and the team in front of them requires.
Servant Leadership Builds Trust and Charismatic Leadership Protects It
In Iraq, MNC leaders can use servant leadership to generate trust and respect, and to shift their workers’ loyalties beyond the tribal affiliations that remain deeply ingrained in everyday society. Build a mindset to serve the public, not yourself, and it is possible to win authority by winning people’s hearts. In practice, that means participating in public life, learning the language, and staying flexible enough to recognize that a decision that is appropriate in the US may not be appropriate elsewhere.
But servant leadership carries a risk that people will see it as weakness and try to take advantage of the leader—especially in a culture shaped by conflict and authoritarian rule, as Iraq historically has been. The humility of servant leadership should thus be balanced with charismatic leadership. A leader who practices charismatic leadership establishes a clear vision, articulates it clearly, and can strongly influence their followers. Sometimes the charismatic leader must call the shots so that humility is not mistaken for weakness.
I’ve seen this balance in Chinese firms operating in Iraq. They integrate, learning the language and showing up for community life in ways most Western MNCs don’t, but they never lose sight of their business goals. They often drive fierce negotiations that catch local counterparts by surprise. While their attempts to adapt to the local culture earns them a seat at the table, their firmness in cross-cultural business dealings lets them keep it.
Empowering and Transformational Leadership Turn Compliance into Ownership
A leader who practices empowering leadership transfers their power to their followers with the goal of removing the followers’ feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. This is an important counterweight in cultures marked by high power distance, like Iraq, where respect for authority can shade into unquestioning deference. In practice, that means soliciting feedback, encouraging participation in decision-making, and providing positive affirmation that builds people’s confidence to act on their own.
Transformational leadership focuses on developing creativity, innovation, and potential. Each employee is treated as an individual, capable of enacting change, not just a set of hands executing instructions. Where servant and charismatic leadership earn trust and confidence in the moment, empowering and transformational leadership build a workforce that becomes aware of the value of learning, cooperation, and knowledge sharing.
Choosing the Right Style for the Moment in Cross-Cultural Business
Savvy cross-cultural business leaders know that a mix of styles is needed to establish authority. Each leadership mode has its own purpose. For example, empowering leadership can help address a team weighed down by high power distance, where respect for authority has trained people to wait for permission rather than act. In contrast, charismatic leadership can prove useful in moments when swift, authoritative decision-making is needed.
The leader’s job is to read the room and reach for the right tool. Like the conductor who does not master a single instrument, they know which instrument to call on and when. I admit, it is not an easy job. However, if you put in the effort, people take notice. The respect that results is what makes leading across cultures sustainable, not just survivable.
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