Read the full script of Module 2, Episode 4 of the Global Growth Master Class below. Want to get certified on global expansion? Simply click here to access the complete course today.

With recent changes in how businesses operate, the purpose and role of Headquarters have shifted too. So, what Role does HQ play in expansion for Global Class Companies?

The role of HQ in these companies is to support and enable local teams, instead of commanding and controlling them. The Global Class prioritizes having the right vision, team, and culture and sees organizational structure as a key area of difference between them and legacy companies, with a focus on a relationship between HQ and local teams that minimizes the us-versus-them dynamic and does not maintain an HQ bias.

👉 Click to Get Certified on Global Expansion 👈

In Global Class Companies, the concept of HQ has shifted from a physical location to a virtual power center where the company's vision is set and processes and structures to support localization are created and maintained.

Meta’s leadership team doesn’t all operate out of the same corporate campus anymore

in fact, Mark Zuckerberg’s direct reports are dispersed across 3 continents. While most companies today have dedicated office locations, the influence and decision-making power of HQ is becoming more distributed as leadership teams are now located in multiple locations. The role of HQ has changed from commanding and controlling local teams to supporting and enabling them. The use of digital tools for face-to-face meetings has increased, and platforms that create a digital hub in place of a physical HQ are becoming more prevalent. This shift requires a new approach to managing a global organization.

Thus, Global Class companies decentralize decision-making and empower their teams in local markets to make decisions that are best suited for their customers. They have a bottom-up approach to innovation, which allows for ideas to come from anywhere within the organization. This structure also allows for faster decision-making and better alignment with local market needs. Additionally, they foster a culture of trust and transparency, which enables distributed teams to work efficiently without micromanagement.

The new role of HQ for Global Class Companies is to:

• Support global scaling by implementing mechanisms and dedicating resources that foster growth, creating strong communication channels, and developing trust through granting autonomy.

• Enable the localization process while managing complexity.

• Build a strong team with both company and local market knowledge.

• Facilitate two-way innovation to deploy local best practices globally.

• Balance company culture and local cultures to empower a global team.

• Contribute to the communities the company engages with while making decisions aligned with core values.

The way of the Legacy company is for HQ to be a Command & Control monolith, sitting above the whole organization, telling everyone across the globe what to do. Global Class Companies see HQ as a foundational structure below, supporting all the local teams and providing the scaffolding to adapt from, in the pursuit of finding company-market fit locally. Centralized support and enablement mechanisms are still necessary to maintain the company’s goals and culture, but the decision-making power (at least in part) is being decentralized to the local teams.

 In addition to establishing support and direction-setting structures, HQ of Global Class Companies creates processes that facilitate progression through the stages of international growth (detailed in another module), as well as clear metrics to focus the efforts of the team, which are often customized to fit the stage of growth a local market is in.

Some companies are even looking to do away with using the word “Headquarters.” Fast-growing companies like Patreon now use the term “Hub” within organization design since hubs can be anywhere, and there can be multiple hubs, not just one centralized place tied to where the company was founded.

This shift from HQ to hubs reflects a new approach within Global Class Companies where local teams are empowered to make decisions and take ownership of their work. The hubs serve as support centers with a specific mission, working together with other hubs to achieve company-wide goals. This decentralizes the power dynamic and eliminates the traditional top-down approach where decisions are made solely by headquarters. The adoption of this model can increase team engagement, foster innovation, and improve collaboration across functions and locations.

Because of its familiarity and common use worldwide, we will still use the term headquarters or HQ, but don’t want you to tie the concept to the traditional concept of headquarters. As you navigate through this course, when hearing the term "HQ" see it as referring to the new concept of a distributed but connected resource that enables the company's presence in local markets, rather than the traditional command and control structure. The focus is on enabling local teams, creating processes for international growth, and maintaining company culture, rather than centralizing decision-making. 

NOTE: Don't miss out on the next episode! If you want to continue learning about global expansion strategies and dive deeper into the course material, simply click here to access Module 2, Episode 5 of the Global Growth Master Class.