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by Fons Trompenaars (Author), Ed Voerman (Author)
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.
Back Jacket
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.
Author Biography
Fons Trompenaars is an expert on international management and the author of Riding the Waves of Culture, which has been translated into fourteen languages. Recently he published Riding the Whirlwind, a dynamic new take on creativity and innovation. Trompenaars, founder and Managing Director of Trompenaars Hampden-Tuner, a consulting and training organization, has worked with clients such as Shell, BP, ICI, Philips, Heineken, TRW, Mars, Motorola, General Motors, Nike, and Merrill Lynch.
Ed Voerman founded Voerman International, UTS Group, and the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership Europe. He received a Royal decoration for his social commitment in 2004.
