We begin our examination of managing across cultures by exploring four key topics aimed at laying the foundation for developing global management skills: the changing world of business and what it means for managers; how global organizations are changing to adapt to the new business environment; how the new global realities are facilitating an evolution from managers to global managers; and career paths for global managers

Global organizations demand a heterogeneous global talent pool. For decades, this talent pool has been dominated by what we consider traditional “there-and-back” expatriates, overseas assignees who are transferred to a host-country for three to four years and subsequently return to the home-country organization. To accommodate the pressures of globalization, it is argued that organizations today would benefit from a more dynamic talent pool which is composed of a cadre of managers that includes but also goes beyond the traditional expatriate. We speak of the global manager “family” which in addition to expatriates includes flexpatriates and inpatriates. Together these complimentary pools of talent help to facilitate the development of a global mindset among global managers that is necessary to compete beyond domestic borders. The mix of managers differs greatly relative to the duration of assignments, destinations, number of destinations, and commitment to the organization and career. As a result, we argue that each manager requires a combination of intercultural competencies or a “tool set” to reflect the demands of the assignment type which allows them to be successful in their roles. This chapter draws on a competency-based view to form the basis of the critical elements for building intercultural competency in global managers.