LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE IN ASIA

Stansfield Group's Chief Kannappan Chettiar

Chief leaming officer and chairman of Singapore's Stansfield Group Kannappan Chettiar is a courageous entrepreneur who does not believe in stopping at what he has achieved. He set up the Stansfield School of Business in 1993 to offer University of London bachelor degree courses. By 2001, it had diversified and grown into a 5$9 million empire comprising the Stansfield School of Business. St James English School, Singapore Institute of Commerce, and the nine acre Winfield Hall of Residence. Chettiar was awarded the Top Ten Entrepreneurs of 2002 award by Rotary and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises IASME) recently. His Stansfield Group was ranked 32" on Singapore's Enterprise 50 list in 2002, a far cry from his six-lecturer outfit in Serangoon when it was first set up

Instead of resting on his laurels, Chettiar continues to introduce changes to his enterprise. His latest foray is to enter the postgraduate entrepreneurship development area and he has invested 551 million to create a new campus, the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE). The new CIE features a unique "Dream Room where students can sit in one of the ten massage chairs to bring themselves close to the verge of falling asleep. Explaining his idea, Chettiar says that the chairs are meant to bring the students to the "beta level of thinking, the state where one is about to fall asleep and to create.

"Life is a maze. You cannot stay still. Many people do that. We must find the courage within us to move forward...I seem to be the one who is creating uncertainty here. But in the real world, there is no one right method. We are all searching for excellence, And excellence' comes from the word excel, or to better yourself,"he summarizes his approach to business and living. Indeed, Chettiar's decisions to expand his business to include St James English School, Singapore Institute of Commerce, and the Winfield Hall of Residence in the past few years were all risk-taking ventures. His courage to face the unknown was built on his firm belief in creating value for others and for himself,

Moral Courage

Kannapa Chettiar is an example of the many leades who have the courage to go beyond their comfort zone, to make changes when there is no apparent need to do so, and to be guided by a deep-seated belief in using their courage to create value for others. Balancing profit with people, selfishness with servien, and control with stewardship requires individual moral courage.

Moral leadership requires rage. To practice moral leadership, leaders have to know themselves, understand their strengths and weaknesses, know what they stand for, and oftea be nor conformists. Honest sell analysis can be painful, and acknowledging one's limitations in order to recognize the saperior abilities of others takes personal strength of character. In addition, moral leadership means building relationships, which requires sharing yoursel, listening, having significant personal experiences with others, and making yourself vulnerable qualities that frighten many people. The quest for emotional strength requires people to overcome their deepest fears and to accept emotions as a source of strength rather than weakness. True power lies in the ersations that connect people. By getting close and doing what is best for others sharing the guud and the bad, the pair and anger as well as the success and the joy leaders bring out the best qualities in others."

It is a given that leaders have to make unpleasant decisions at times. As the opening casc abuut Nissan Motors suggests, the leader must have the courage to deliver the news about layoffs. Of course, employees affected by the layoffs should be given humane and adequate compensation according to industry standards. The courage to practice mural leadership would gain respect, commitment, and higher performance, even though the leader may suffer personal rejection in the short run. Standing up for one's belicts often entails great risk and tremendous courage. Nowhere is the more evident than in the case of ethical whistleblowing.

Opponing unethical conduct requires courage. Whistleblowing means emplover disclosure of illegal, immoral, e unethical practices in the organization. Although whistleblowing has become more widespread in recent years, it is still risky fur employees, who can lose their jobs, he ostracized by co-workers, or be transferred to lower-level positions. In Japan, whistleblowing has a unique dimension because of its highly collectivistic national culture. Traditionally, whistleblowers were treated as trouble-makers and sicked when they were identified However, several recent high-profile cases in which corporate wrongdoings were ancovered by whistleblowers after they became huge public issues, have prompted corporate, social, and governmental leaders m call for internal and legal measures to protect whistleblowers. Top corporate leaders at Mitsui and Co and Tokyo Electric Power Co Tepco), for example, were forced to resign following scandals in

which the former company gave bribes to a Mongolian government official and the latter lept the cracks in its nuclear power plants a secret for years. Had whistleblowing heen less inhibited, such cases could have been uncovered and stopped before they got worse."

Although some whistleblowers believe that nothing bad will happen to them because they are "doing the right thing," most realize they may suffer financially and emotionally from their willingness to report unethical condner on the part of bosses or co-workers." They step forward to tell the truth despite a jumble of contradictory emotions and fears. As one professor put it, "Depending upon the circumstances, Including our own courage, we can choose to act and 'se ethical both as individuals and as leaders, Choosing to act courageously means conflicting emotions-whistleblowers may feel ar ethical obligation to report the wrongdoing but may also feel disloyal to their boss and co-workers. Some may do battle within themselves ahour where their responsibility lies. A whistleblower who uncovered a major corporate malpractice in the 1980s warns that there are considerable costs involved in blowing the whistle mentally, financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. However, one must not be afraid to stand up for the good of the larger collective. It is because of the strong conviction to do good that makes life worth living for.

SOURCES OF PERSONAL COURAGE

How does a leader find the courage to step through fear and confusion, to act despite the risks involved? All of us have the potential to live and act couragenusly, if we can push through our own fears. Most of us have learned fears that limit our comfort zone and stand in the way of being our best and accomplishing our goals. We have been conditioned to follow the rules, nor rock the boat, to "go along" with things we feel are wrong so that others will like and accept us. There are a number of ways people can unlock the courage within themselves, including cummitting to a cause they believe in, connecting with others, welcoming failure as a natural and beneficial part of life, and harnessing anger.

BELIEF IN A HIGHER PURPOSE Courage comes easily when we fight for something we really believe in. Service to a larger vision ur purpose gives peuple the courage to step through fear. For someone to willingly step out of his or her comfort zone requires a profound conviction that there is a greater good than the self. In organizations, too, courage depends or belief in a

higher vision. A leader who is concerned only with his owa caree advancement would not be willing to report wrongdoing for fear of losing hist position. As told above, in a collectivistic culture like Japan, the whistleblower is likely to be sacked when he or she is found our. Yet, there are people who would blow the whistle for the sake of the larger community. Sometimes courage can increase simply by getting a clear vision of what higher purpose you are seeking. One entrepreacur used to ask her employees to write at personal mission statement which is reviewed annually and liked to the company's mission and goals.

CONNECTION WITH OTHERS Caring about others and having support from

others is a potent source of courage in a topsy-turvy world. When former US President Bill Clinton was in Singanore to address some 5,000 people at the two-day National Achievers Congress on May 24, 2002, his message was not about how to become successful, but what one should do after he or she has become successful. "Success is not just about getting what you want bur doing the right thing with it, be says. According to him, in the interdependea. world especially after the September 11 terrorist attacks, al members of the world community must work together to ensure peace and security, and the haves should help the have-nots. To him, manual support and interpersonal connection among people from all creeds are what matter in the new world order." The support of others is also a source of courage. Peuple who feel alone in the world take fewer risks because they have more to lose. Being part of an organizational team that is supportive and caring, or having a loving and supportive family at home, can reduce the fear of failure and help people take risks they otherwise would not take

WELCOMING FAILURE Failure can play a creative role in work and in life. Success and failure are two sides of the same con; one cannot exist without the other. A child learns to ride a bicycle by failing and trying again and again Today, many people want success to arrive without difficulties, problems, and struggles. However, accepting failure enables courage. When people accept tai ore and are at peace with the worst possible outcome, they find they have rhe fortitude to move forward. Leaders know that failure can lead to success and that the pain of learning strengthens individuals and the organization. Many successful individuals of today were once failures yesterday. Before Kannappan Chettiar succeeded in bringing his education business, the Stansfield Group, to a successful $59-million a year enterprise, he suffered a series of setbacks. When he was first back in Singapore in 1987 after graduating from Michigan State University, he was not able to secure a job after sending out over 300 applications.

He persevered and finally found a job at a bank. In 1990, he started his new venture Singapore Institute of Commerce (SIC) with a group of investors but encountered conflicts with its management and left He then started the Stansfield Group in 1993 and subsequently did well enough to buy up SIC The courage to take bold moves thus appears to be an essential characteristic of a successful leader. There is evidence that with repeated practice, people can overcome fears such as a fear of flying or fear of heights. Practice also enables people to overcome the fear of risk taking in their work. Every time you push beyond your comfort zone, every time you fail and try again, you build psychological strength and

HARNESSING FRUSTRATION AND ANGER If you have ever been really angry abour somering, you know that it can cause you to forget about fear of cmbarrassment or fear that others will not like you. In organizacious, we can also see the power of frustration and anger. One entrepreneur started his business after he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Ilis anger and frustration motivated him to start a new life as a consultant advising companies on redesigning their workplaces to be more friendly to disabled customers. Instead of contemplating suicide, the mishap was cared into a sorrce of energy to do something good. People in organizations can harness their anger to deal with difficult situations. When someone has to be fired for just cause, a supervisor may put it off until some incident makes her angry cnough to step through the fear and act, Sometimes, outrage over a perceived injustice can give a mild mannered person the courage to confront the boss head-on. Getting angry at yourself may be the motivation to change. Anger, in moderate amounts, is a healthy enorion that provides energy to move forward. The challenge is m narness anger and use it appropriately

SUMMARY AND INTERPRETATION

This chapter has explored a number of ideas concerning moral leadership and leadership courage. People want honest and trustworthy leaders. However, leaders face a dilemma because modem society has created a separation herween business and ethics. The world of business is one of rationality and hand measurable facts, whereas the realm of ethics concerns human meaning, purpose, significance, and values. But more and more, ethics is being recognized as an essential part of business For leaders to creare erhical organizations requires that they themselves be honest, ethical, and principled.