The Role of Sociocultural Context in the Leader–Follower Relationship: An Analysis of Lee Kuan Yew’s Authentic Transformational Leadership

Abstract

Through a strong vision, authentic transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group. While the characteristics underlying authentic transformational leadership have received attention, less emphasis has been placed on how and under what conditions transformational leadership achieves authenticity within the leader–follower relationship. Taking a case study approach, this chapter assesses Lee Kuan Yew’s leadership style, specifically his ‘Asian Values’ vision. By addressing the sociocultural contexts in which authentic transformational leadership occurs, we argue that Lee’s leadership style ultimately failed because his vision was incongruent with the ontologies and values of other societies in Asia, resulting in a message that appeared inauthentic. This chapter concludes with recommendations for making authentic transformational leadership more functional across different cultural contexts.