As an emerging leader, it is important to study the theoretical frameworks of leadership. In the United States, business leaders who think critically and strategically are often successful and challenge the status quo. They challenge assumptions and encourage diverse points of view. After careful thought and consideration, successful leaders will then act.
In China, business leaders are taught the Western strategic planning frameworks, but also ancient Chinese military and tactical strategic thinking and learn how to apply it to business situations. This dual approach to leadership makes Chinese business leaders better at strategic thinking than their Western counterparts.
Chinese Approach to Strategic Thinking
The Chinese’s approach to strategic thinking stems from General Sun Tzu, a military strategist who wrote The Art of War. Sun Tzu said:
“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you many win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”
This simple strategy gives Chinese businesspeople an advantage because they typically have studied Western frameworks of leadership as well as their own, whereas the United States are not taught and do not take the time to learn Chinese strategic thinking.
“Sun Tzu argued that good leaders put the needs and expectations of others ahead of their own and are willing to sacrifice” (Moran & Moran, 423).
Learn from the Chinese
Strategic leaders help build successful organizations and promote a culture of inquiry but leaders in the United States must familiarize themselves not with just the culture of China but the way of thinking that expands into the business world. Learning how to think like the Chinese can help level the playing field and promote better collaboration.
References:
Hout, T., & Michael, D. (2014). A Chinese approach to management. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/09/a-chinese-approach-to-management
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R., & Moran, S.V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed). Chapter 5. Routledge.
Schoemaker, P.H., Krupp, S., &Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential skills, Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/01/strategic-leadership-the-esssential-skills
Zhongqi, P. (2016). Guanxi, Weiqi and Chinese strategic thinking. Chinese Political Science Review, 1, 303-321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41111-016-0015-1
Yep, I agree overall. The one thing our readings continue to emphasize is the ability to expand your mind and understand cultures will dictate your impact as a global leader. Cultures not only as describe in general terms but also in the global leadership concept as defined in page 11 “Culture is a distinctly human means of adapting to circumstances and transmitting this coping skill and knowledge to subsequent generations. Culture gives people a sense of who they are, of belonging, of how they should behave, and of what they should be doing. Culture impacts behavior, morale, and productivity at work, and includes values and patterns that influence company attitudes and actions. Culture is dynamic. Cultures change but slowly.”. To your point, if we decide to only value our beliefs and not seek to understand differing perspectives, we will fail not only as global leaders but as human beings. Thank you again for your post, it is a clear reminder of the importance of this course if we seek to be better leaders!
References:
– Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th Edition)
I feel as though your post does a great job of emphasizing the need for leaders to have a wide range of understanding of leadership styles when working with foreign cultures. For someone in the United States, going to work alongside Japanese leaders, they may be in for a rude awakening when their strategic leadership skills are not up to par with their Japanese partners. I think it is interesting how you noted the specific frameworks that Japanese leaders use in order to broaden their strategizing skills. Much like the United States, we also have our own types of frameworks in which we base our leadership styles. Western leadership has tons of different leadership theories and styles that managers implement on a day to day basis and from what I read in your post, so does Japanese cultures. Unlike the United States though, they seem to focus more so on strategic leadership. In chapter 7 we actually talked about strategic leadership and one thing interesting here I think is important to note is just how this type of leadership works. Strategic leadership deals a lot with intuitive and thinking, and strategic basis is self-interested and has an efficient utilitarian approach to task achievement (Moran, 2014, pg. 227). This type of leadership focuses on system thinkers, schedules human and material resources efficiently to achieve well-defined goals, and eliminates inefficient bureaucracy (Moran, 2014, pg. 227). Some downfalls of this type of leadership includes difficulty communicating visions, no positive feedback, unaware of others feelings, and the inability and hatred to repeat ideas (Moran, 2014, pg. 227). Advantages to this type of leadership though include statistical analysis, flowcharting, contingency planning, and commitment to effective change (Moran, 2014, pg. 227). It is truly important for leaders to have an understanding of their future partners leadership styles as going in with a lack of understanding could lead to a great deal of misunderstandings. I think this really emphasizes the idea of this class, and how global leadership is a very abstract concept that varies greatly in every culture. But, despite these differences, I think that global leadership really allows leaders to broaden their leadership skills and grasp ahold of skills they were unfamiliar with before. Global leadership is truly a learning experience that can amount to many more skills under one’s belt, along with some new found relationships with foreign partners.
References
Moran et al. (2014). Managing cultural differences. Abingdon, OX: Routledge.