Global Teams

Jo Owen has worked with over 100 organisations around the world in most major industries. He is the founder of eight charities which have a collective turnover of £100 million annually including Teach First which is now the largest graduate recruiter in the UK. He built a business in Japan without speaking Japanese; he created HBOS business banking; he was a partner at Accenture and started his career at P&G. He also has spent eight years working with tribes across the world to discover how they survive and succeed, and what businesses can learn from them. He has written 15 books on leadership and management including the best-selling How to Lead, How to Manage and Tribal Business School and is in demand as a speaker at conferences. He was awarded the OBE by the Queen for starting Teach First.

“In this book, Jo Owen provides not only a thorough understanding of what make a “global” organization effective, but also ideas and reflections on how to go about it,   in a way that is neither simplistic nor dogmatic. Great read.” Bertrand Lavayssiere, Ares and Co. Strategy Consultancy  “A perk of my job is that I get paid to read and review books. Nothing thrills me more than to know that one of my favourite management authors, Mr Jo Owen, has another book published.I enjoy reading his perspectives on the various aspects of management as he provides insights that can be easily digested by anybody yet has the necessary depth to help you with the skills needed in management. His latest offering showcases research that he has extensively carried out and provides astute insights that will benefit any executive from any level of management, be it middle or senior management. Quickly bookmark this for your “to-read list” as it is a useful, insightful read.” Sadie Jane Nunis, Singapore Institute of Management, Publications Manager  “Jo Owen has done it again – spotted a big gap in the literature and filled it elegantly and effectively with this splendidly readable, comprehensive, practical, and evidence-based treatment of a topic that is really challenging to our globalizing business world.  Packed with great examples and quotes Owen leads the reader through the toughest and most interesting challenges in cross-cultural management:  leadership, team dynamics, business context and systems, cultural intelligence and conflict resolution.   This should be the first item for global managers to put in their hand luggage.” Nigel Nicholson, Professor, London Business School, author of “The ‘I’ of Leadership: Strategies for seeing being and doing” (Jossey-Bass, 2013)  "Original and practical book on a vital topic which no one has looked at in depth before; simple and clear to read; lots of real world case examples; escapes the normal orthodoxy where globalisation means spreading western practice." Alberto Forchielli. Managing Partner, Mandarin Capital Partners.

• 1 Introduction2 Summary: what is special about global teamsPart One: Leading the Team3 The global leadership challenge: new skills, new mindsetPart Two: Teams without Borders4 Trust: the glue that binds the team5 Communications: shrinking distancePart Three: Creating the Firm Wide Context for Success6 Goals: shared goals or clear goals?7 Systems and processes: the building blocks of success8 People and skills: global talent, global mindset9 Culture: building cultural intelligence10 Structure: co-ordination and conflictPart Four: Rising to the Global Challenge11 ConclusionsAcknowledgementsGlossaryReferencesIndex