Leadership in the Asia Pacific: a Global Research Perspective

Citation

Writer, F. (2014), "Leadership in the Asia Pacific: a Global Research Perspective", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 22 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-07-2014-0104

Leadership in the Asia Pacific: a Global Research Perspective

Article Type: Suggested reading From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 22, Issue 5

Chris Rowley and Dave Ulrich (Eds), Routledge, 2013, ISBN: 9780415634854

Chris Rowley and Dave Ulrich’s edited book Leadership in the Asia Pacific: a Global Research Perspective describes how leadership processes differ across various Asia-Pacific regions and teaches managers how to better employ these processes to improve the success of their organizations.

It reveals that Asian leadership occurs in a context based on its own institutions and cultures. This operating context gives rise to the importance of a set of interlocking features influencing leadership in Asia. These include:

• respect for age and seniority, as in Malaysia;

• more family-control and sibling-succession issues, as in Hong Kong;

• less dependence on capital markets for equity and debt, as in Japan;

• more freedom of action for executives and boards, as in South Korea; and

• a greater role for political connections, as in Indonesia.

Firms that have their headquarters in a country with a large domestic market could easily have leaders who know little about the talent, customers and opportunities outside their home market. This is why PepsiCo and others deliberately send high-potential but young talent out into the world early. They are often sent with less than the luxurious packages that are common for mid-career and higher expatriates. Those who accept these assignments do so believing that, in exchange for less luxurious packages now, they will have a greater chance of better career opportunities later.

Colgate has gone so far as to make some form of international experience a hiring requirement for young employees joining its marketing function. Ernst & Young uses expatriation not only as a way to build judgment and leadership skills but also as a retention tool for its young managers.

Shell runs a group business-leadership program for high-potential middle managers. It involves participants from every region of the world and includes content designed to build global business and cross-cultural competencies.

Nestlé requires that all its managers take part in its program for executive development before advancement to the most senior ranks of the company. This program, run by a major business school, includes participants from a wide variety of companies and geographies and is valued because of its exposure to best practices and approaches outside the world of Nestlé.

Executives at successful global companies understand the value of symbols to signal what is important. Symbols focus attention and help people to reassess their priorities.

One of the most useful symbols in companies involves the management of high-potential talent. Companies that get globalization right use high-profile promotions and the placement of non-home country nationals in senior positions as a way of signaling that global talent is valued and recognized and that a culture biased in favor of home country employees is coming to an end. These companies also selectively recruit outsiders to signal that the company values best practice, irrespective of location.

The book suggests that leaders are both born (50 per cent of leadership success comes from innate personal qualities) and bred (50 per cent of leadership comes from learned skills). It is not only the person as a leader but also the processes that he or she goes through that create good leadership.

Leadership does not occur in a vacuum but in an organizational setting and cultural context. Good leaders in one situation may not necessarily be so in others. It is the duty of leaders to identify exploitable opportunities and motivate others to take part in value creation.

Chinese entrepreneurs who are willing to break out of the Chinese Confucian tradition and embrace Western management practices should be prepared to deal with resistance among employees. Through inspirational motivation, leaders encourage followers to look at the big picture and plan their career paths accordingly.

Understanding the psychology of both Japanese and foreign managers is critical to gaining insights into how and why so many Japanese multinational firms have lagged over the past decade. Leaders inspire people to value not only short-term achievements but also the creation of a sustainable and enduring personal and organizational performance. This is particularly the case in Asian cultures where leaders encourage personal and professional collaboration, with people learning to work and support each other both at work and outside.

Leadership in the Asia Pacific: a Global Research Perspective is a well-researched book containing lots of references, examples, illustrations, anecdotes and inspiring stories. It is an inspirational and invaluable resource for all those seeking to excel as leaders, with an emphasis on the Asia Pacific.

Reviewed by Professor M.S. Rao, international leadership guru. E-mail: msrlctrg@gmail.com