Servant-Leadership Across Cultures: Harnessing the Strengths of the World's Most Powerful Management Philosophy

We are all under new pressure to produce more for less money—and in less time. Ultimately, this cannot be done unless bosses are able to—in service of their organization—bring out the best in their people. That is the essence of servant-leadership, the management philosophy originally outlined by organizational expert Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s. It’s a philosophy whose time has truly come. The mission statement of TDIndustries, a regular on Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, prioritizes “intense ‘people development’ efforts, including substantial training budgets.” When an error at Motorola caused $100,000 in damages to equipment, no heads rolled; instead, the responsible employee was encouraged to develop a system based on what he’d learned; all told, Motorola saved more than a million dollars. When Sematech, the International Institute for Semiconductors, joined with competitors like Intel, AMD, Siemens, and Sony, the result was smarter and better business for all, via shared innovation and communication. For such progressive companies, mere institutional power is no longer enough. Their secret is the empowerment that servant-leadership provides, and it can make the difference between the success of your organization and its downfall. With Servant-Leadership Across Cultures, you’ll come to understand how and why doing the right thing pays off for everyone—not just for your business partners, but for the world. Manage cross-cultural workforces using the secrets of two international leadership gurus! As our economy globalizes at ever faster rates, managing employees from diverse cultures is becoming the norm -- and it can be an extraordinarily complex task. As a leader, how do you make sure everyone's values are recognized? How do you resolve grievances arising from value differences in the most pragmatic ways? The answer is servant-leadership. Grounded in the idea that business leaders exist to serve others while remaining focused on the bottom line, servant-leadership works for Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, and they're not alone. In fact, servant-leadership is practiced at a third of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work for. Servant-Leadership Across Cultures explains how to: Identify and fulfill the needs of employees from any cultural background; Reconcile apparent contradictions, even deep-seated or culturally based ones; Tend to both long- and short-term organizational needs; Build community, social capital, and loyalty through stewardship; Manage the difference between a fatal error and a chance for improvement. You'll also benefit from the lessons of key executives from Dell, Bang & Olufsen, Motorola, Shell, and others -- all of whom have used servant-leadership to raise not just their organizations' social stature, but also the bottom line. - Back cover. We are all under new pressure toproduce more for less money—andin less time. Ultimately, this cannot bedone unless bosses are able to—in serviceof their organization—bring out the bestin their people.That is the essence of servant-leadership,the management philosophy originallyoutlined by organizational expert RobertGreenleaf in the 1970s. It's a philosophywhose time has truly come.The mission statement of TDIndustries,a regular on Fortune's list of 100 BestCompanies to Work for in America,prioritizes "intense 'people development'efforts, includingsubstantial training budgets."When an error at Motorola caused$100,000 in damages to equipment, noheads rolled; instead, the responsibleemployee was encouraged to developa system based on what he'd learned;all told, Motorola saved more than amillion dollars.When Sematech, the InternationalInstitute for Semiconductors, joinedwith competitors like Intel, AMD,Siemens, and Sony, the result wassmarter and better business for all, viashared innovation and communication.For such progressive companies, mereinstitutional power is no longer enough.Their secret is the empowerment thatservant-leadership provides, and it canmake the difference between the successof your organization and its downfall.With Servant-Leadership Across Cultures,you'll come to understand how andwhy doing the right thing pays off foreveryone—not just for your business partners,but for the world. Contents......Page 4 Foreword......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Background......Page 10 Part I: Servant-Leadership: In a Nutshell......Page 18 1 A Universal Given......Page 20 2 From a Power to a Service Model......Page 30 3 Culture Clashes......Page 36 4 Core Qualities......Page 44 Part II: Servant-Leadership in the Intercultural Practice......Page 60 5 Dilemma 1: Leading Versus Serving......Page 62 6 Dilemma 2: Rules Versus Exceptions......Page 76 7 Dilemma 3: Parts Versus the Whole......Page 94 8 Dilemma 4: Control Versus Passion......Page 112 9 Dilemma 5: Specific Versus Diffuse......Page 126 10 Dilemma 6: Short Term Versus Long Term......Page 142 11 Dilemma 7: Push Versus Pull......Page 162 Part III: Getting Started with Servant-Leadership: A Systematic Approach......Page 180 12 Can We Measure Integrity?......Page 184 13 Benchmarking Servant-Leadership......Page 190 Appendix: Meet the Authors......Page 194 C......Page 204 D......Page 205 J......Page 206 P......Page 207 S......Page 208 Y......Page 209 Background Part one : Servant-leadership : in a nutshell. A universal given From a power to a service model Culture clashes Core qualities Part two : Servant leadership in the intercultural practice. Dilemma 1 : leading versus serving Dilemma 2 : rules versus exceptions Dilemma 3 : parts versus the whole Dilemma 4 : control versus passion Dilemma 5 : specific versus diffuse Dilemma 6 : short term versus long term Dilemma 7 : push versus pull Part three : Getting started with servant-leadership : a systematic approach. Can we measure integrity? Benchmarking servant-leadership Appendix : Meet the authors