Confucianism, virtue and leadership: The focus on humble leadership

• Main Author: CHAN, Gary K. Y.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Ethics; Confucianism; Business; virtues; humility; leadership; Asian Studies; Law and Society; Leadership Studies
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1588; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_1007_978_94_007_6729_4&context=PC&vid=65SMU_INST:SMU_NUI&lang=en&search_scope=Everything&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Handbook%20on%20Virtue%20Ethics%20in%20Business%20and%20Management&offset=0
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The Confucian jūn zǐ serves as a moral exemplar for his followers and subordinates. In this regard, Confucian virtues such as benevolence and righteousness are relevant and important for leadership. The virtue of humility has been less explored. Drawing upon the Confucian classics, the paper discusses the features of the Confucian virtue of humility and its contribution to virtuous leadership. Parallels may be drawn among Confucian humility, the Chinese attitudes about leadership, and the increasing focus in the West on humble leadership. The Confucian concept of humility resonates well with recent insights on the importance of humble leadership in business contexts.