A Heretic Defines His Style: An Asian Way To Lead

Early in my career, during a job interview for a high-tech US company, an HR specialist defined “management ability” for me. In her opinion management was linked to decision-making power—a good manager was someone who had the capability to make (good) decisions. But if you’re like me, you’ll be thinking that it is far more than just that…

I now have many years experience managing and leading in Asia, with Asian staff, managers, vendors, and partners, all which has helped me to understand cultural differences and learn different approaches to leadership and power. Most importantly, this experience has allowed me to get clear on my own leadership style, which I now call Immanence Leadership.

My style is more much more than my capacity to make good decisions…it is unique, attached to my personality and enriched with my life experience. And that’s key, because consciously defining your style is not about adhering to conventional management standards and clichés. Instead, as Seth Godin says in his best-seller Tribes, it is about having “the courage to be a heretic!”

What Is Immanence Leadership?

François Jullien is a French philosopher, sinologist and expert in cultural differences between China and the West. He makes a very interesting distinction between the Chinese thinking system, which he calls Immanence, and the Western one he calls Transcendence.

Let’s look at how change management can be very different across these two cultures…

Immanence (Chinese influence)	Transcendence (Western influence)
Based on the dynamism of all elements: all potentials are already present. To sustain harmony and respect natural cycles. Change occurs by activating potentials already present. Keys of change success are based on detailed understanding of potentials (anticipation).	Based on specific targets and objectives to reach. To activate a linear approach. Change occurs by organizing an evolution of one current context Keys of change success are based on planning definition and execution (milestones).

To simplify this, consider New Years, an event that marks a key change for both cultures…

Chinese New Year	Western New Year
Follows a cosmic approach: solar and lunar movement; has different dates every year. Planned with family members, to celebrate the harmony of continuity. Event is planned over four equally important days…there is no countdown! Process is subtle during the four days, with different rites in place to transition smoothly into the New Year (e.g. house cleaning day).	Following solar movement; has a fixed date = Jan. 1st. Planned with friends, to celebrate the end of a year and welcome a new one Defined around a precise milestone: between 12/31st, 11:59:59PM and midnight. Process based on simple milestones: e.g. the final countdown. The New Year arrives in an explosive and joyful way.

I labelled my leadership style “Immanence Leadership” as I began to see how I was being inspired by these elements of Chinese philosophy. Let’s explore these a bit…

Immanence and Power

Across cultures, some leaders consider themselves powerful because they can demonstrate evident signs of achievement and success; others draw their sense of power from their deeper, inner values. In Asia there are also cultural particularities to consider.

• Hierarchical power is well respected in cultures influenced by Confucius; it is part of the natural order and contributes to harmony.
• Asian power is expressed on the capacity to understand the greater context and its dynamism (continuous shape-shifting) which contrasts to the Western approach of first getting aligned on specific objectives & milestones.
• Asian power also values the capacity to influence, to shift the context, to shape the environment for better through adaptability, flexibility and anticipation.

Immanence Leadership as a style of leadership is therefore adapted to Asian power values, and well anchored in these principles, and there is much Western leaders can learn from it.

Four Ways To Increase Your Immanence Leadership

1.  Make the decision to lead differently!

• Consciously re-invent yourself in new environments and business contexts.
• Lead by seeing emerging potentials and align with them. In this way decisions will naturally become evident (emerge), as the context shifts to reveal what is required.

2.  Stay connected…

Interpersonal connections are the engine of business. With Immanence Leadership, make connections to people, the context, the environment and the unknown (potentials).

• Invest on strong interpersonal relationships and people connections.
• Curiosity is key to pioneering new connections. Want to know about others.
• Monitor your connections regularly and be intimate with business partners.
• Keep the dynamism alive by seeing the positive potential in all situations.

3.  Flex yourselves…

Flexibility and adaptability to the context, the situation, and personal differences are inherent in Immanence Leadership.

• Think “cyclic” instead of linear.
• Flex your communication style to the style of the other.
• Use collaborative negotiation style instead of a competitive or direct approach.
• Work on conflict avoidance and finding points for alignment (harmony).
• Be patient…

4.  Get In Sync…

Synchronisation is a critical element to success in Immanence Leadership. Here are the keys…

• Get and keep aligned with others, with an eye to the big picture over the long term.
• Stay attuned to the shifting context and environment to identify emerging opportunities (get your nose out of “the plan”!).
• Shape your environment to sync with the emerging movement.
• Reframe the context, especially if chaotic, to see the positive side of the movement.
• Lead! Synchronization is a leadership trait, allowing the emerging movement to develop, without resistance, forcing change, or strict adherence to plans.

I became a “leadership heretic” by being open to the power of immanence thinking and consciously adapting my style to reflect what I value in it. Doing this in your own way, based on a clear understanding of what you value, is what being a leadership heretic is all about. And this kind of leadership is rare.

About Pascal

Pascal Viaud is a seasoned manager, with years of extensive and practical leadership experience in Taiwan and the rest of Asia. He is the General Manager of e2v Taiwan, a Board Supervisor at the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (ECCT) and Chairman of the Technology Committee. You can reach him at .