UK: learning from leaders abroad

by Filippo Addarii and Ben Rattenbury, acevo Synopsis Acevo?s International Programme brings together third sector leaders from around the world to share ideas and experiences. This article looks at examples of leadership in France, China and Nigeria, and explores themes that can be applied to a UK context. Introduction Leadership in different countries reflects the different cultural, social and institutional contexts in which those leaders operate. However knowledge of leadership in other countries can benefit leaders in the UK not only in their interactions with leaders abroad, but also in their domestic activities. This article will give three case studies of successful third sector leaders in France, China and Nigeria, showing how their fascinating experiences can be applied to the UK context. Background Acevo?s 20 years of experience in the UK has shown that third sector leaders, like all leaders, need support and personal development opportunities. Acevo links successful leaders with the only people that understand their situation ? other successful leaders. We realised that this model of peer-to-peer leadership development was unique in the world, and the more we examined the situation in other countries, the clearer it became that there is a need for these opportunities abroad. Acevo?s International Programme was launched in February 2005, with the aim of developing and connecting third sector leaders around the world through peer learning and leadership development opportunities, which will in turn strengthen global civil society to challenge local and national governance structures and social inequalities. As an example of this, last year we introduced Lesley-Bullman Lever, then Chief Executive of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to Nuria Costa, President of the Mexican Network of Rural Women. The two organisations have since formed a partnership and exchanged delegations. As the only organisation offering this opportunity globally, we enable leaders to: – learn from, and about, one another – experience new cultures and styles of leadership, and – build genuine trans-national partnerships. At acevo?s International Conference, on 13 October, speakers from four continents shared their experiences in this way, proving that cross-border peer-to-peer exchange is an extremely fruitful method for stimulating third sector leaders. Below are three case studies of leadership in other countries. Together they lay out an international toolkit of different leadership styles and skills which can be drawn from in any context. The French case: building a loyal team Emmanuel Verny is the Director General of UNA ? l?Union nationale de l?aide, des soins et des services aux domiciles – a national association of health care service organizations in France. UNA supports 780,000 families a year, has 120 000 employees, and an annual turnover of £ 2billion. The French third sector is dominated by l?Economie Sociale – a highly developed form of social enterprise that also encompasses trade unions and cooperatives. These organisations compete with multinational Plc?s and contribute 10% of the French economy. Speaking at acevo?s recent Franco-British workshop (11-12 October), Emmanuel highlighted two key tenets of his leadership: The first is the importance of values in France. Emmanuel explained that French leaders hire staff for their political values, rather than their competencies; the thinking goes that skills can be taught, while political values are intractable. This approach breeds a strong sense of loyalty, but a low level of diversity, and organisations can suffer from insular thinking as all training is done in-house by staff that share similar backgrounds. This contrasts with British organisations which hire the most skilled people they can, often regardless of their values. This leads to a more diverse workforce requiring less training, but staff may be less loyal to each other or the organisation. The second tenet is what Emmanuel described as the ?the logic of honour?. This logic states that every employee has their own area of expertise and they must be respected for that, but they must also recognise their responsibilities within the organisation, and behave appropriately at all times. In this logic leadership is seen as the coordination of focussed, responsible members of staff, which can be contrasted with the top-down model favoured in the UK, or the consensus driven model popular in the Netherlands. These two tenets of Emmanuel?s leadership ? the importance of values and ?the logic of honour? ? offer a glimpse of French leadership in general. They show some big differences with UK leadership styles, but compared with the next two case studies, these differences are relatively small. The Chinese case: playing as part of a team Haoming Huang is the Executive Director of the China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO), which is one of the premier umbrella bodies for third sector organisations in China. The concept of the third sector is very new in China, but today there are 320,000 third sector organisations (known in China as NGOs) registered with the civil affairs system, and some experts estimate there are over three million third sector and civil society organisations, creating a vibrant but inexperienced sector with a need for focussed leaders. Haoming spoke at our International Conference. He had great difficulty sticking to his brief, which was to discuss his personal experiences of successful leadership. China?s Confucian culture emphasises the collective over the individual and therefore Haoming had never before been asked to speak about himself. The presentation that Haoming gave at the conference provides a glimpse of the fascinating cultural differences between leadership in China and leadership in the UK. He highlighted three key areas: The first is the importance of working as a team. Haoming emphasised the necessity of understanding, respecting, and consulting freely and openly with colleagues. He also explained the importance of listening carefully and politely to different opinions among colleagues. The model of leadership emerging from his presentation was one of the leader as a delegator, carefully negotiating the opinions of staff and gently pushing the organisation forward. The second area that Haoming highlighted is the importance of humility. Haoming gave the examples of knowing when to say ?I am unable to do this due to my knowledge limitation?, or when to communicate difficulties with colleagues so that ?they can help you share the pressure?. Haoming compared this with the stereotypical western leadership style which is based on competition and maintaining respect through an image of strength. He also emphasised that leaders should understand the relationship between ?self-expression, selfishness and organizational benefit?. Haoming?s third key area stressed the importance of family, to leaders? individual well-being, and thus to their work. He advised leaders to understand their families? concerns, inform them of their schedule as early as possible, and surprise their children with unexpected gifts. These points were refreshing to an audience used to hearing that their leadership should focus on increasing market share and reducing costs. Haoming?s first key area, teamwork, is a familiar theme to leaders in the UK, but the way in which he described it conveys a much deeper sense of unity and equality than in the more hierarchical models of the West. Haoming?s second and third key areas ? humility and appreciation of the family ? are much newer to the UK, and many delegates at the International Conference were inspired to try these approaches in their own organisations. The Nigerian case: leading from the front Otunba ?Dele Ajayi-Smith is the Founder and President of the African Citizen?s Development Foundation (ACDF), which runs a tuition-free secondary school to teach African youth the values of discipline, respect and responsibility, regardless of their background. Otunba ?Dele recently spoke at acevo?s International Conference where he criticised his government for ?failing to provide near-adequate social services? and allowing ?a culture of ignorance and immorality? to develop. His response to what he saw as the deterioration of his society was to found ACDF. The problems facing Nigeria are indeed enormous: Nigeria is ranked 158th out of 177 countries in the UN?s Human Development Index; it has Africa?s largest population – 130 million – and an average life expectancy of just 43 years; and Transparency International ranks Nigeria as the third most corrupt nation on earth. In this environment third sector provision of public services is not a contested political issue; if ACDF didn?t provide the opportunities they did, then no-one would. This moral urgency to help his society was at the heart of Otunba ?Dele?s presentation to the conference, where he made two important points about leadership in his context. The first is that in this increasingly globalising context, leaders must be aware of developments around the world, and understand how these may affect their local environment. Otunba ?Dele placed this issue in the Nigerian context when he asked the audience ?How appropriate are agric-era leaders to the resolution of oil-era issues??. However the growing importance of oil is just one factor among many in Nigeria today. The second point concern?s Otunba ?Dele?s incredible commitment to the cause. A successful businessman, he decided to move to the third sector in 1995 because of the critical challenges that he saw his society facing. As well as running ACDF, Otunba ?Dele is chairman of the Global Justice Movement based in Kaduna, the Ijebu-Imusin Development Board for Poverty Reduction, and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (WANGO), Nigeria chapter. On top of this he has asked us to help him establish an acevo-like association for third sector leaders in Nigeria, which he sees as an answer to endemic corruption and a weak third sector. In just three months he has persuaded most of his peers to back the project, and had a draft constitution accepted by the Nigerian government. Otunba ?Dele?s two points ? understanding the global dimesnion and having the commitment to do it yourself ? are both very applicable to the UK context. While neither third sector leaders nor civil servants in the UK have quite the same freedom from beaurocracy as Otunba ?Dele does, his message – of empowerment and taking responsibility for one?s environment – is a one that we can all apply. Conclusion These are just three individual leaders? opinions about what leadership is to them, but already we can see the great diversity of styles fostered in different contexts around the world. Emmanuel Verny spoke about the importance of values and explained the ?logic of honour; Haoming Huang extolled the value of teamwork, humility, and attending to one?s family; and Otunba ?Dele Ajayi-Smith explained the benefits of a global awareness and a ?can do? attitude. These case studies show that while these leaders are all operating in very different environments there is something valuable in each example that can be applied to leadership in the UK. First published in The British Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2006