Page de couverture de The Leadership Japan Series

The Leadership Japan Series

The Leadership Japan Series

Auteur(s): Dale Carnegie Japan
Écouter gratuitement

À propos de cet audio

 Leading in Japan is distinct and different from other countries. The language, culture and size of the economy make sure of that. We can learn by trial and error or we can draw on real world practical experience and save ourselves a lot of friction, wear and tear. This podcasts offers hundreds of episodes packed with value, insights and perspectives on leading here. The only other podcast on Japan which can match the depth and breadth of this Leadership Japan Series podcast is the Japan's Top Business interviews podcast.© 2022 Dale Carnegie Training. All Rights Reserved. Développement commercial et entrepreneuriat Entrepreneurship Gestion et leadership Économie
Épisodes
  • We Follow Leaders Based On Their Values

    We Follow Leaders Based On Their Values
    May 6 2026
    Leadership is not just confidence, charisma, capability or ambition. People may initially follow a leader because they look powerful, sound impressive or have the right credentials, but long-term followship comes from trust, character and values. In post-pandemic workplaces, especially in Japan, the United States and across Asia-Pacific, employees are watching leaders more closely than ever. They want to know: who are you when the title, office, awards and "power wall" are stripped away? Why do people really follow leaders? People follow leaders because they trust their values, not simply because they admire their confidence, position or achievements. Confidence, drive and competence matter, but they are entry tickets rather than the full leadership contract. In Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe, professionals have become more alert to gaps between what executives say and what they actually do. A CEO may speak fluently about purpose, psychological safety, diversity or employee engagement, but the team checks the daily evidence. Do they protect people when pressure rises? Do they take accountability? Do they use employees as stepping stones for their own glorious career? Do now: Leaders should audit whether their daily behaviour proves their stated values. Trust is built in small, repeated moments. Are confidence and ambition enough for leadership? No, confidence and ambition may get someone into a leadership role, but they do not guarantee followship. They can even become dangerous when they are disconnected from humility, service and ethical decision-making. Many ambitious managers in multinationals, SMEs and startups are excellent at climbing the greasy pole. They know how to impress senior executives, speak the acronyms, tell the stories and project authority. Yet followers quickly detect whether the leader is building the organisation or merely building their own résumé. In industries from finance and consulting to technology, manufacturing and professional services, capability without character produces compliance, not commitment. Do now: Executives should ask: "Would my team follow me if I had no title?" The answer reveals the real strength of their leadership. Why do impressive credentials fail to create lasting trust? Credentials, awards, degrees and powerful networks can create credibility, but they cannot replace values. A wall of certificates or photos with famous people may impress at first, but it does not answer the deeper question: can I trust you? In corporate life, the "power wall" still exists in many forms: LinkedIn titles, elite university degrees, luxury watches, high-status offices and carefully curated executive branding. These signals may matter in conservative markets such as Japan, where hierarchy and status have cultural weight. But followers eventually look past the packaging. They judge whether the leader is fair, consistent, courageous and honest when the pressure is on. Do now: Use credentials to establish competence, not superiority. Let values, not status symbols, carry your leadership authority. Does physical presence make someone a better leader? Physical presence may influence first impressions, but it does not make someone a better leader. Height, appearance, voice and style can command attention, but they cannot compensate for weak judgement or self-centred values. Research and everyday business experience both suggest that tall, polished, articulate leaders often enjoy an early advantage. They look the part. They sound the part. They may even get promoted because they fit an executive image. Yet the daily grind exposes the truth. A leader who talks well but serves only themselves soon loses moral authority. The team sees the gap between altitude and aptitude. Do now: Leaders should develop presence, but never mistake presence for substance. Real authority comes from consistency, competence and trust. How do followers detect a leader's real values? Followers detect values by watching behaviour, especially under stress, conflict and pressure. They are not listening only to speeches; they are scanning for contradictions between words and actions. Employees are ninja-level boss watchers. They notice tone, mood, fairness, favouritism, silence and sudden changes in priorities. In Japan's relationship-driven business culture, people may not openly challenge a leader, but they still observe everything. In Western markets, employees may be more direct, but the judgement process is similar. If leaders proclaim teamwork but reward political games, or speak about integrity while sacrificing people for personal advancement, trust collapses quickly. Do now: Treat every meeting, decision and crisis as a values test. Your team is always collecting evidence. What values create real followship? Real followship grows when leaders show integrity, fairness, courage, service and accountability over time. People want to know that the leader's values are not ...
    Voir plus Voir moins
    12 min
  • Kokorogamae – The Secret Japanese Ingredient For Business Success

    Kokorogamae – The Secret Japanese Ingredient For Business Success
    Apr 29 2026
    Kokorogamae is one of those Japanese ideas that sounds ancient, but lands right in the middle of modern business. It means clarifying your true intention before you act. In leadership, sales, supplier relationships, and corporate culture, that intention leaks out in everything we do. People notice. Clients notice. Staff notice. And in the age of LinkedIn, Google reviews, Glassdoor, and instant reputation damage, the market notices very quickly. What does kokorogamae mean in Japanese business? Kokorogamae means your inner stance, your true intention, and the attitude sitting behind your actions. It combines kokoro, often translated as heart, spirit, or mind, with kamae, the stance taken in martial arts before action begins. In traditional Japanese disciplines such as shodo calligraphy, ikebana flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and martial arts like kendo or aikido, the master prepares the mind before moving the hand. The ink is ground carefully. The flower stems are stripped with attention. The body settles before training begins. Business should be no different. Before leaders, salespeople, executives, and entrepreneurs act, they need to ask: what is my real intention here? Do now: Before your next major decision, ask: "Is my kokorogamae self-serving, client-serving, team-serving, or enterprise-serving?" Why does true intention matter in leadership? Leadership trust begins before the leader speaks, because people read intention faster than they read strategy documents. A boss may talk about coaching, empowerment, and people development, but the team quickly senses whether the real goal is their growth or the boss's promotion. In Japan, where long-term relationships, hierarchy, reputation, and group harmony still influence business behaviour, kokorogamae matters deeply. The same is true in the US, Europe, and Australia, but the cultural signals differ. A multinational may call it leadership authenticity. A startup may call it founder values. An SME may simply call it "doing the right thing". Whatever the label, employees know when leaders are using them as stepping stones rather than investing in their capability. Do now: Leaders should ask their team, directly or anonymously: "What do you believe my true intention is when I manage you?" How does kokorogamae affect company culture? A company's culture is the accumulated evidence of its real intentions, not the slogans written on the wall. Values like integrity, teamwork, ESG, compliance, and inclusion mean little if daily behaviour says, "We win by squeezing whoever has less power." This becomes obvious in supplier relationships. Some global corporations talk loudly about ethics and governance while imposing 60-day, 90-day, or even 120-day payment terms on small suppliers. For a large company, that may be cash-flow management. For a small business, cash is oxygen. SMEs often pay each other on 30-day terms because they understand survival pressure. That is kokorogamae in action: partnership versus domination. Do now: Review your payment terms, procurement rules, and supplier conversations. They reveal your company's real ethical stance. What is the right kokorogamae in sales? The right kokorogamae in sales is not to get the sale; it is to earn the reorder. A single transaction is easy to chase, but lifetime buyer value is built through trust, suitability, and long-term partnership. Salespeople under pressure can drift into bad intention. A low base salary, high commission structure, or aggressive manager can push them to recommend whatever has the best margin rather than what best serves the client. That may work once. It rarely works twice. In B2B sales, especially in relationship-driven markets like Japan, the reorder, referral, and reputation are far more valuable than the quick win. The buyer remembers whether you solved their problem or just solved your quota problem. Do now: Sales leaders should measure repeat business, referrals, retention, and customer trust, not just monthly revenue. What happens when a business has bad kokorogamae? Bad kokorogamae eventually becomes visible, and today it becomes visible at internet speed. In the past, a poor operator could move from client to client, town to town, or deal to deal, leaving unhappy buyers behind. That game is much harder now. LinkedIn posts, online reviews, business forums, search engines, and AI-driven summaries can surface reputational patterns very quickly. A person who fails to pay suppliers, mistreats partners, or sells poor-quality products may think each incident is isolated. It is not. Digital reputation compounds. One public complaint can trigger others, and suddenly the market sees the pattern. In 2025 and beyond, your kokorogamae is no longer private. It becomes searchable. Do now: Audit what clients, suppliers, staff, and partners would say about your intention when you are not in the room. How can executives build better kokorogamae? Executives build better kokorogamae by ...
    Voir plus Voir moins
    13 min
  • Competing Perspectives on Leading

    Competing Perspectives on Leading
    Apr 8 2026
    Leadership sounds simple until you realise it is full of tensions. The real work is not choosing one side and ignoring the other; it is learning how to hold competing truths at the same time. Great leaders need process and freedom, accountability and experimentation, personal output and people development. That balancing act is what separates a manager who maintains the machine from a leader who builds a stronger future. Why is leadership often a battle between conformity and innovation? Leadership is often a tug-of-war between following the rules and breaking from them when change is needed.Strong organisations need compliance, quality standards, regulatory discipline, and reliable systems, but they also need fresh thinking, experimentation, and the courage to question what no longer works. This tension shows up everywhere. In heavily regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, and aviation, process discipline keeps people safe and protects the brand. Yet in fast-moving sectors like software, professional services, and start-ups, rigid conformity can kill initiative and make a company slow. In Japan, where consistency and risk control are often highly valued, leaders may lean towards operational harmony; in the US, leaders are often rewarded for speed and disruption. Neither extreme wins for long. The best leaders know when to preserve standards and when to invite shoshin, the beginner's mind, to reimagine the way work gets done. Do now: Audit one team process this week. Keep the parts that protect quality and remove the parts that only protect habit. Why do so many new leaders default to maintaining the status quo? Many new leaders protect the status quo because that is exactly how they earned promotion in the first place. They were trusted, dependable, productive, and good at meeting expectations, so their instinct is to keep the system stable rather than disturb it. That is understandable, but it creates a trap. A newly promoted leader often inherits a team and feels pressure not to fail. The safest path seems to be preserving routines, checking compliance, and avoiding unnecessary risk. Large corporations, government bodies, and multinationals can unintentionally reinforce this mindset through layers of approvals, KPIs, and standard operating procedures. The danger is that yesterday's success formula becomes tomorrow's limitation. Competitors are rarely standing still. While one team is preserving efficiency, another is building capability, trying new methods, and preparing for the next shift in customer expectations, technology, or talent needs. Do now: Identify one area where you are protecting stability out of fear rather than strategy, and test a small improvement instead of a major overhaul. What do more effective leaders do differently with their teams? Better leaders use leverage: they help their people succeed instead of trying to do everything themselves. They delegate meaningful work, treat mistakes as learning moments, and create an environment where team members grow rather than just comply. This is where leadership becomes developmental, not just operational. Delegation fails when people feel dumped on, but it works when the task is tied to growth, trust, and visible support. High-performing leaders at firms like Toyota, Microsoft, or Rakuten do not only measure output; they also build capability. They understand that coaching, feedback, and stretch assignments are not "nice to have" extras. They are how future performance gets created. Start-ups often grasp this faster because they have no choice; they must scale through people. Bigger firms can miss it because managers stay buried in their own workload. The real leverage comes when the boss stops being the bottleneck. Do now: Delegate one important task that develops someone's judgement, not just their admin skills, and coach them before, during, and after the handover. Why do player-managers struggle to coach their people? Player-managers struggle because doing the work feels urgent, while coaching others feels important but easier to postpone. The result is a constant cycle of personal busyness that weakens team capability over time. This is the classic leadership contradiction. Many managers still carry clients, projects, sales targets, or technical responsibilities while also leading a team. In SMEs, consultancies, and B2B service businesses, this is especially common. The manager thinks, "I'll coach later once I clear my own workload," but later never arrives. The problem is cumulative. Every hour spent rescuing, redoing, or personally handling key tasks may solve today's pressure while making tomorrow harder. It is the blunt-axe problem: staying busy with execution instead of sharpening the team's ability. Research on managerial effectiveness has long shown that organisations gain more when leaders multiply capability than when they heroically carry the load alone. Do now: Block recurring coaching time in your ...
    Voir plus Voir moins
    12 min
Pas encore de commentaire