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Welcome to Volume 6 of Advances in Global Leadership. Our objectives in this volume remain the same as in Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this series (Mobley, Gessner, & Arnold, 1999; Mobley & McCall, 2001; Mobley & Dorfman, 2003; Mobley & Weldon, 2006; Mobley, Wang, & Li, 2009). We seek to advance the definition, conceptualization, and understanding of global leadership processes, and the development of international and global leaders.

Our query into “what is leadership” can be traced back to Galton (1869) in his book, Hereditary Genius. Leadership, as a unique characteristic of extraordinary individual leaders, has dominated leadership research up until the early 1950s and was then followed by the rise of behavioral views of leadership such as situational leadership, transformational leadership, among others. These earlier views of leadership have been developed mainly among psychologists. We have not done sufficient work to view leadership from a business values perspective. Filling in this important gap, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood answer the question “what is leadership” by focusing on an outside/in view of leadership that draws on business values beyond psychological principles. They ask four important questions that shape the definition of effective leadership: What are the outcomes of good leadership? What must every leader know, do, and be? How do we develop leadership (not just leaders) from the outside/in? And how do leaders make long-term change really happen? Answers to these four questions can lead us to clarify why leadership matters, nail the basics of leadership, create a leadership brand, and ensure leadership sustainability.

Hogan and Benson's chapter in this volume used the CEO of both Nissan and Renault Ghosn, who was born in Brazil with Lebanese heritage, educated in France, worked in the U.S., and then resurrected a major Japanese firm, as an example to support the view that the principles of leadership are formal and not culture specific. Campbell (2006) earlier had argued that some leadership principles are universal and timeless, such as ethics and integrity. Ethical leadership is critically important in our global society today. The fact that ethical and moral issues have contributed to the falling of banks and financial institutions on Wall Street and in many other parts of the world tells us that ethical leadership is a prerequisite for the health of the global market. Financial institutions are required to engage in global thinking and acceptable standards of behavior to regain a stable and safe global financial market (Garten, 2008).

Adapting to, creating, and managing change has become an unavoidable and even central part in today's organizations (Griffin, Neal, & Parker, 2007). At the external level, organizations are constantly seeking opportunities to identify and anticipate clients' needs, switch or expand into new markets, and establish or rearrange strategic alliances. At the internal level, they struggle with recruiting, retaining, and developing a healthy base of best talent, and reorganizing the structure of labor forces to match the organization's growing needs. The internal and external dynamics frequently intertwine, complicating the situations and creating competing demands; therefore, leaders are forced to understand, manage, and react quickly, innovatively, and effectively. Importantly, in order to grow business organically and sustainably, leaders are pressed to constantly identify and develop new products, processes, structures, and solutions. As revealed by Gonin, Napiersky, and Thorsell in their chapter of this volume, innovation has turned out to be one of the biggest challenges in times of crisis. All these challenges become more complex when organizational changes and innovations are conducted across national cultures. This has been illuminated by the three chapters in this volume, respectively focusing on: discussing issues in managing cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), introducing useful tools to assist change initiatives, and tackling the innate paradoxes in engaging in innovative activities across cultures.