Page 73 - Harnessing the Strengths

56 ■ Servant-Leadership in the Intercultural Practice

The solution was that the Chinese leaders used their
authority to get the participation of their colleagues by
directing that they should give their opinions in small
groups. By reducing the number of participants per group,
the fear of loss of face was lessened and the Chinese col-
leagues dared to say more.
What a difference there is with servant-leadership in
northern Europe! There, servant-leaders have an entirely
different starting point, especially considering the fact that
the members of their teams are used to giving their points
of view. In these cultures, it is an art not to get people to
participate, but to make sure they follow the direction set by
the leader. A Dutch manager explained that he was strug-
gling with the latter problem in his organization. It took so
much energy to get his employees to accept his decision and
to consensually act on it. He was advised to ask them what
they needed the most. The answer was unanimous: strong
and clear leadership!

Conclusion

The servant-leader will get more authority to lead by serv-
ing, will use his or her top-down approach to better listen
to bottom-up concerns, and will look at the big picture in a
strategic way in order to mold strategies that emerge into a
meaningful whole.
The examples above make it clear that leaders in every
culture are struggling with the same dilemmas but that
the way in which they deal with the problem is determined
by culture. This is an important insight. The literature on
servant-leadership does suggest that the starting point is
by serving. In light of intercultural leadership, however, it
is rarely understood that this is a Western view. Currently,