A question of leadership: Is there such a thing as an Asian, as opposed to a Western, style of leadership?
✍ Scribed by Michael Jenkins; Carolyn Chan
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2005
- Weight
- 42 KB
- Volume
- 24
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1093-6092
- DOI
- 10.1002/lia.1085
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
precise about what needs to be done. Leaders who solicit opinions instead of issuing directions are seen as weak. But in some parts of Asia, such leaders may actually be the most effective.
People in the West sometimes refer to an Asian leadership style, but there is no single model. In Japan, for instance, a superficial look might find that a consensus-driven style appears to dominate. On digging deeper, however, one would usually find a leader who is orchestrating events from behind the scenes. Not understanding this, many Western companies never get to the key decision makers and thus find it hard to work with Japanese firms. In Singapore, in contrast, the leadership style tends to be very directive. Nonetheless, people are given a high degree of leeway to deliver set objectives. In other words, the management ethos may be characterized as saying: "I want you to do this. How you do it is up to you, but I want you to exhibit flair, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit.