Leadership Style

The following sections are included:

• Preface by Zhu Xiaoming and Pedro Nueno
• Foreword by Zhou Xuelin and Li Mingwei
• Contents

We’ve been living for a long time with the legend of the born leader, the colorful charismatic, the innate firebrand who walks into a room and electrifies everyone with sheer physical presence. The truth is that these charismatics — such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Steve Jobs — lacked any particular physical characteristics that made them charismatic.

At the eye of the hurricane of economic globalization is the quiet space of mindfulness. Mindfulness is a philosophy and practice which helps those exercising leadership to situate themselves calmly in the eye of the hurricane, where they are able to tap into the clarity and creativity that is necessary to ensure wisdom in decision-making and focused, authentic leadership.

Whether you’re leading a business or a non-profit organization, a committee or a board, an athletic team or a family, you must learn when to compromise and when to stand firm. Although it’s not possible to resolve every conflict through negotiation and concession, it is feasible in most cases.

Since kindergarten, people have been taught to resolve problems using top-down rules, listen to authoritative opinions and ignore their own thoughts, avoid self-expression beyond requirement as it can cause trouble; stay within the scope of duties as it is the safest way…. However, they are all old-fashioned ideas that need to be shattered by Liberating Leaders whose mission is to create freedom-form organizations.

Sometimes it is hard to define “decent work”. 20 years ago, the best students in China chose to major in electrical automation; 10 years ago, the first choice of the top students in high school was often life science; today, economics and management majors are the most sought-after. So the “decent work” chosen by teenagers who have just begun to design their life according to social trends has undergone several rounds of change, which can be explained by the lyrics of Faye Wong: “Nothing will last forever.”

Not all top managers are qualified to launch a major reform. Their position will be changed if they fail to change their minds. Nor is every reformer qualified to give an impassioned speech easily. To achieve the final success of reforms, reformers need to have motives that truly represent the core objectives of the organization and reflect the underlying needs of the majority of members in the organization. Managers should be able to formulate appropriate strategies based on the internal and external environment facing organizations as well as the capabilities and resources of the individual to effectively control the reform process.

A metaphor demonstrates the importance of personalities to individual development. Apparently, having a job whose nature is contradictory to one’s personality is like forcing people who are used to writing with their right hand to write with their left hand. We try to use a more scientific tool of personality assessment to inspect Chinese managers and provide reference for their personal development by examining the characteristics of their personality and job.

The goal of “CEO Replacement Plan” is to find the right person at the right time. Finding the right CEO is the core and most critical function of the Board of Directors. It is a long-term process that includes planning, continuing work, and cooperation with the current CEO to establish leadership that matches the company’s strategic goals.

Those who believe that they have experienced a series of changes and grown from 0 to 1, from 1 to 100 are underestimating history and time. Human beings are insignificant in the vast universe and the long river of history. I think I am actually nothing, just a “zero.”

My experience tells a story about a professional’s growth in a company. This is an unforgettable journey that allows me to have full freedom to realize my dreams and learn to respect others. If there is an afterlife, I am still willing to work for Tata Steel rather than those trendy IT companies.

Modern enterprise is the product of Western Christian civilization, which has become the mainstream in the world and has the right to say. It will be a problem if you utilize it before learning it well.

In fact, every idea is a flame. You will be burned if you only stare at these thoughts. But if you throw yourself into the fire and run through the flames, you will not be burned.

He has the experience of working as a farmer and teacher, and establishing ties. Starting his business with only 50 yuan, 20 years later, he has become known as the “godfather of Chinese local advertising industry” 20 years later. This industry leader who likes Chinese-style clothes, enjoys thinking, and has little interest in expanding the scale of business and capital market has demonstrated a distinctive corporate view.

While both of them are patriarchal leaders who take control and make decisions, and both started their businesses in 1987, Huang Guangyu and Zong Qinghou have different stories. While Huang that led GOME Group (GOME) fell from grace, Zong who led Hangzhou Wahaha Group (Wahaha) managed to stay standing. What are the rooted causes apart from the superficial reasons?

Narcissism in and of itself isn’t a bad thing; it’s part of our makeup. It may have received a bad reputation because of the Greek myth of Narcissus, the youth who fell in love with his reflection. But in moderation, the condition is natural and even necessary. It contributes to assertiveness, self-confidence, and creativity. These are all very desirable qualities for business leaders. People who achieve things — who write books, who run companies, who oversee projects — have to be somewhat narcissistic, or they wouldn’t be motivated to excel.

As a business leader, do you understand the “thinking map” behind your decision-making behavior? Management scholars S. Ramnarayan, Sudhanshu Palsule and Manoj Pawar started an interesting discussion regarding this issue.

The era of giant global companies is likely to come to an end soon, just as many other characteristics of the industrial age. People have to accept that this might lead to a reduction in profit.

There are few times in human history when you have that degree of inherent-seeming stability. I think it was a very dangerous world, a little bit like living in San Francisco, right? There’s an earthquake fault that could go at any time, but so long as it doesn’t, the weather’s pretty nice.

The following section is included:

• Index