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Purpose-driven leadership for sustainable business: From the Perspective of Taoism

Author

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  • Liangrong Zu

    (International Training Centre of the ILO)

Abstract

In recent years, the topic of “purpose” has been actively studied and discussed by the academic scholars and business practitioners. The purpose revolution has significantly changed the way companies are doing business today. There is a growing consensus among leaders today that business exists not to make money, but to make the world a better place to live in. Companies have been increasingly demanded by stakeholders to do more than to provide good products, good services, good prospects, and good profits, but to do something meaningful to employees, customers, environment and society. As early as 2500 years ago, Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, the founder of philosophical Taoism, discovered the role of the Tao or the purpose in life and universe. Wisdom of Taoism has inspired and guided people with precepts of compassion, harmony, cooperation, integrity, humility and prudence. Taoism’s thought as the master virtue allows individuals, organizations, and society to cultivate purpose for a sustainable life, and directs leaders to pursue a basic blueprint of not only doing good, but also being good. The purpose of this paper is to blend classical Taoism’s wisdom with modern management science to guide leaders to build a responsible and sustainable organization. The paper discussed the relationship between CSR, sustainability and the emerging concept of purpose from philosophical, business and Taoism’s perspectives. The author walked readers through the key text of Tao Te Ching to analyze five core principles of Taoism: self-awareness for mindful leadership, self-cultivation for authentic leadership, leading with humility for Level 5 leadership, transcending ego for servant leadership, and doing the right things right for sustainable leadership. The core principles of Taoism shall serve as the foundation for those who want to develop purpose-driven organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Liangrong Zu, 2019. "Purpose-driven leadership for sustainable business: From the Perspective of Taoism," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-31, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijocsr:v:4:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40991-019-0041-z
    DOI: 10.1186/s40991-019-0041-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark W. McCloskey, 2014. "Learning Leadership in a Changing World," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-47637-1, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anette Ahsen & Kevin Gauch, 2022. "Opportunities and Challenges of Purpose-Led Companies: An Empirical Study Through Expert Interviews," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(3), pages 198-211, August.
    2. Matthias Gotsch & Carsten Gandenberger & Luisa Serafimov & Mathias Miemiec, 2023. "Top‐down and bottom‐up strategies for the implementation of corporate social responsibility: A qualitative survey of an international IT services company," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1645-1663, July.
    3. Jin Yong Park & Sriram Veeraiya Perumal & Shouvik Sanyal & Binh Ah Nguyen & Samrat Ray & Ravishankar Krishnan & Ramakrishna Narasimhaiah & Dhanabalan Thangam, 2022. "Sustainable Marketing Strategies as an Essential Tool of Business," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(2), pages 359-379, March.
    4. Le Thanh Thao & Pham Trut Thuy & Nguyen Anh Thi & Phuong Hoang Yen & Huynh Thi Anh Thu & Nguyen Huong Tra, 2023. "Impacts of Emotional Intelligence on Second Language Acquisition: English-Major Students’ Perspectives," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    5. Tatiana Freze & Artem Korneev & Raisa Krayneva & Tatiana Oruch & Wadim Kandalov & Wadim Strielkowski, 2023. "Business Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-COVID Era," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, March.

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