leadership competencies in china (short lessons)

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Leadership Competencies in China

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Leadership Competencies in China

What these well-meaning leaders will soon learn however is that it is simply naïve to think that Western leadership practices will automatically work in China.

In fact, some of them will work fine as is.

Some practices will need to be modified.

And some will actually have to be sent to the scrap heap.







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Western Leadership Competencies

honesty

strategic thinking

visionary thinking

customer service focus

conceptual thinking

and more...







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Western Leadership Competencies

Most Chinese companies would also cite these competencies as being important for Chinese leaders.

But in China there are others that are specific to China.

None of these unique Chinese leadership competencies are likely to be found in a typical Western list of leadership competencies.







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Unique Chinese Leadership Competencies

wu

zhong yong

patriotism

integrating Western practice with

Chinese wisdom

holistic thinking

indirectness While there are many of these unique competencies required for successful Chinese business leadership, six of them will be discussed in this lessons.







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Wu

Wu represents a kind of very deep and sudden insight that

is not often referred to in Western thinking.

Westerners tend to think in a linear way.

Wu requires holistic thinking.







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Zhong yong

Zhong yong is also unique to China.

• Western leaders are taught to take an extreme position and defend it.

• The Chinese, by following the Confucian discipline of zhong yong, are trying to get it “just right.”

• This is certainly a cause of some conflict between Westerners and Chinese in business settings.

The Westerner accuses the Chinese of being too vague and the Chinese accuses the Westerner of being too extreme and not considering all sides of the issue.







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Patriotism

Patriotism is another leadership

competency that is important in China but rarely mentioned in Western executive

position descriptions.







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Integrating Western best practice with Chinese wisdom

Western

• New Western leaders in China are rarely able to do this well. Successful Chinese leaders in Western companies cite this as critical for success.

China

• Many Western leadership best practices are imported to China because they were proven in the West.

Integrating Western best practices with Chinese wisdom is one of the most important differences that lead to business leadership success in Chinese

companies.

Before you can do so successfully, you need to explain why empowerment works and why it will make the company more effective in the long run. If it is simply imposed, as is the case when many Western leaders are assigned to a company in China, the very employees who are supposed to be enriched in their jobs by this practice often meet it with suspicion and confusion.







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Holistic thinking

West

• People from the West, especially Europeans, tend to think in a linear fashion.

• This kind of thinking is often circular, which can be very frustrating to Westerners who prefer to have a beginning, middle and end to every discussion.

China

• Chinese tend to think differently. Chinese generally see the entire issue as a whole and not simply as a series of distinct parts.

• Chinese will often go back to the beginning to re-integrate things now that more is known.

Holistic thinking is also common in China but very rare in Westerners.

Westerners believe that is wasting time because it was already discussed.

This is another common reason for disagreements in understanding between Western and Chinese negotiators.







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Indirectness

China

• It means that the good Chinese leader knows when to be direct and when it is better to be indirect.

• For example, in cases of face (mianzi), it is often better to be indirect to protect the other person’s dignity.

• Chinese, on the other hand, are often accused by Westerners of being too evasive and not getting to the point at hand because they are too concerned with courtesy over truth.

West

• Westerners are taught to be direct in any situation, regardless of face issues. This is another cause for misunderstanding between East and West.

• The Westerner, in their desire to be honest and direct, is often accused by the Chinese of being too aggressive and uncaring because they make statements publicly that may harm another person’s feelings and cause them to lose face.

The concept of indirectness is unique to Chinese leadership success.







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Unique Chinese Leadership Competencies

These six unique Chinese leadership competencies are all considered necessary

for leadership success in China.

Any leader, be they Chinese or Western, should consider these as they work to be

successful in leading Chinese employees.

wu

zhong yong

patriotism

integrating Western practice with

Chinese wisdom

holistic thinking

indirectness







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