Participative Leadership
Japanese leadership style revolves around participation. Japanese team leaders or CEOs have a more coordinating role than their Western counterparts, who are expected to bring in individual ideas and, sometimes, to turn the company around. Japanese leadership, on the other hand, mainly aims to coordinate opinions and intentions of team members and help group-oriented decision-making processes to run smoothly. This management style is based on the idea that one person alone cannot be cleverer than all members of a team combined. Assertive leadership can therefore hardly be expected.
In the West, one person can take individual responsibility for a company decision even if this decision affects the lives of thousands of other employees. In Japan, this is not the case; here, leadership is group oriented and people believe that it is too risky to let only one person decide over many others. All decisions have to be approved by other board members, and in many cases, the CEO or president is more of a coordinator than a decision maker. In recent years, there have been changes at companies like Uniqlo, where the CEO is also the founder and the owner of the firm, but in traditional firms such as Toyota, there was no strong leader figure in the past decade.
Motivation and Involvement
Working hard and not giving up until a goal is achieved are considered the highest virtues in Japan. All group members in a Japanese group are expected to form a strong, harmonious unit, to perform according to the rules, and to stick to processes. The overall well-being of the group is the most important goal, and all team members are dedicated to this. Next to performing tasks in the best possible way, achievement orientation plays another major role in Japanese society and management.
Doing One’s Best (Ganbaru)
There are two main concepts of achievement orientation that can be observed almost everywhere in Japan. The most important concept is ganbaru. Ganbaru translates as doing one’s best or never giving up, but it is a bit more involved than this. It also means to finish a task and to never stop until a goal is achieved. Ganbaru is an active process, meaning that one has to try as hard as possible to reach a certain goal. There are many hurdles and examinations in every Japanese person’s life, and to try to overcome these obstacles (even if not successful) is a most important task. People following ganbaru try to achieve a goal or fulfill a difficult task even if it might be very painful. In Japanese society it is considered a weakness to give up a plan or to look for an easier option. Trying as hard as one can (e.g., working very hard to get into a good company or university) is seen as a virtue.
Endurance (Gaman)
The second concept that is worth discussing is gaman. Gaman refers to the ability to withstand and bear something unpleasant that cannot be changed right away and that one has no control over. Going to work on a very crowded Tokyo train during rush hour is a situation where people usually gaman. But gaman can also be seen at the workplace, where people keep working even if they would rather not stay as long as their boss.
Ganbaru and gaman differ from each other. Where ganbaru is an active process and requires people to do something to achieve their goals, gaman is passive and focuses more on enduring and not complaining. However, both concepts are the major reason for Japan’s successful development after World War II. Even today, working hard and trying one’s best are viewed as good attributes, and a good employee is a person who is trying to dedicate as much time and energy to the firm as possible. Ganbaru is the reason for the unbelievable motivation that many Japanese show when it comes to work.
Involvement With the Firm and Dedication to Work (Marugakae)
Even today, Japanese employees exhibit very high motivation when working and dedicate themselves to their company. Traditionally, salarymen had very little time for their families because they were even expected to spend part of their free time in the company or with their colleagues.
This attitude is also the reason for long working hours and the low number of holidays. The term marugakae refers to the state of being absorbed in one’s company, resulting in a total dedication of the employee to the company. Marugakae can also be translated as completely financed, sponsored, or under patronage. In ancient Japan, marugakae was an expected attitude for personal servants in their relationships to landlords. The concept of marugakae stands for the employee’s identification, loyalty, and emotional bond with the company, with little separation between private and professional life in Japan.
But dedicating one’s life to the company also had negative effects on the Japanese society. Marugakae is often executed to an excessive level and harms the health of not only many Japanese employees but also their families. Long work hours are still common in Japan. A phenomenon often discussed is karoshi, or death by overworking, which became a synonym for the Japanese working style. The two main causes of karoshi are heart attack or stroke due to stress and fatigue from long hours in the office. Moreover, there are cases where work-related problems have created personal problems for employees, leading them to commit suicide.
