Global leadership isn’t something you learn in a classroom—it’s something you absorb by living between worlds. My own journey started long before I ever managed a team, built a program, or stepped into rooms with leaders across sectors. It began on a small island in the Caribbean.

Although I was born in Canada, my cultural formation started in Dominica, a place defined by community, high-context communication, and a deep respect for relationships. My childhood was filled with island-hopping trips to visit family and competitive swimming competitions that introduced me early to the cultural diversity of the Caribbean.

When I returned to Canada as a teenager, I found myself in an international high school built for newcomers adjusting to Canadian life. I was suddenly surrounded by students from dozens of countries—many navigating new languages, new expectations, and entirely new cultural norms. It was the first time I realized that “culture” isn’t background noise; it’s the operating system behind how people think, speak, lead, collaborate, and interpret the world.

From that point on, cultural diversity wasn’t a concept I studied—it was the room I lived in.

Learning Leadership Across Continents

My global lens expanded again when I moved to Ottawa, a bilingual and multicultural city that introduced me to even more worldviews, histories, and communication styles. But the real stretch came later, when I spent over four years living in South Korea. There, I taught English in international programs, working with students from Korea, China, Russia, and across Asia.

South Korea reshaped my leadership instincts. I learned the nuance of formality. The importance of hierarchy. The subtle cues people use when they disagree but won’t say it outright. It challenged everything I thought I knew about communication, authority, and respect.

When I returned to Canada and continued teaching ESL in Toronto—arguably the most multicultural city in the world—I gained yet another layer of insight: how migration, identity, and cultural transition shape communication patterns and leadership expectations.

Over time, I learned to shift comfortably between Dominica’s collectivist warmth, Korea’s structured hierarchy, and Canada’s direct, individualistic style. This flexibility helped me lead teams across borders long before I ever stepped into the corporate or diplomatic world.

But exposure alone doesn’t make you a strong cross-cultural leader. Awareness must turn into intention.

And intention requires practice.

Where Global Leaders Still Need to Grow

Even with this background, I had to confront three uncomfortable truths about global leadership. These are lessons many leaders overlook—and the gaps that often derail cross-cultural collaboration.

1. Your Communication Style Doesn’t Work Everywhere

I grew up switching between cultural codes naturally. But in my professional life, I leaned heavily toward the Canadian tech standard: fast, direct, and solution-driven.

In high-context cultures, that style can feel abrupt or even dismissive.

The leadership shift:
Slow down.
Adapt the tone.
Match the cultural rhythm.
And most importantly—confirm understanding, not just transmission.

A message only matters when it lands the way you intended.

Practical move: Add pauses, ask reflective questions, and follow up in writing. This simple discipline eliminates 80% of cross-cultural misunderstandings.

2. Not Every Culture Wants Flat Leadership

After years in Canada, egalitarian leadership felt natural. Decisions were shared, hierarchy was minimal, and collaboration was open.

That doesn’t fly everywhere.

In Dominica, respect often flows through relational hierarchy.
In Korea, titles and structure matter—deeply.

The leadership shift:
Match the cultural expectation. Don’t fight it.

Some cultures need clarity on authority to feel secure. Others need informality to feel equal. Neither is right or wrong—they’re simply different operating systems.

Practical move:
Set decision-making authority early.
Use the right level of formality.
Signal hierarchy when it builds trust—not control.

3. Virtual Work Makes Cultural Gaps Even Wider

In person, I can easily read the cues—hesitation, discomfort, agreement, disapproval. On a screen, many of those signals disappear.

For cultures where disagreement is indirect, this makes alignment even harder.

The leadership shift:
Leaders can’t rely on “reading the room” anymore.
We have to recreate the room.

Practical move:
Schedule structured one-on-one conversations.
Use low-risk or anonymous channels for feedback.
Create multiple pathways for people to express concerns.

Digital inclusion is cultural inclusion.

The Real Work of Global Leadership

Leading across cultures requires more than empathy. It requires:

• Self-awareness
• Cultural literacy
• Adaptability in real time
• Intentional communication systems
• The humility to unlearn your default settings

The world is not becoming more culturally uniform. If anything, globalization has made cultural differences more visible—and more important—than ever. Leaders who ignore this reality unintentionally create friction, mistrust, and misalignment.

But leaders who embrace it?
They build stronger teams, deeper trust, and more resilient organizations.

My story spans Dominica, Canada, South Korea, and a global set of classrooms, boardrooms, and virtual teams. But the lesson is universal:

Great leadership is not about leading everyone the same way.
It’s about understanding how people need to be led differently.

When leaders learn to adapt across borders—literal or virtual—they unlock the true power of global collaboration.