PERSONALquarterly 03 / 24 42 NEUE FORSCHUNG_FÜHRUNG for the common good of the society. Their inner belief that others try to maximize the immediate interest of their family (Alesina/Giuliano, 2014) limits their trust in outsiders. To reverse this cultural tendency, they positioned themselves as fathers within the organisation, which included prioritizing the interest of co-workers and stakeholders ahead of their own, and allowed them to boost followers’ identification, gain their respect, and expand their trust beyond their family boundaries. They also redefined self-realization to eliminate the contrast of ambition with self-restraint and modesty, enabled through social interactions based on trust and respect. Such twist allowed them to be a humble, authentic leader and foster equal relationships. Thus, unlike Bobbio et al. (2012) suggest, such behaviours seemed to rather strengthen than threaten their legitimacy. The Japanese servant leaders we analysed were instead stressing Confucian characteristics (Taniguchi, 2008; Ge, 2020), which are salient in Japan, by advocating taking action, courage, benevolence and expression of honne, referring to true feelings. They found a way to legitimize benevolence and vulnerability, connecting those characteristics with courage, which is an important quality in a masculine society like Japan. Following Confucius’ ideal, which claims that without courage there is no moral integrity, being forgiving and seeking for others’ help then becomes itself an act of courage and strength. The analysed leaders related these behaviours to their heritage and emphasized that they are desirable and required for a sense of togetherness, and for followers to level up as human beings. They seemed convinced that relationships are indispensable for everyone to achieve their own humanity (Yu, 2005) and personal betterment (Dollinger, 1988). Based on our research, we suggest that leaders who practice or aim to practice servant leadership benefit from culture-specific behaviours. In table 1, we outline leadership behaviours that appear particularly relevant in countries with cultural characteristics similar to Italian (i. e., individualistic, masculine and uncertainty avoidant) or Japanese (i. e., collectivistic, masculine and uncertainty avoidant) culture. In sum, our research indicates that different behaviours can be perceived as "servant" in a certain national context. Importantly, our analysis is based on the publicly articulated perspectives of popular leaders. For a complete understanding of the phenomenon, also analysing employees’ perspectives and the practical application in daily operations is crucial. Still, we can conclude that leadership behaviours cannot be an automatic choice but require adaptation to one‘s own cultural values and values in the team. In this regard, even some culture-counteracting behaviours can serve the purpose of working towards one‘s own values. Importantly, servant leadership entails inner and outward consistency and authenticity to oneself, as well as to the role covered inside the organization. Thus, when adapting to or leveraging a certain cultural aspect, it is necessary to evaluate the situation in combination with the ultimate goal of being a servant leader, i. e., being authentic, sympathetic, needs-driven, and aiming for group welfare. Quelle: Eigene Darstellung Table 1: Leadership behaviours that appear particularly relevant in countries with cultural characteristics similar to Italian or Japanese culture Behaviour in countries sharing cultural characteristics with Italy Behaviour in countries sharing cultural characteristics with Japan Stewardship behaviours Stewardship behaviours • Democratic and participative • Just, refusing to be greedy and choosing to be concerned with humanity • Authentic to one‘s own principles • Honest, especially about credits and achievements • Integrator, helping • Just, as someone who wants to establish and enlarge others • Authentic to both norms and one‘s own feelings • Honest, especially about mistakes and failures Empowerment behaviours Empowerment behaviours • Growing others by providing dignity, status and prestige to people and their work • Focusing on followers’ development, referring to their self-actualization and transcendence towards others • Growing others by creating the necessary conditions for people to stay in relationship with others • Conveying sufficient accountability and trust to recognize individual value • Addressing both simultaneously followers’ self and their interdependence Humility behaviours Humility behaviours • Self-evaluation, other evaluation, recognition of others’ credits • Proactive attitude in distancing oneself and others from egoism • Calling for self-restraint • Self-examination and recognition of others’ contribution to their own development (self-cultivation) • Showing courage with respect to change, challenges, and failures • Distancing oneself and others from conflict and failure avoidance Forgiveness behaviours Forgiveness behaviours • Acceptance of ambition, if not abusive • Indulgence but without compromise • Acceptance of mistakes • Calling for risk-taking and assistance from the group
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