Episode 13 - From the Pitch to the Boardroom: Lessons in Global Leadership

Episode 13 - From the Pitch to the Boardroom: Lessons in Global Leadership

From Research Reverb by Gies Business

January 27, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Professor Mike Szymanski discusses the advantages of multicultural management in soccer and its implications for international business.

In studying 355 elite national soccer teams from around the globe, Gies Business Professor Mike Szymanski finds that teams led by multicultural managers enjoy an advantage in a sport where nations from every corner of the world collide. He has demonstrated that this same idea also applies to international business. One of his more recent projects extended this interest in diversity to the domain of language, exploring how non-native accents shape communication and perceptions in global teams.

Topics covered

  • global leadership
  • multicultural management
  • international business
  • diversity
  • communication

Keywords

  • soccer teams
  • language diversity
  • non-native accents
  • global teams

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: From the Pitch to the Boardroom: Lessons in Global Leadership

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