Dear Amy,

I am a student at the University of Central Florida and am currently enrolled in the Lead Scholars Program. This program provides us with the skills we will need to become effective leaders in our future society. In conjunction with the skills we learn in the program, we have to give a presentation on a topic of our choice that will benefit the leaders of tomorrow. I chose global leadership. I feel that the countries of the world are growing increasingly interdependent upon one another as each day passes. Our economies are merging, our businesses are working together, so it is only logical to conclude that one day the people of the world will be required to function on a more intense international level than has been required of them in the past.

With this in mind, I would love to use a quote from you stating why you think global leadership is essential to the future of the world. You can also tell me a little about what your business does to aid in the growth of the presence of global leadership skills in our society.

Thank you,

Asha

Dear Asha,

I think that your topic is an interesting one and I hope that your presentation was a success. One thing to be cautious of in terms of global leaders is making each leader into the same person. For instance, if we have to grow to being more alike in an effort to understand each other, we lose our strength, which often lies in our differences not in our similarities.

My other fear is that global will soon mean "American," therefore, what will be lost is anything that doesn't follow a white, hierarchical, capitalistic norm. I think we are already heading in this direction, so I think that we can't entirely combat it, but we can attempt to circumvent it in an effort to ensure that other cultures are as valued as white, American cultures. So we can value things even if they don't look like or think like Americans do.

I do see that one of the strengths of globalization is that while America used to be the place that everyone wanted to come to, now everyone wants to experience the rest of the world, too. Let's just hope that experience doesn't mean exploit.

—Amy