本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛A leadership seed was planted in my mind when I came across a book in 1985, by one of the greatest American CEO of all time, Lee Iacocca, best known for his work as the President of the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and later for reviving the Chrysler Corporation as its CEO during the 1980s. His best-selling autobiography attracted many young Chinese admirers. I have since become a firm believer of his view of leadership qualities: curiosity, creativity, communication, character, courage, conviction, charisma, competence and common sense.

I’ve been working with senior management for some years and my personal experience confirms this view. These exceptional leaders have most or all of these qualities. They have integrity, vision, and passion. They are extremely articulate, confident, and decisive. They lead by example, motivate employees, work really hard, and deliver results consistently, year after year.

The reason we overseas Chinese can’t seem to get ahead at work is simply that we lack these qualities.
With a few exceptions, we are narrow minded and even dull. We don’t speak up when we need to. We don’t like to work as a team with Chinese, or non-Chinese. We don’t like to reach out to coworkers or bosses to try to understand each other better. We don’t build relationships. We contribute little new or creative to the team other than quietly following instructions. We consider our contributions as critical to the success of the company while conveniently turn a blind eye to other people and play down their equally important contributions.

These qualities are hard to cultivate but not impossible. If we want to succeed, we need to work hard improving ourselves. Only then will we stand a chance to break into the inner circles of decision making.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net