Leadership Peruvian Style
How Peruvians Define and Practice Leadership
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A need for more study on leadership specifically in Peru drives the research question of definition and practice of leadership in Peru. Up to this point, those desiring to find answers regarding how to fill the leadership void had little to refer to other than Hofstede’s (1980, 2001) research on cultural dimensions in Peru. More recently, House et al. (2004) listed nine cultural dimensions of leadership behavior in a cross-section of Latin American countries, yet that study did not include Peru. House et al. proposed that leadership practices vary from culture to culture. In order to label the varying practices, they listed six culturally endorsed implicit theories of leadership (CLT). This study found that Peru has such a profile and presents it in the final chapter.
While both the Hofstede (1980) and the House et al. (2004) studies provided helpful information for understanding leadership in Peru, neither intended to supply sufficient data for a thorough study of leadership in the Andean country. Peruvians need more research in order to understand leadership in their country. Then, they must use that understanding to prepare the necessary leaders to meet the needs of a complex world where quality leadership is the most important element to organizational success (Collins, 2001). Investigation of the research question led to the formation of an operational definition of leadership in Peru and the gathering of important data on the nation’s leadership practices. The data on leadership definition and practice came from Peruvians themselves. Previously, there have been few data to aid those wishing to design leadership formation programs in Peru. This study provides a needed starting point.
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About the Book
Leadership across cultural borders is the new frontier in leadership studies. Increased globalization means leaders are dealing with a variety of cultures in and out of their own countries. Leaders must be experts in understanding what cultural dimensions mean for being effective outside their own comfort zone. Americans in particular are often ill-equipped to understand the cultural complexities for international leadership.
In Leadership Peruvian Style, author Tim McIntosh addresses how Peruvians define and practice leadership, providing a model to assist the cross-cultural worker in understanding leadership in both the home and host cultures. McIntosh’s findings are based in an empirical study conducted in 2008 that featured focus groups composed of Peruvian citizens.
The study results described in Leadership Peruvian Style are not only important for those working in Peru and other parts of Latin America, but also give insight into how to analyze the leadership profile of a particular culture and, in turn, make adjustments in order to be more effective. Through this analysis, McIntosh, who has spent twenty-seven years in leadership in Peru, has contributed to the raising up of a new generation of effective leaders in Latin America.
About the Author
Tim McIntosh is the director of general studies at the Evangelical University of Lima, Peru. He arrived with his wife, Debbie, in Lima in February of 1983, and they served as church planting missionaries for seventeen years. They have three children and continue to live in Lima.