Article Review

Article: Salicru, S., Wassenaar, E., Suerz, E., & Spittle, J. (2016). A Case Study of Global Leadership Development Best Practice. OD Practitioner, 48(2), 12-21.

 Summary

The entirely new global context is hurled up by dynamic forces which can include the rapid global economic integration and accelerated growth of digital technologies. The article states that effective global leadership development is vital to organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage. In order to address the gap of GLD, the authors of the article have presented the case of Wartsila which is a global leader in advanced technologies. The company is considered as the one which aims to create a culture of high performance and world class leadership.

In this article, the authors have conducted the research with the purposes of investigating what evidence could qualify the LEAD program of Wartsila as GLD best practice, explaining how and why its component made an impact and the advancement of theory and practice of GLD. The study differed from previous studies investigating GLD because it used the case study method as an evaluation, employing a mixed-method triangulation design at multiple levels. The general principles of GLD best practices embedded in LEAD were reported as results which include the commitment of CEO for best leadership practices, strategic orientation, alignment, and scope (including strategic projects), senior managers’/leaders’ involvement in the program, clear and relevant program goals and objectives, careful selection of participants, comprehensive and integrated assessment (two components), thorough preparation process (three components), pre-entry feedback/coaching session, coaching and peer coaching, a highly experiential approach incorporating action and experiential learning, reflective learning, including journaling, building social capital through networking, online and one to one follow-up and evaluation. This study has various practical implications relevant to OD practitioners who design, implement, or evaluate leadership development programs (LDPs).

Analysis

This article is an important research study which primarily discusses the global leadership development in form of a case study. The main reason behind conducting this study was quite valuable which involved different organization reporting that they consider the global leadership development as an important part of business productivity and organizational performance.

As a general evaluation, it can be said that the study discussed three very simple objectives and addressed them really well. Primarily, the study had involved using Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2014) evaluation model and the case study method as an evaluation. It was really important to know that the Evidence for each of the four levels of Kirkpatrick’s model was also found. Participants reported satisfaction rates from good to excellent, averaging 93.5% upon completion of the program, and more than two-thirds (68.61%) of respondents stated that they believed they were able to have a significant to high degree of impact on the business as a result of having attended LEAD.

The 14 discussed and proposed principles were quite important as they can be said as the summary of LEAD program and the main constituents of Global Leadership Development. The findings of the article are quite important in terms of business as they can be used for future researches about the global leadership development. Based on the findings, the article also proposed its importance in regard to business that by using the principles that are grounded in OD theory and practice while following this sequence, OD practitioners are likely to assist participants and this can effectively be used for future researches.