Forbes.Com
Center for Creative Leadership
What We All Can Learn From China's Business Leaders
Cheng Zhu, 01.26.11, 04:04 PM EST
They know the best ways to keep their eyes open.
Excerpts:
... top Chinese corporate leaders... They especially show an underlying ability to broaden their thinking and integrate perspectives. They reveal three perspective-taking practices are essential for leading change and that can prove of value to leaders everywhere:
1. First, reframe. The two-character Chinese word for business, sheng yi, literally means "create new meanings." Business, according to the Chinese CEOs I interviewed, starts with seeing what is and what it can be. They constantly present themselves, in effect, with the framing question "What image do I see in my mirror?" and the reframing questions "How might I see it differently?" and "What am I blind to?" Those questions help them continually reframe and reinterpret what lies before them, behind them and within them. They clarify their passions, redefine their strengths and reinvent their business approaches.
2. Next, transcend. In Taoism, the greatest leaders deeply appreciate the interrelation between ying and yang, or positive and negative. Effective Chinese CEOs intentionally take a long view of their enterprises' cycles of ying and yang. They seek out lessons from history and from the experiences of others. They ask, "What if I see an unexpected image in the mirror?" In doing so, they become neither complacent in victory nor desperate in defeat. They transcend the highs and lows of the current moment and thus build their resilience and learn to accept, and not resist, the ambiguities inherent in change.... A chairman of a fund-management firm in China illustrates for me how the mindset of transcendence can drive organizational success.... ' Every day I spend 70% of my time planning for the future.' As he transports himself into an imaginary difficult situation, he identifies weak business links, anticipates problems and invents solutions.
3. Finally, listen. When leaders work hard at listening to others, they build, or rebuild, mutual trust and respect, make space for innovation, and drive, or survive, change. Some CEOs ask, "How big is the gap between what I see in the mirror and what others see in me?"--and truly listen to the answers. Such leaders aggressively seek to address gaps and misperceptions, not ignore them.
Emperor Tang Taizong, of the Tang Dynasty, one of China's most admired leaders ever, famously said, "With a bronze mirror, one can see whether he is properly attired; with history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a nation; with people as a mirror, one can see whether he is right or wrong."
Cheng Zhu is a senior faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership and author of the chapter "Chinese 'Sheng Yi': Reinterpreting Challenges for Leaders" in The ASTD Leadership Handbook (2010).
Access Full Article And Content Source: http://www.forbes.com/2011/01/24/china-america-business-lessons-leadership-managing-ccl.html
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http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.
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