Inspiring Stewardship

DRIVE GROWTH AND EXPAND YOUR INFLUENCE BY TRANSFORMING FROM LEADER TO STEWARD

Inspiring Stewardship is a thought–provoking guide to making decisions toward positive social impact, maintaining growth and adaptability in order to expand a company′s value in the long term.

Achieving the right balance between short– and long–term interests is perplexing for many leaders until they become stewards. With clarity and reliable direction, this groundbreaking resource provides an accessible road map to the purpose–driven actions shared by exceptional individual and organizational stewards. A broad array of comprehensive and illuminating examples of stewardship best practices and pitfalls fully prepares you for the realities of putting strategies into practice. Make decisions that create a lasting legacy by:

Embodying the concepts and principles of stewardship Developing the characteristics of steward leaders across cultures Taking action to shift the course of an organization through stewardship Assessing and strengthening an organization′s ability to be resilient

Inspiring Stewardship gives senior managers, entrepreneurs and business leaders a unique approach for growing their businesses into valuable resources for improving the world.

Acknowledgments vii

About the Authors ix

Introduction 1

PART I Why Stewardship?

Chapter 1 Stewardship at Work 11

Chapter 2 Stewardship Principles 31

Chapter 3 Steward Leaders Inspire 55

PART II What Drives Stewardship?

Chapter 4 Stewardship Values and Beliefs 71

Chapter 5 Personality Traits and Attitudes of Steward Leaders 87

PART III Stewardship in Action

Chapter 6 Stewardship Actions 103

Chapter 7 Becoming a Steward Leader What It Takes 115

Chapter 8 Pitfalls of Stewardship 139

PART IV Looking Forward

Chapter 9 Fostering Stewardship 159

Appendix A: The Research 165

References 181

Index 197

DIDIER COSSIN is professor at IMD, Switzerland and the director of the IMD Global Board Center. He advises chairmen and boards of some of the largest corporate, financial and not–for–profit organizations around the world. Before joining IMD, he worked for Goldman Sachs, taught at Harvard University and was professor at HEC, University of Lausanne.

ONG BOON HWEE is the CEO of the Stewardship Asia Centre, a thought leadership centre that focuses on promoting stewardship and the governance of companies and organizations across Asia. Prior to his role in the Stewardship Asia Centre, Boon Hwee gained extensive working experience in the civil service as well as the commercial sectors.