Towards Educating Global Innovation Leaders

Abstract “… [S]olving modern problems requires teamwork that draws on a broad range of expertise and life experiences. Yet individuals receive little formal training to develop the skills that are vital to these collaborations.” – Association for Psychological Science, December 3, 2018 Research concerning the influence of cultural diversity on team innovation outcomes has generated ambiguous results; however, research increasingly supports the impact of globally oriented team leadership on the dynamics and performance of culturally diverse innovation teams. Evidence of a unique global-leader persona led us to further explore the concepts of a superordinate global identity, cultural awareness, and openness to diversity. Existing research indicates that this set of interrelated characteristics effectively predicts innovation leadership; individually, however, these characteristics are constructs of a larger concept that merits investigation: intercultural competence (IC). Consensus exists that IC is both learnable and required by global-ready graduates in an increasingly global work environment. However, despite its ubiquity among postsecondary institutions as an essential learning outcome, consensus is lacking regarding the definition of IC, its relative norms, and its assessment. Without such consensus, the effective incorporation of IC into post-secondary curricula will remain an unresolved challenge. In an effort to address this, we endeavour to summarize the current IC landscape via a systematic literature review, and to identify questions that merit further exploration. We ultimately hope to further advance understanding of which specific types or combinations of educational experiences (both theoretical and practical components) are most impactful, specifically at the post-secondary level