Waking up the sleeping lion

Cheng Zhu

In this qualitative study, I investigate how China's top private-enterprise CEOs develop their leadership capacities. I examine (1) the impact of familial, educational, organizational, and cultural contexts on their leadership capacities, (2) the lessons learned from their leadership experiences, and (3) their strategies of learning for overcoming difficulties. This study is based primarily on in-depth interviews with fifteen Chinese CEOs, entrepreneurial founders of their own private companies from a range of industries: (1) fund management, (2) real estate, (3) electronics, (4) textile and apparel, (5) construction materials, (6) pharmaceuticals, and (7) arts and media. The picture of leadership gleaned from my study both resonates with, and differs from, that reported in Western leadership literature. The CEOs' traits resemble the effective leadership qualities identified by...