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The Power of Ideas, Competence, and Character

Aug 18-2020   



 

In the latest PKU Cross-Cultural Leadership Forum, Prof. John Yang of the NSD spoke on leadership in the West. He then had a dialogue with Prof. Gong Yuzhen, also of the NSD and who gave a speech on Chinese leadership philosophy, to compare and contrast Western and Chinese leadership. The following is a recap of Prof. Yang’s speech.

 

Prof. Yang started off by citing the definition of leadership by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner – the art of mobilizing and organizing subordinates to work for a common vision. The ‘art’ aspect entails that effective leadership must change, adapt and improve in line with changes in the environment, situation and context.

 

He then elaborated on what constitutes true leadership and its significance in the age of VUCA. Leadership differs from management in that the former inspires the desire and willingness in people to follow while the latter relies on organizational power to control the subordinates’ behaviors. Peter Drucker’s three questions – What is your cause? What will your cause be? And what should your cause be? – remain highly relevant and are what effective leaders can make use of to direct their subordinates to achieve goals.

 

BiMBA Business School established cooperation with the West Point Military Academy in 2004 and the partnership continued well into 2019. Prof. Yang spoke highly of the school motto and moral codes of West Point, which had inspired BiMBA to come forth with its academic codes that ban lying, deceiving and plagiarizing. Leadership is about the charisma of character, and Xenophon, the Greek general, is a perfect example in point.

 

The list of core concepts of Western leadership runs long: mission, value, dream, insight, fore-sight, vision, fraternity, honor, responsibility, passion, communication, motivation, promise, change, innovation, performance, teamwork, delegation, growth, honesty, integrity, freedom of the will, competence, courage, respect, humility, grit and practicing what one preaches. They have been born out of the social and humanitarian progress in the West over more than 1,000 years.

 

Based on the research on Eastern and Western leadership, Prof. Yang has crafted a leadership framework consisting of three key elements: the power of ideas, the power of competence, and the power of character, which work together to earn the trust, support and following of subordinates for leaders.

The Power of Ideas, Competence, and Character

Aug 18-2020   



 

In the latest PKU Cross-Cultural Leadership Forum, Prof. John Yang of the NSD spoke on leadership in the West. He then had a dialogue with Prof. Gong Yuzhen, also of the NSD and who gave a speech on Chinese leadership philosophy, to compare and contrast Western and Chinese leadership. The following is a recap of Prof. Yang’s speech.

 

Prof. Yang started off by citing the definition of leadership by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner – the art of mobilizing and organizing subordinates to work for a common vision. The ‘art’ aspect entails that effective leadership must change, adapt and improve in line with changes in the environment, situation and context.

 

He then elaborated on what constitutes true leadership and its significance in the age of VUCA. Leadership differs from management in that the former inspires the desire and willingness in people to follow while the latter relies on organizational power to control the subordinates’ behaviors. Peter Drucker’s three questions – What is your cause? What will your cause be? And what should your cause be? – remain highly relevant and are what effective leaders can make use of to direct their subordinates to achieve goals.

 

BiMBA Business School established cooperation with the West Point Military Academy in 2004 and the partnership continued well into 2019. Prof. Yang spoke highly of the school motto and moral codes of West Point, which had inspired BiMBA to come forth with its academic codes that ban lying, deceiving and plagiarizing. Leadership is about the charisma of character, and Xenophon, the Greek general, is a perfect example in point.

 

The list of core concepts of Western leadership runs long: mission, value, dream, insight, fore-sight, vision, fraternity, honor, responsibility, passion, communication, motivation, promise, change, innovation, performance, teamwork, delegation, growth, honesty, integrity, freedom of the will, competence, courage, respect, humility, grit and practicing what one preaches. They have been born out of the social and humanitarian progress in the West over more than 1,000 years.

 

Based on the research on Eastern and Western leadership, Prof. Yang has crafted a leadership framework consisting of three key elements: the power of ideas, the power of competence, and the power of character, which work together to earn the trust, support and following of subordinates for leaders.