MSI Press Blog

  Leaders rarely realize how many of their values are cultural until they leave home. They step into a new environment believing they are bringing “universal” principles, only to discover that universality is a myth. What happens next—what bends (transforming values, in Alanazi & Leaver's terminology), what holds (conforming [to the first culture] values in Alanazi & Leaver's terminology—reveals more about the leader’s inner architecture than any résumé ever could. Here are three short narratives that show how this plays out. 1. The American in Dubai: Learning to Slow Down Without Losing Purpose When Mark arrived in Dubai to lead a regional project team, he carried the classic American toolkit: direct communication, quick decisions, and a belief that transparency was always the highest virtue. He assumed these were leadership values. In reality, they were cultural habits. He learned this the hard way. In his first month, he pushed for rapid timelines and blunt feedback....

  Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, MSI Press Managing Editor, co-authored two chapters in the book, Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture   in the Military: State of the Science  (edited by Watson, Wolfel, & Kalkstein): (1) with Mowafiq Alanazi: "Identifying Transforming Values and Conforming Values of Arab and U.S. Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Cultural Relativism" (20 With Jeff Watson: "Transformative Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) Instruction: Promoting Cross-Cultural Leadership" The book can be downloaded for free from the West Point Press website . Book description: In today’s complex global security environment, military effectiveness depends not only on advanced technology and tactics but also on the ability to understand, communicate, and collaborate across cultures. This interdisciplinary volume examines the evolving role of language, regional expertise, and cultural competency (LREC) in U.S. military training, strategy, and leadershi...

  MSI Press managing editor contributed two chapters to this book and hopes readers interested in language and culture studies, as well as military studies, will enjoy it. The digital edition is free! VISIT MSI PRESS  WEBSITE  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more) Check out  recent issues .     Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book ,  Pinterest , and  Bluesky .       MSI Press welcomes submissions that reflect legacy and lived experience. Learn more about our publishing process on  our website . We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Find out at www.m...

  MSI Press managing editor contributed two chapters to this book and hopes readers interested in language and culture studies, as well as military studies, will enjoy it. The digital edition is free! VISIT MSI PRESS  WEBSITE  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more) Check out  recent issues .     Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book ,  Pinterest , and  Bluesky .       MSI Press welcomes submissions that reflect legacy and lived experience. Learn more about our publishing process on  our website . We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Find out at www.m...