Servant-Leadership Across Cultures: Harnessing the Strengths of the World's Most Powerful Management Philosophy

Fons Trompenaars · Ed Voerman

Jan 2010 · McGraw Hill Professional

About this eBook

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.

About the author

Fons Trompenaars is an expert on internationalmanagement and the author ofRiding the Waves of Culture, which hasbeen translated into fourteen languages.Recently he published Riding the Whirlwind,a dynamic new take on creativityand innovation. Trompenaars, founderand Managing Director of TrompenaarsHampden-Tuner, a consulting and trainingorganization, has worked with clients suchas Shell, BP, ICI, Philips, Heineken, TRW,Mars, Motorola, General Motors, Nike,and Merrill Lynch.
Ed Voerman founded Voerman International,UTS Group, and the GreenleafCenter for Servant-Leadership Europe. Hereceived a Royal decoration for his socialcommitment in 2004.