Page 6 - Harnessing the Strengths

FOREWORD

n these times of ever more globalization, almost every-
one is faced with culture differences in one way or
I another. This book offers a practical approach, based
on the principles of servant-leadership, for how people can
deal with these differences.
Both the authors have extensive international experi-
ence on which to draw. As an intercultural consultant, Fons
Trompenaars has built up a database of more than 80,000
responses to questions about cultural differences during
the last two decades. Ed Voerman both lived and worked
in South America for eight years and has since led various
international organizations.
As a result of coupling their international experience
with the principles of servant-leadership, the authors have
found several practical insights. For example, that servant-
leaders are particularly skilled at building bridges between
cultures, because with servant-leadership, there is no “us”
and “them”; it is the shared goals that are important.
Servant-leaders do not let themselves be tempted into mak-
ing choices between opposing values, nor do they make dis-
satisfying compromises. Distinctive of the servant-leaders’
approach is that they, where possible, choose a solution

v