Paul T. P. Wong

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever tried to negotiate an obstacle course? The only thing you can expect is that there will always be something unexpected that throws you off track and thwarts you from reaching your goal. A course that would normally take no more than an hour to complete without the obstacles, would now take a few days or even longer, depending on one’s ability to navigate the course.

Unfortunately, some organizations are just like that. You are so tired of dealing with the endless, unnecessary obstacles that you have little energy and time left to engage in productive work. In such an organization, there are so many “pockets” of power, and each pocket functions like a little warlord, who is more interested in power grabbing than collaboration.

Wong, P. T. P. (2007). What makes a great leader? Leadershop link, 17 (3), 1-6.

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Wong, P. T. P. (2005). Lessons from the Enron debacle – Corporate culture matters. In Nasreen Taher (Ed.). Organizational culture: An introduction. Hyderabad, India: ICFAI University Press. Pp.180-192.
Available online since 2002 from: http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_lessons-from-enron_P_Wong.htm

The recent Enron collapse has sent shockwaves all over the financial world and raised serious questions regarding corporate governance: How could America's seventh largest corporation suddenly descend to bankruptcy? What has contributed to its sudden implosion? Currently, there are more than 10 separate committees investigating possible wrong doings and illegal activities, such as fraud and insider trading.

Wong, P. T. P. (2004). The paradox of servant leadership. Leadership Link, Spring, 2004, 3-5. Ohio State University, Leadership Research Center.

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Page, D., & Wong, P. T. P. (2000). A conceptual framework for measuring servant leadership. In S. Adjibolooso (Ed.), The human factor in shaping the course of history and development. American University Press.

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If your future employer were to ask you: “Are you a great worker?” What would your answer be? Chances are, you would say something like: “Well, I think I am, because I am very good in what I do and I am passionate about my work.”

But that sounds like the stock answer in a formal job interview. The real great workers possess some special qualities that set them apart from the merely good ones. The challenge is how to identify these illusive attributes.

In today’s knowledge economy, human resources are the most important assets, because great people make great companies. Employers and human resources are always looking for great employees to gain a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, most bosses may not even recognize such valuable workers in their employ, because they are misguided by myths.

Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., Don Page, Ph.D. and Wally Rude, B.Sc.

Leadership matters a great deal in the success or failure of any organization. This instrument was designed to measure both positive and negative leadership characteristics.

Download the full instrument in .PDF here.

An excellent organization is not only the best place to work for, but also an agent of positive social change. Apart from excelling in what it does, such an organization is capable of uplifting the human spirit and having its influence felt for generations.

There are several well-known approaches to achieve this seemingly impossible dream. The Lean principles and the Toyota Way (Liker, 2004; Liker & Hoseus, 2008; Liker & Meier, 2007; Womack & Jones, 2003) offer promising pathways.

David Koichi Chao, President of Lean Sensei International, made a bold and visionary statement in his book ‘Lean Reflections’ (2009): “I believe in the power of lean to transform the world in a way we cannot begin to imagine” (p.1).