Innovative Leadership Training Using Technology across Borders

Introduction

The use of technology has impacted training on almost every level and in almost every discipline. However, the uniqueness of leadership training, especially across borders, requires a specific investigation. Technology is often considered to be effective for certain subject matter and often ineffective in more human resource oriented skills such as those essential to leadership. One of the advantages of technology is often considered to be its usefulness in providing information and training over long distances but when those distances cross political and cultural boundaries, consideration of cultural dimensions requires additional insights.

This chapter will investigate the essential aspects of leadership training and the impact that technology has had on distributing it across borders. It will include examples of leadership training for those in formal leadership roles within organizations as well as those who are expected to perform in more informal roles as team leaders or subject matter experts. Examples will illustrate the role of technology and the implications of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in the training design and implementation.