Immigration as a Leadership Crucible among Global Leaders

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Marco Aponte-Moreno's analysis of press interviews and articles related to the twenty prominent global leaders shows that most of them consider immigration a defining leadership crucible.

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Institution: University of Southern California

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Marco Aponte-Moreno’s analysis of press interviews and articles related to the twenty prominent global leaders shows that most of them consider immigration a defining leadership crucible.

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 1, 2024

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This video video discusses the concept of "leadership crucibles," which are transformative experiences that shape a leader's identity and leadership style. These experiences can be intense and challenging, leading leaders to reassess their values and beliefs. The study focuses on immigration as a significant crucible, highlighting its impact on leadership, particularly in the context of globalization.

The research indicates that nearly 50% of Fortune 500 companies in the United States are founded by immigrants or their children. However, immigration's role in leadership studies is often overlooked. By examining the experiences of 20 prominent global leaders who immigrated to the U.S., the study aims to illuminate how immigration influences leadership styles.

Qualitative analysis of interviews revealed that most leaders viewed their immigration experiences as crucial to their leadership development. Three types of narratives emerged: 1) challenges faced during immigration, 2) positive outcomes from the experience, and 3) the transformative role of the U.S. in shaping their leadership.

The study identified three key themes in the leaders’ narratives: humility, benevolence, and egalitarianism, which were enhanced by their immigration experiences. The conclusion emphasizes the need for more research on immigration's significant role in shaping global leadership and its effects on identity and effectiveness. The findings suggest a new perspective on leadership studies, advocating for deeper exploration into how immigration influences leadership styles.

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So, leadership crucibles are transformative

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experiences that leaders go through in their lives

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that shape their identities and styles.

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Uh, it shapes the way they lead, basically.

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Uh, crucibles can be intense

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and challenging experiences,

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that make leaders question

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and possibly redefine their values and beliefs.

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So, some examples

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of leadership crucibles could be overcoming a personal

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tragedy, a loss in,

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in somebody's family facing a professional crisis.

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And in the context of, the study is immigration,

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the experience of immigrating, of going from one country

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to a new country and adapting to that country, as an,

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as an immi, as a leadership crucible.

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So the context of the study is, is basically in,

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in, in, in, it's in a, it's, it's about globalization.

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It's about, it's about how, globalization has

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produced, these movements of people

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and how immigration, is, has been,

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to a certain extent, underestimated when it comes

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to studying leadership.

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Um, if you look at the, for example, in the United States,

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almost 50% of the Fortune 500 companies

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have been founded either by immigrants or by their children.

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Yet when we study leadership,

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we don't really talk about immigration as a force

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that shapes the way these people lead.

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So, the study basically is trying to fill that gap

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and, shedding some light on why immigration is

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so important when it comes to studying leadership.

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Sure. So the,

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the literature on global leadership primarily focuses on

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how leaders can navigate cultural settings.

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So we have a lot of, cultural comparisons,

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or intercultural communication studies,

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how leaders can communicate better when they are in,

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cross-cultural situations,

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or how can leaders manage, global teams.

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And there are also a lot of studies on expatriation,

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but there is a new trend now, that is looking at,

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the, how the context in general

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and globalization in particular impacts the relationship

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between the leader and the followers.

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And this is where this study, is situated,

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by looking at how immigration has impacted

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that relationship.

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The study utilized a qualitative approach, meaning

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that we were analyzing press articles

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and also, video interviews of 20

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prominent global leaders

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who immigrated to the United States. Uh,

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In addition to that, we had,

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we conducted eight face-to-face, semi-structured interviews

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with, also other global leaders in the United States,

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to delve deeper into their experiences

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and, also their leadership styles.

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Um, the criteria that we used to select the leaders

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were first the leader had

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to have immigrated to the United States.

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And the second, criterion was, the leader had

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to be considered a global leader, meaning they, they,

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lead in a global context

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and interact with,

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followers from multiple cultural backgrounds.

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Um, the resulting sample comprised 20 immigrant leaders from

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16 different countries.

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Um, most of them were CEOs working across various

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industries, including technology, publishing, finance,

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and, and many others.

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Um, the study also included, of course, women

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who are underrepresented in,

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as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

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Uh, but the study included a little bit more than,

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than than the actual percentage that we find.

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So we had leaders like, Madeline Albright,

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who from the Czech Republic who immigrated

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to the United States and was the former Secretary of State

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or Ariana Huffington, who from Greece originally,

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founder of h Huffington Post,

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and CEO of Thrive Global here in the United States.

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And people like Elon Musk, Satya, Nutella, Nui,

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and Sundar Phai.

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So our analysis revealed that the majority of the leaders

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in the sample, not all, but the majority viewed immigration

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or their immigration experience as a leadership crucible

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that profoundly impacted the way they lead.

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Um, there were three types of narratives that emerged.

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Uh, first there were the leaders who focused on, in,

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when they were talking about immigration

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and how immigration impacted their leadership styles,

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they focused on adversities that they faced

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during the immigration experience and how hard it was

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and, how it, not only in terms of,

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physical labor for some of them,

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but also how hard you were psychologically,

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how difficult it was to deal with,

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a new language when they had to learn a new language.

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Um, and especially how, how difficult it was

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to adapt, to the new culture.

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The second, narrative

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that we found were those leaders emphasizing the positive

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outcome of, immigration.

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So they will talk about their leadership

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and then how the leadership was, how,

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how the immigration impacted positively the

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way they lead today.

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Um, and then we had a third, narrative

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were those leaders highlighting how the United States,

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became a transformative, element in the way they lead.

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So it was almost, they were, very,

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grateful for having come to the United States specifically

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and how the United States, it,

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it is playing has played

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and is still playing a,

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a very important role in the way, they lead.

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We also found that there were three themes that,

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that, that were important to them,

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about their leadership.

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And it's almost like how the leader, the,

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the leadership was changed, by the immigration

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and Beco became these three themes.

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The first one was humility.

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They felt that the immigration experience made them more

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humble in general.

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Um, the second one was benevolence.

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It they, again, it, it, it, the, the fact that they went

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through a, for many of them

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through a very difficult immigration experience, made them,

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to be more like better people.

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And then the final one was egalitarianism.

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Um, they emphasized the fact that,

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we are all equal, we're all the same,

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and they related that to their immigration experience.

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So, well the, the main conclusion is that we,

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immigration acts as the leadership crucible,

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for global leaders

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that shapes their leadership styles in unique ways that,

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reflect humility, benevolence and egalitarianism.

07:38.625 --> 07:43.045
Um, this is, again, immigration being so important in,

07:43.385 --> 07:47.845
in leaders, identities is something that,

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that deserves to be studied more.

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And this is, this is why the study I, I feel it's important.

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Um, so it contributes not only to, broader understanding

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of global leadership highlighting the importance of,

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immigration,

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but it, also gives very specific examples that, that,

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that know and how immigration, impact leadership,

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among global leaders.

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And, and, and of course for future research,

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I think the study encourages, expanding the findings

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and then going beyond what we found, to

08:25.555 --> 08:29.085
explore more the impact of immigration on leadership styles

08:29.085 --> 08:29.805
and effectiveness.

Immigration's Impact on Leadership Development

00:00:00 - So, leadership crucibles are transformative experiences that leaders go through in their lives that shape their identities and styles. it shapes the way they lead, basically. crucibles can be intense and challenging experiences, that make leaders question and possibly redefine their values and beliefs. So, some examples of leadership crucibles could be overcoming a personal
00:00:33 - in somebody's family facing a professional crisis. And in the context of, the study is immigration, the experience of immigrating, of going from one country to a new country and adapting to that country, as an, as an immi, as a leadership crucible. So the context of the study is, is basically in, in, in, in, it's in a, it's, it's about globalization.
00:01:06 - produced, these movements of people and how immigration, is, has been, to a certain extent, underestimated when it comes to studying leadership. if you look at the, for example, in the United States, almost 50% of the Fortune 500 companies have been founded either by immigrants or by their children.
00:01:34 - we don't really talk about immigration as a force that shapes the way these people lead. So, the study basically is trying to fill that gap and, shedding some light on why immigration is so important when it comes to studying leadership. Sure. So the, the literature on global leadership primarily focuses on how leaders can navigate cultural settings.
00:02:07 - or intercultural communication studies, how leaders can communicate better when they are in, cross-cultural situations, or how can leaders manage, global teams. And there are also a lot of studies on expatriation, but there is a new trend now, that is looking at, the, how the context in general and globalization in particular impacts the relationship between the leader and the followers.
00:02:39 - by looking at how immigration has impacted that relationship. The study utilized a qualitative approach, meaning that we were analyzing press articles and also, video interviews of 20 prominent global leaders who immigrated to the United States. In addition to that, we had, we conducted eight face-to-face, semi-structured interviews

Immigrant Leaders and Their Transformative Experiences

00:03:09 - to delve deeper into their experiences and, also their leadership styles. the criteria that we used to select the leaders were first the leader had to have immigrated to the United States. And the second, criterion was, the leader had to be considered a global leader, meaning they, they, lead in a global context and interact with,
00:03:39 - the resulting sample comprised 20 immigrant leaders from 16 different countries. most of them were CEOs working across various industries, including technology, publishing, finance, and, and many others. the study also included, of course, women who are underrepresented in, as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
00:04:09 - than than the actual percentage that we find. So we had leaders like, Madeline Albright, who from the Czech Republic who immigrated to the United States and was the former Secretary of State or Ariana Huffington, who from Greece originally, founder of h Huffington Post, and CEO of Thrive Global here in the United States. And people like Elon Musk, Satya, Nutella, Nui, and Sundar Phai. So our analysis revealed that the majority of the leaders
00:04:45 - or their immigration experience as a leadership crucible that profoundly impacted the way they lead. there were three types of narratives that emerged. first there were the leaders who focused on, in, when they were talking about immigration and how immigration impacted their leadership styles, they focused on adversities that they faced during the immigration experience and how hard it was
00:05:19 - physical labor for some of them, but also how hard you were psychologically, how difficult it was to deal with, a new language when they had to learn a new language. and especially how, how difficult it was to adapt, to the new culture. The second, narrative that we found were those leaders emphasizing the positive outcome of, immigration. So they will talk about their leadership and then how the leadership was, how,
00:05:49 - way they lead today. and then we had a third, narrative were those leaders highlighting how the United States, became a transformative, element in the way they lead. So it was almost, they were, very, grateful for having come to the United States specifically and how the United States, it, it is playing has played

Immigration's Influence on Leadership Qualities

00:06:19 - a very important role in the way, they lead. We also found that there were three themes that, that, that were important to them, about their leadership. And it's almost like how the leader, the, the leadership was changed, by the immigration and Beco became these three themes. The first one was humility. They felt that the immigration experience made them more
00:06:51 - the second one was benevolence. It they, again, it, it, it, the, the fact that they went through a, for many of them through a very difficult immigration experience, made them, to be more like better people. And then the final one was egalitarianism. they emphasized the fact that, we are all equal, we're all the same, and they related that to their immigration experience.
00:07:25 - immigration acts as the leadership crucible, for global leaders that shapes their leadership styles in unique ways that, reflect humility, benevolence and egalitarianism. this is, again, immigration being so important in, in leaders, identities is something that, that deserves to be studied more. And this is, this is why the study I, I feel it's important.
00:07:58 - of global leadership highlighting the importance of, immigration, but it, also gives very specific examples that, that, that know and how immigration, impact leadership, among global leaders. And, and, and of course for future research, I think the study encourages, expanding the findings and then going beyond what we found, to
00:08:29 - and effectiveness.

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Immigration as a Leadership Crucible among Global Leaders

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