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Global Marketing Director: Leadership Considerations

Study.com
Business 302: Foundations of Leadership
February 4, 2024

Global Marketing Director: Leadership Considerations

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Globalization is a hot topic today, with companies expanding their reach into foreign

markets. With these expansions come challenges in leadership, particularly with foreign cultures

and practices. As a global Marketing Director remotely overseeing 10 division managers

worldwide, leadership and communication styles should be examined closely and applied

appropriately to ensure success in each division. Effective leadership styles may differ with

South America, Europe, and Asia divisions. Mehta, et al. said, "Despite developments in travel

and communication that appear to be “shrinking” the world and conducing to cultural

convergence, there are still cultural differences across nations that seemingly require adaptation

of management styles in different countries” (2003, p. 73). After researching management in the

cultures assigned, Northern Europe prefers a consensus or participative leadership style, while

Western European countries may prefer authoritative or participative leadership styles

(Euroleader, 2023). In addition, the research revealed that Asia and South America both prefer a

consensus leadership approach (Hutt, 2019). In a predominately virtual environment, as a global

marketing director, and considering the markets assigned, the leadership style should be

participative and authoritative. However, effective leadership transcends borders, so it is

essential to use contingency or situational leadership along with communication to adapt to

organizational needs.

While participative, and authoritative leadership should work for this Global Marketing

Director position, using the Laissez-faire leadership style may create issues in a global supply

chain if implemented. Laissez-faire, or leave it be, “uses a hands-off approach that allows

employees to perform their duties without having to consult the leader” (Haire, 2017). Supply

chain strategy includes marketing and requires intimate knowledge of the “tasks and

responsibilities of each stage in the chain as well as information about the future of the markets
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and likely steps of the competitors” (Chandler, 2017). In middle management, the Marketing

Director must know the details and provide clear direction and expertise to each Divisional

Manager to ensure success. Overall, the Global Marketing Director would successfully use

situational leadership combined with participative and authoritative leadership styles.

As a virtual Global Marketing Director, they will combine communication and leadership

styles to drive success. Post-COVID-19, businesses rely heavily on virtual communication.

Many global consumer product giants went to a predominantly virtual environment due to

COVID-19. Pepsico is one of the examples of a company that canceled face-to-face meetings

and implemented flexible remote work. They "are leveraging the most current global technology,

like Zoom, to stay connected and facilitate the continuation of our work, and to continue to bring

the full strength of PepsiCo to bring our foods and beverages to communities around the world”

(Pepsico, 2020). As a virtual position, the Director must ensure the correct collaborating tools are

in place for sharing critical information. Several platforms, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams,

exist today to facilitate communication and collaboration and have robust capabilities to engage

remote teams. For most of the given markets, participative and authoritative styles are best. To

achieve this style, the Director will need open communication, quantitative data, and a platform

for disseminating vital information to ensure divisional success across each division and the

company. The Director must work with each division manager to gain sales data and

performance metrics in their given market. In addition, engagement metrics through companies

such as Workday or Gallup provide valuable insight into the culture and dynamics of each

division. The Director should allow the Divisional Manager to manage each division based on

cultural norms since they are face-to-face with the employees. They must also remain connected
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to the Divisional Managers through virtual collaboration platforms, meetings, and metrics. A

virtual environment can thrive if communication and collaboration are accessible and facilitated.

Along with communication, developing a marketing strategy, measuring outcomes, and

Divisional Manager alignment are critical to a successful global supply chain. These are rooted

in leadership, communication, and team building across the divisions. Developing a clear,

concise global marketing strategy while allowing flexibility for the individual markets will foster

healthy competition among the divisions but allow for customization. The Director should stay

informed of global consumer trends, competitors, and market fluctuations through the Divisional

Managers to adjust the strategy as needed. In addition, as a global company, the Director should

stay prepared for unforeseen events such as political unrest, economic issues, and other states of

nature. Regularly reviewing quantitative data to assess performance is needed along with the

marketing strategy. Adjustments based on the data should be participative in markets that favor

the leadership style and directive in markets that prefer an authoritarian style. Lastly, but most

importantly, the Director should work with the Division Managers to align the company across

the divisions. By building solid cross-divisional manager relationships, understanding

challenges, celebrating strengths, and acknowledging individual and divisional performance, the

Director can lead the company to success through people. Strategy, quantitative oversight, and

Divisional Manager alignment will all help create a cohesive, successful global marketing team.

Virtual environments have communication challenges but can be overcome with

leadership, business acumen, and understanding people. Communication is the keystone in a

virtual world. The Director should establish clear communication channels, including regular

cross-divisional town hall meetings to disseminate information, newsletters in each division,

divisional meetings, and skip level one-on-ones. Ensuring the correct personnel are included in
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the correct meetings and strategy sessions is critical to avoid making decisions without the expert

input required. In addition, Divisional Mangers should report adjustments to the Director due to

the specific market before making the change to ensure all possibilities and effects are explored.

Measuring outcomes through quantitative data is critical to the company's success, so the

Director should ensure they regularly receive the data. They must intervene if they are not

receiving the communication and metrics needed. In a virtual world, staying in touch requires

more effort through collaboration platforms. Regular meetings, sharing of metrics, and staying

on top of all communication are required to be successful in remote operations.

There will be many initial challenges as a new Global Marketing Director in a

predominantly virtual role; however, the Director can be highly successful through leadership

style, communication, and strategy. Through collaboration platforms, the Director should

establish a leadership style of participative and authoritative styles based on market. Open

communication, clear, concise direction, and engaging in employee feedback in the decision-

making process should be the style of leadership applied in this role. Regular virtual meetings,

town halls, and newsletters will strengthen communication in the virtual environment while

staying true to the leadership styles preferred in each market. Divisional alignment through

quantitative metric review, employee engagement, and Divisional Manager buy-in to the overall

strategy will assist in the Director's success in this role. Creating a tested virtual communication

infrastructure, sharing knowledge and experience with Divisional Managers, and applying the

appropriate leadership style to each market will lay the foundation for the Global Marketing

Director to lead the company to success in the Global environment.

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References

Chandler, N. (2017, April 26). SCM Case Study: Decision Making at 3M. Retrieved from Study.com: <a

href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/scm-case-study-decision-making-at-3m.html">SCM

Case Study: Decision Making at 3M</a>

Euroleader. (2023, July 07). Understanding Cultural Differences in European Leadership: A Key to Global

Success. Retrieved February 4, 2024, from Euroleader: https://euroleader.com/understanding-

cultural-differences-in-european-leadership-a-key-to-global-success/

Haire, L. (2017, April 10). Leadership Style & Fit in the Workplace. Retrieved from Study.com: <a

href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/leadership-style-fit-in-the-

workplace.html">Leadership Style & Fit in the Workplace</a>

Hartzell, S. (2012, September 21). The Participative or Democratic Leader. Retrieved from Study.com: <a

href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-participative-or-democratic-leader.html">The

Participative or Democratic Leader</a>

Hutt, R. (2019, May 12). The 6 Common Leadership Styles And How They Vary Around The World.

Retrieved February 4, 2024, from World Economic Forum:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/leadership-style-types-around-the-world/

Mehta, R., Dubinsky, A. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2003, February 1). Leadership style, motivation and

performance in international marketing channels: An empirical investigation of the USA, Finland

and Poland. European Journal of Marketing, 37(1/2), 50–85. Retrieved February 4, 2024, from

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03090560310453939/full/html

Pepsico. (2020, March 22). COVID-19: See how we're working to ensure the health & safety of consumers

and communities. Retrieved February 4, 2024, from Pepsico: https://www.pepsico.com/our-

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