Gholamreza Taleghani - Faculty of managemenet, Uniersity of Tehran
Davood Salmani - Faculty of managemenet, Uniersity of Tehran
Ali Taatian - Master of Arts

Leadership is in fact a process of influencing followers. Characteristics of leadership are functions of time and situation and differ in different cultures and countries. Managers of international organizations should obtain enough knowledge of these cultural characteristics and differences and should have the utmost versatility while executing their leadership tasks. In this paper we have conducted a survey of the relation between cultures and styles of leadership in different countries. At first characteristics of leadership are discussed in work oriented leadership paradigm and management regimes, in a number of different regions, including China, Japan, U.S.A, Europe, and Arab countries. We also discuss about cross-cultural leadership concept and its challenges. At the end, a comparative analysis is made over the various leadership styles.

conceptual leadership model, cross-cultural leadership, Cultural differences, Leadership Styles