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On a global scale, leadership takes place within a complex environment that is molded both by national culture and organizational culture influences. This chapter explores leader-culture (L-C) fit in this global context. Drawing together distinct perspectives on national culture and organizational culture, we identify potential contingencies of L-C fit across these levels. In addition to identifying key gaps and areas for future exploration, we also discuss the practical uses of fit when selecting and developing leaders. Overall, we argue that researchers and practitioners could benefit from an expanded perspective on cultural fit to simultaneously address aspects of national and organizational culture.

How generalizable are 360-degree feedback instruments in different cultures? Research investigating the validity and utility of these instruments across the globe is scarce, yet, extraordinarily important. This chapter investigates the utility of a 360-degree feedback instrument across the globe, as well as how different raters from various cultures perceive leaders.

In the opening chapter of this volume, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood enlighten us with a unique perspective toward the understanding of leadership. They point out that in the past, most leadership research used an inside/out approach that studies leadership attributes (i.e., what is inside oneself that makes an effective leader). However, what matters more are the results that effective leadership produces. Therefore, an outside/in, business-values-driven approach should be adopted to match leadership to the expectations of various stakeholders, including customers, investors, organizations, and employees. The authors stress the importance of building leadership brand to better capture what stakeholders want and propose seven principles that can produce sustainable, long-lasting results from leadership development.