Book Review: 21 Leaders for the 21st Century - Remarks

Introduction
PART I: THE SEVEN-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
PART II: TRANSCULTURAL COMPETENCE THROUGH 21 RECONCILIATIONS
Remarks
Reading Suggestions & CONTENTS

Remarks

The aim of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner is to make the practice of leadership tangible by showing how 21 world-class leaders actually behave in reconciling the dilemmas facing their companies. Thus, they eschew models that rely on leadership traits and “situational” models, which they believe are largely reactive and lacking in dimension. Instead, they derive their model deductively, approaching their sample with a mental model of reconciliation dilemma theory already in place, with the objective of collecting evidence that would extend that theory. Through this approach, they discovered that it is possible to make the distinctions that are necessary to leadership and still integrate them into a practical whole. And, from the evidence of this integration, they conclude that value is not “added” by corporations, but that values are combined. Thus, it is possible to make complex business issues “user-friendly,” which the authors believe is what effective leadership is all about.

Thus, 21 Leaders for the 21st Century demonstrates, in comprehensive detail, the power to be garnered from synergizing values. It helps leaders to become aware of the major business dilemmas hiding in transcultural environments. It helps them to see how dilemma resolution is a crucial strategic ingredient and to utilize it as a catalyst for action. It illustrates the art of achieving one value through another in a “virtuous circle” (i.e., the process of through-through thinking). And, it shows leaders how transnational entrepreneurs effectively take a stand between contrasting values. The result is a practical framework for the recognition, respect, and reconciliation of cultural difference that reveals the competitive advantage of managing diverse diversities, as well as the neglected fields of values and ethics.