Global Leadership Development at Ford

This chapter describes two leadership programs at Ford aimed at cultivating present and future global leaders. The first is the Global Leadership Summit, which includes participants from among the company’s top 200 employees at the next level below the CEO and his direct reports. The second is the Compass Program designed to accelerate the development of future leaders in fast-growth markets.

Both programs share common objectives such as building networks across regions and functions, cultivating global leadership capabilities, and direct engagement with the business and with company leaders. Qualitative and quantitative research indicate that the ability to exert influence within a complex global matrix organization is a distinctive requirement for effective global leadership; the programs focus in particular on the key skill of influencing others without direct authority in order to achieve business objectives across regions and functions.

The Global Leadership Summit and the Compass Program – each in a way that is appropriate to the level of participants – incorporate 10 global leadership behaviors that build toward Influence Across Boundaries and the related skill of creating Third Way Solutions. The programs are outlined in detail not only through the lens of program design but also through experiences and anecdotes shared by participants who are given practical opportunities to reflect upon, experiment with, and apply behaviors that are characteristic of successful global leaders.