At McKinney Consulting, we help leaders and organizations navigate complex, cross‑border realities with practical, globally minded leadership. In that spirit, I recently had the opportunity to share some of our thinking about global mindset in an interview with Forbes.
Recently, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by leadership columnist Rodger Dean Duncan for Forbes on a topic that sits at the heart of my work: building a truly global mindset in leadership and teams. The article is titled “You Don’t Need A Passport To Build A Global Mindset,” and it explores why global leadership is less about frequent flyer miles and more about how you lead in the everyday reality of cross‑border work.
In this blog, I want to briefly highlight a few key ideas from that conversation.
Many leaders still equate “global” with travel: overseas assignments, airport lounges, and a passport thick with visas. Travel can certainly broaden perspective, but by itself it doesn’t guarantee a global mindset. You can visit multiple countries and still lead as if everyone thinks, decides, and communicates exactly like you.
In the Forbes interview, I draw a distinction between leaders who merely tolerate cultural differences and those who intentionally use those differences as a strategic advantage. Leaders in the first group keep meetings polite but predictable; they don’t shut differences down, but they also don’t proactively pull it into real decision‑making. Leaders in the second group design their teams and processes so that diverse perspectives generate sharper questions, stronger decisions, and better outcomes.
Another key point from the article is that cross‑cultural leadership is no longer limited to expatriates or those stationed overseas. If you lead a team that spans a few time zones on Zoom or Teams, you are already a cross‑cultural leader, whether you call yourself one or not.
The question is not “Am I global?” but “How intentionally am I leading in a global context?” That intention shows up in practical ways, such as:
None of that requires a boarding pass. It requires clarity, discipline, and a willingness to make culture part of how you lead every day.
At McKinney Consulting, we see firsthand how much complexity leaders face as they work across borders, cultures, and markets. Whether we are supporting executive search, leadership development, or coaching, one theme keeps resurfacing: global mindset is no longer a “nice to have” reserved for a small group of internationally mobile leaders.
It is becoming a baseline capability for anyone who must:
The leaders who thrive in this environment do not treat global mindset as an abstract concept. They translate it into daily practices with how they listen, how they frame decisions, how they structure collaboration, and how they build trust with people who see the world differently.
If these themes resonate with your leadership reality, I invite you to read the full Forbes article, “You Don’t Need A Passport To Build A Global Mindset.” Rodger Dean Duncan’s questions pushed me to get specific about what separates leaders who simply “cope” with cultural difference from those who turn it into a source of strength.
As you read, I encourage you to ask yourself: where in your current leadership practice are you simply accommodating difference, and where are you intentionally using it to build better outcomes for your people, your customers, and your organization?
About Bryan McKinney
Bryan McKinney is a global leadership advisor and co‑author of Global Mindset: A Guide For Cross-Cultural Leadership, working with senior leaders to build cross‑cultural agility and high‑performing, globally distributed teams.
If you or your organization is looking to strengthen your global leadership capability, McKinney Consulting can help. To explore how we partner with leaders on executive search, leadership development, and cross‑cultural coaching, please contact me on our Contact page to start a conversation.
