Inspiring Stewardship

Inspiring Stewardship helps leaders drive sustainable development and growth by balancing short- and long-term objectives amidst competing interests. By examining a range of exceptional individual and organisational stewards alongside insights from quantitative studies, this book unlocks the contributions you can make to enhance your influence and secure your legacy. Profiles of leaders from Ratan Tata to Bill Gates illustrate what stewardship really means, and the attributes and characteristics of steward leaders. Are they fundamentally different? Where do they get their exceptional drive and resilience? Why do they shoulder such huge responsibility? Risks, rewards, motivations and actions are explored in depth to give you a real-world view of stewardship, and to show you how to embody these principles in your own everyday life.

The notion of stewardship has never been more relevant to business than it is today, as managers struggle to balance present and future interests. This book provides clarity, direction and guidance for more purpose-driven action.

• Understand the concepts and principles of stewardship
• Discover characteristics of steward leaders across cultures
• Learn how stewards have shifted the course of their organisations
• Examine the capabilities that deepen organisational resilience

Today, ownership of firms is increasingly fragmented, investment structures are more and more complex and the time horizons of investors, executives and owners do not always coincide. Inspiring Stewardship helps you break through the tension and drive sustainable growth through adaptability and good leadership.

Acknowledgments vii

About the Authors ix

Introduction 1

Part I Why Stewardship?

Chapter 1 Stewardship at Work 11

Chapter 2 Stewardship Principles 31

Chapter 3 Steward Leaders Inspire 55

Part II What Drives Stewardship?

Chapter 4 Stewardship Values and Beliefs 71

Chapter 5 Personality Traits and Attitudes of Steward Leaders 87

Part III Stewardship in Action

Chapter 6 Stewardship Actions 103

Chapter 7 Becoming a Steward Leader – What It Takes 115

Chapter 8 Pitfalls of Stewardship 139

Part IV Looking Forward

Chapter 9 Fostering Stewardship 159

Appendix A: The Research 165

References 181

Index 197

DIDIER COSSIN is professor at IMD, Switzerland and the director of the IMD Global Board Center. He advises chairmen and boards of some of the largest corporate, financial and not-for-profit organizations around the world. Before joining IMD, he worked for Goldman Sachs, taught at Harvard University and was professor at HEC, University of Lausanne.

ONG BOON HWEE is the CEO of the Stewardship Asia Centre, a thought leadership centre that focuses on promoting stewardship and the governance of companies and organizations across Asia. Prior to his role in the Stewardship Asia Centre, Boon Hwee gained extensive working experience in the civil service as well as the commercial sectors.

The notion of stewardship has never been more relevant to business than it is today. It used to be enough for a business to create value for its owners and shareholders. However, with globalization has come the expectation for truly successful companies to also create lasting benefits to their markets, society and environment. Inspiring Stewardship lets you follow in the footsteps of some of the most accomplished stewards of our time.

This one-of-a-kind resource from two recognized thought leaders on corporate governance profiles a diverse range of steward leaders – from Ratan Tata to Warren Buffett – and examines innovative, quantitative research to present a complete guide to understanding the benefits of stewardship and factoring it into your everyday decision-making. It’s not easy to balance short-term objectives and long-term goals with the needs of executives, owners and investors, unless you have a go-to well of dependable, supported wisdom and inspiring, real-world stories of how other leaders did it with extraordinary results. See where they get their exceptional drive and resilience, why they shoulder such huge responsibility and then decide for yourself if they are fundamentally different from you. Use the self-assessment to highlight your own path to becoming an exceptional steward leader, which includes:

• A detailed examination of the key principles underpinning a well- stewarded organization
• The core values safeguarded, promoted and actively acted on by steward leaders
• The specific risks stewards open themselves up to and how to proactively manage those risks

Unlock your potential to enhance your influence and secure your legacy over time with Inspiring Stewardship.