A global leadership program develops managers who lead people, budgets or outcomes across countries. Bodhih's version covers a global mindset, leading across cultures and time zones, building credibility with overseas stakeholders, influencing without proximity and owning global mandates from India. It is designed with the ADDIE model and customised to each organisation's footprint.
- Recommended: 2 days in person, or 5 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 90-day stakeholder challenge
- Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: global leadership development program, global leadership training, global mindset training, leading across cultures program
Where and how: global leadership training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
From offshore delivery to global ownership
India's capability centres have moved from executing work to owning products, functions and whole business lines. The leader who once managed a delivery team now chairs the 7 p.m. call with Frankfurt and Chicago, and is expected to push back on headquarters with data and confidence.
That leap is rarely taught. Technical excellence got these leaders promoted, but global roles run on trust built at a distance, sharp judgement across cultures and the ability to represent the whole organisation. A structured global leadership program closes that gap before a missed escalation or a lost mandate does it the hard way.
Government of India figures show over 1,700 global capability centres in India employing more than 19 lakh people.
The same release expects global leadership roles in India's GCCs to rise from about 6,500 to over 30,000 by 2030.
What participants will be able to do
Think for the whole enterprise
Frame decisions around global customers and business results rather than the priorities of a single site.
Lead across time zones
Design a fair operating rhythm that shares the burden of late and early calls across regions.
Read cultural signals
Adjust how they give feedback, disagree and make decisions with colleagues from different business cultures.
Earn a seat at the table
Build credibility with headquarters leaders through clear points of view, reliable delivery and well-timed challenge.
Influence without proximity
Win support for proposals from stakeholders they rarely meet in person.
Grow global talent
Develop successors in India who can hold global roles and represent the team confidently.
Who should attend
- GCC site leaders, directors and heads of function with global reporting lines
- Indian managers leading teams spread across two or more countries
- Country and regional heads in Indian multinationals expanding abroad
- Gulf-based leaders managing multinational, multilingual teams
- Senior managers moving from a delivery role into a global product or process ownership role
- High-potential leaders being prepared for international assignments
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01The global leader's shiftModule 1 · 90 min+
- From site manager to enterprise leader: what changes in scope and judgement
- Mapping your global stakeholder network and where it is thin
- Personal credibility audit with peer feedback
02Global mindset and cultural agilityModule 2 · 2 hours+
- How business cultures differ in hierarchy, directness and decision-making
- Spotting your own defaults and blind spots
- Case clinic: the feedback that landed badly in another country
- Adapting without losing authenticity
03Leading across time zonesModule 3 · 90 min+
- Designing a follow-the-sun operating rhythm
- Asynchronous updates that reduce meeting load
- Rotating inconvenient calls fairly
- Keeping remote team members visible for growth
04Credibility with headquartersModule 4 · 2 hours+
- Moving from reporting status to offering a point of view
- Disagreeing with a senior global leader constructively
- Owning a mistake across borders
- Simulation: the quarterly business review with a sceptical sponsor
05Influence and decision-making at a distanceModule 5 · 90 min+
- Pre-wiring decisions before the global call
- Building alliances with peers in other regions
- Writing a one-page proposal that travels well
06Building global talent in IndiaModule 6 · 90 min+
- Spotting and preparing future global leaders
- Delegating visibility, not only work
- 90-day stakeholder challenge and learning partner
Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design
This two-day design prepares leaders who hold teams, bosses or mandates across countries. Participants map their global stakeholder network, decode cultural friction in real cross-border cases and design a follow-the-sun operating rhythm that shares the pain of late calls. They practise challenging a sceptical headquarters sponsor in a simulated quarterly review, pre-wire a decision with regional peers and plan how to grow global talent in India. Each leader leaves with a 90-day stakeholder challenge.
Participants can map their global network, read cultural signals and run a fair operating rhythm across time zones.
- 09:30–10:00Clock wallEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Site leader to enterprise leaderDiagnostic
- 11:15–12:15Stakeholder mapBuild sprint
- 12:15–13:15Why did that land badly?Case clinic
- 14:00–15:00Adapt without losing yourselfRole-play
- 15:00–15:45Follow-the-sun rhythmBuild sprint
- 16:00–17:00The invisible team memberSimulation
- 17:00–17:30Day one takeawaysReflection
Participants can challenge senior global leaders constructively, influence at a distance and plan to grow global talent.
- 09:30–10:00Status or insight?Energiser
- 10:00–11:00The point of viewSkill drill
- 11:15–12:30Quarterly business reviewSimulation
- 12:30–13:15Pre-wiring the decisionRole-play
- 14:00–15:00One page that travelsBuild sprint
- 15:00–15:45Growing global talentGroup challenge
- 16:00–17:00My 90-day stakeholder challengeAction planning
- 17:00–17:30Global leader commitmentsFeedback round
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 5 × 3-hour live virtual sessions with cross-region participants, plus a 90-day stakeholder challenge. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is the global leadership program?
The recommended design is two full days in person, followed by a 90-day stakeholder challenge with learning partners and manager check-ins. It also runs as five live virtual sessions of three hours each, which can include colleagues from other regions so leaders practise working across time zones as they learn.
What activities are included in the global leadership program?
Leaders build a global stakeholder map, diagnose cross-cultural cases, redesign their team calendar across time zones, deliver a point of view to a challenging panel, lead a simulated quarterly review with a sceptical sponsor, pre-wire a decision with a regional peer and write a one-page proposal that travels.
How we deliver it
Cross-border simulations
Participants lead a simulated global program review with role-players acting as headquarters sponsors, regional peers and a frustrated customer, all with different cultural expectations.
Stakeholder mapping on live relationships
Every tool is applied to the participant's own network, so they leave with a plan for the three global relationships that matter most this quarter.
Peer learning across functions
Cohorts mix technology, finance, operations and product leaders, which mirrors the cross-functional nature of global roles and widens each leader's view.
Spaced virtual option
Live virtual cohorts can deliberately include colleagues from other regions, so participants practise leading across time zones while they learn it.
Tailored versions
For GCC leadership teams
Focused on moving from a cost centre to a value partner: owning products and processes end to end, negotiating scope with headquarters and building a leadership bench in India.
For Indian multinationals going abroad
For country heads and expansion leaders who manage acquired teams, local partners and key customers in new markets while reporting to an Indian head office.
For Middle East leadership teams
For leaders in the Gulf managing teams of many nationalities alongside local talent programs, with attention to hierarchy, respect and relationship-building across cultures.
How we measure impact
We build evaluation in from the Analyse stage of ADDIE. Participants take a pre and post assessment of global leadership competencies on AssessAll, and an optional 360° pulse invites feedback from overseas managers and peers. A stakeholder challenge, such as leading a cross-regional decision, is reviewed in a 30-60-90 day follow-up with the participant's manager. We then review stakeholder feedback, scope growth and retention of key talent with HR.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a global leadership program?
A global leadership program is a structured development journey for managers whose teams, stakeholders or responsibilities span countries. It builds the skills that local leadership training rarely covers: leading across cultures and time zones, influencing distant stakeholders, making enterprise-wide decisions and developing talent that can work globally. Bodhih customises each program to the organisation's markets and structure.
What is a global mindset in leadership?
A global mindset is the habit of seeing a decision through the eyes of customers, colleagues and markets beyond your own location. Leaders with it stay curious about other cultures, adjust their style without losing their values and weigh trade-offs for the whole business. It can be developed through exposure, reflection and deliberate practice, which the program provides.
How do you lead a team across time zones?
Agree a small set of overlap hours, rotate inconvenient meetings fairly and move routine updates to written, asynchronous formats. Make decisions and priorities visible so no region waits on another. Most importantly, keep remote team members visible for stretch work and recognition. Participants design this operating rhythm for their own team during the program.
How can Indian leaders build credibility with global headquarters?
Credibility grows from reliable delivery plus a clear point of view. Leaders who only report status are seen as executors. Those who bring insight, propose options and disagree respectfully are seen as partners. The program includes practice rounds where participants challenge a simulated senior sponsor and get feedback on clarity, confidence and tone.
Who should attend a global leadership program?
It suits senior managers and directors with direct reports or reporting lines in more than one country, GCC site leaders, country heads of Indian multinationals and high-potential leaders being prepared for global roles. Participants typically have several years of people-management experience. First-time managers usually benefit more from foundational leadership training first.
How is this different from cross-cultural training?
Cross-cultural training builds awareness of how cultures differ in communication and etiquette. This global leadership program goes further, covering enterprise thinking, stakeholder influence, operating rhythms across time zones and developing global talent. Cultural agility is one module among six. Organisations often combine the two, starting with cultural awareness for wider teams.
How long is the global leadership program?
The recommended design is two days in person or five three-hour live virtual sessions, followed by a 90-day stakeholder challenge with manager check-ins. For senior cohorts we can extend it into a blended journey with executive coaching. The final design follows a needs analysis with your HR and business leaders.
Can the program include participants from several countries?
Yes. Bodhih delivers across seven regions, from India and the Middle East to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa. Mixed-country cohorts usually run live virtually, which lets participants practise leading across time zones. In-person cohorts are run by master trainers who travel from Bengaluru.