Understanding Chinese Principalship—An autobiographical approach

Cultural context matters in leadership. Traditions and cultures may saliently impact how leadership is conceptualized and enacted in practice. With the influence of Chinese traditions and culture, particularly Confucianism and Confucian culture, Chinese principal leadership may differ from the dominant leadership approaches that reign in the literature. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of leadership in a Chinese context is long overdue. Informed by an autobiographical approach, this study aims to explore a Chinese principal’s daily leadership practices. Autobiography renders accounts of layered reality, affords access to inner experiences, and unpacks the rationale in decision-making when engaging in the leadership process. The influence of various traditional (particularly Confucian) culture variables is crystalized through the subjective experience of the principal, as articulated in the autobiography and the analysis followed. This study provides an example of how traditional (particularly Confucian) culture permeates into a principal’s daily practice, including how the principal understands his role and deals with guanxi (network of relationships) using leadership tactics.