By Kelley Reynard.

Globalisation and the enormous presence of Multinational companies in Asia has significantly impacted the future arc of global business. The rapid growth of the Asian market and the amassing of its market power has led to the progression of Leadership Advisory Services and Development Programs to capitalise on the capability of Eastern leaders. The challenge faced and the assumption many wonder though, is whether Asian leaders have the ability to switch between Eastern and Western styles and establish themselves as global leaders.

Scott Edinger from Harvard Business Review confronted this challenge when working with senior leaders in Beijing to develop their leadership skills. The intention of his consistent approach across the cultures to gather insight into the differences between Western and Eastern leaders proved effective. A 360 degree feedback tool was administered with employees to gather feedback about their Eastern leaders’ overall effectiveness, strengths, and development areas; and the results surprised Estinger when they came to light. When comparing the performance of Eastern leaders to Western leaders, the Chinese employees rated their bosses as more favourable when it came to focusing on results, being innovative, communicating, building relationships, and having technical expertise. Although this was surprising and confronting to Estinger, instead of focusing on the differences between the two leaders, he decided to delve deeper into the similarities between the two cultures and confirm the attributes that gel the two together instead of setting them apart.

Interested in understanding what the similarities between Eastern and Western leaders are? Continue reading by clicking the following link http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/02/east-meets-west-who-has-better/