Hierarchy in Asian Leadership
Asian senior leaders are not yet common in international schools and global organisations in Asia. How can Asian leaders work towards senior leadership?
“Asian leaders today typically have a keen bias towards top-down management, in other words the tendency to micromanage and to push quickly for execution and results.”
We are currently reading the book Asians in Charge by Kenneth Chan. The quotation above (from page 28) highlights that Asian senior leaders tend to be hierarchical leaders, due to their cultural respect for elders and filial piety. Hierarchical leadership has many benefits; he asserts that “this remains a key differentiated strength in moving projects fast and efficiently” (p 28).
However, top-down leadership also has its drawbacks. It “represents a weakness of the Asian leadership brand in being able to provide better thought out, longer-term strategic and collaborative leadership” (p 28). There is value in knowing when to move away from a top-down style.
Chan’s statement that Asians rely more on hierarchical leadership is backed up by data from Erin Meyer in her book, The Culture Map. Asian countries’ average placements are clustered on the hierarchical end of the Leading scale.
As an international Asian leader, how can you best lead? Because international schools and organisations include people from all over the Leading scale, Asians leaders can garner more respect by using the best practices of both ends of the scale. Here are some suggestions from Chan and us.
🌏 Asian leaders, you can think of your team as giving you valuable information, feedback, direction, resources, and support, rather than thinking of them only as people who take and execute instructions. This mindset makes it easier for you to empower them.
🌏 Think of your role as a leader to “provide strategic direction, resources, motivation, and recognition” (p 34). Chan emphasises strategic thinking in particular as something that Asians can do more.
🌏 Chan suggests you refrain from using the word “boss” for yourself. We suggest you ask your team to use your name instead.
What can you do if you are a leader (not necessarily an Asian leader) who works predominantly with an Asian team?
🌏 Create structures in your Asian team to gather diverse opinions before sharing your own ideas, otherwise deference to the leader might stifle useful input. For example, have your team meet without you occasionally and ask them to bring you views from several perspectives.
🌏 When Asian team members come to you with a question and you don't need to be directive, you can say, “I have some ideas, which I can share at the end if needed. First, may I ask some questions? What are your thoughts about this topic?”
📍 What leadership advice would you give to Asian leaders to use both ends of the scale?
📍 What has been your experience as an Asian leader (or as a leader working with an Asian team)?
