Greater China-Taiwan is known for its vast natural beauty and production of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. Formerly known as Formosa, meaning beautiful island, this small market of nearly 24 million people punches above its weight in nearly every metric, including GDP. Taiwanese leaders are uniquely positioned globally thanks to expertise and exports.
Taiwanese business leaders have a unique style of leadership that creates different expectations for employees than what may be expected from business leaders in North American, European, and other Asian markets. Since 2007, Hogan has collaborated with distributors in Greater China-Taiwan to offer our assessments and select reports in Traditional Chinese to the local market as well as to collect data on leaders from Taipei to Kaohsiung. Two authorized Hogan distributors in the Taiwan market, Infelligent and Mobley Group Pacific, reviewed Hogan’s benchmark of nearly 500 Taiwanese executives to paint a unique portrait of leadership emergence in the beautiful island.
What Do Taiwanese Leaders Want?
Hogan’s Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) measures the core goals, values, drivers, and interests that determine what people desire and strive to attain.
Commerce
MVPI Commerce, or valuing business activities, money, and financial gain, emerges as Taiwanese executive leaders’ highest value and driving force. Leaders with high scores on this scale tend to come across as hardworking, planful, and organized, and tend to maintain a keen focus on budgets and profitability. Leaders who score high on Commerce tend to motivate their teams through offering material success and consider compensation as a way to reward or punish their team members.
Over the past decade, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has gone through remarkable growth. The stock dividend system has attracted top talent to invest their expertise in this sector, strengthening the competitiveness and achievements of companies such as TSMC, UMC, and MediaTek. This success ties to Taiwanese leaders’ high emphasis on the value Commerce. According to Jim Hwang, CEO at Infelligent, the impressive foreign exchange reserves and trade performance reflect the sharp business sense of leaders of organizations. Many businesses have strategically relocated manufacturing facilities to other countries to reduce costs and maximize Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) profits, showcasing the values of Taiwanese leaders who prioritize hard work and financial success.
Tradition
On average, Taiwanese leaders score low on Tradition. Leaders with low scores on this scale tend to come across as valuing change, modernity, and a progressive lifestyle. Per Hwang, leaders in Taiwan don’t mind challenging traditional systems and continuously pushing for innovation and change. These leaders may be more nontraditional in beliefs and may prefer more flexible working environments.
Aesthetics
Compared to the global benchmark of executives, executive leaders in Greater China-Taiwan score high on Aesthetics, 17 percentile points higher. These leaders tend to value design, beauty, and quality. They may constantly focus on what’s new and what’s next, turning their attention to changing market conditions or new industry directions. They will tend to make decisions that are in line with their appreciation for quality and design. However, to those they lead, this value may cause them to come across as unpredictable or unfocused if they are constantly chasing after new trends.
Hedonism
Taiwanese executives also obtain high scores on Hedonism, 16 percentile points higher than the global benchmark. Hedonism concerns an interest in pleasure, excitement, and variety, including food, entertainment, and even work. In Taiwan’s work culture, it’s not uncommon to sponsor an annual trip with colleagues to bolster morale and enjoy exploring a new location. Additionally, every year companies put on an annual end-of-year banquet, called a weiya, for employees to have great food and drink, win expensive prizes through raffle drawings, and sometimes even dress up in costume.
Affiliation
However, Taiwanese leaders tend to prioritize work-life balance, valuing family time and personal well-being more than enjoying life with colleagues. Affiliation pertains to social contact and working with others Taiwanese leaders have an Affiliation score four percentile points lower than the global benchmark. These leaders may prefer their private, family time, and as a result, the work culture of after-hours entertainment is not as common as in countries like Japan.
How Will Taiwanese Leaders Get What They Want?
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) measures how we relate to others when we are at our best. It provides valuable insight into how people work, how they lead, and how they achieve success. In reviewing the HPI, we find that Taiwanese business leaders have unique patterns of behavior to get their needs met.
Inquisitive
Taiwanese leaders’ highest scoring bright-side scale is Inquisitive. Inquisitive pertains to the degree to which someone seems imaginative and innovative in problem-solving. Those who score high on HPI Inquisitive tend to have a lot of ideas and be resourceful problem solvers. Often, these individuals are adventurous, curious, open-minded, and strategic. According to Hwang, by combining MVPI Aesthetics with Inquisitive, their open value set and mindset has enabled Taiwanese leaders to pursue creative breakthroughs, challenge established norms, and adopt progressive attitudes and policies.
Ambition
In reviewing the global benchmark of executives, Taiwanese executives, on average, score lower on the Ambition scale by 17 percentile points. This suggests they prioritize being supportive, collaborative, and adaptable to the perspectives of their teams, peers, and supervisors. These leaders are less likely to pressure their direct reports or engage in unnecessary rivalries and conflicts with colleagues. However, to others, these leaders may be perceived as unassertive, indecisive, or unwilling to take initiative. By reviewing trends in other east Asian markets of Greater China and Japan, some of Taiwan’s key trading partners, we see a shared tendency toward preferring group consensus and rallying support by aligning with stakeholders, which likely serve success throughout the region.
Learning Approach
Finally, Taiwanese leaders typically score lower on HPI’s Learning Approach scale. This reflects a pragmatic, goal-oriented approach to learning and a focuson acquiring knowledge and skills directly applicable to solving problems. Rather than engaging in peripheral readings or training, they prioritize practical resources that aid in completing tasks effectively. In Taiwanese organizations, there is a strong preference for on-the-job training, cross-functional job rotations, and experiential learning opportunities. According to Hwang, even though Taiwanese companies have established a strong presence in global OEM manufacturing, they often lack the competency for building globally recognized brands. They also show weaknesses in global strategic planning and market M&A. This reflects a leader focus on practical experiences rather than visionary industry insights.
What Will Get in Taiwanese Leaders’ Way?
The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) measures overused strengths that emerge in times of increased strain, pressure, or boredom. If not managed, these qualities can damage one’s reputation and relationships, derailing one’s career and success. Taiwanese leaders score high across the HDS scales of Excitable, Skeptical, Cautious, Reserved, and Leisurely. Those who score high on this cluster of scales, called the Moving Away cluster, tend to manage anxiety by withdrawing and creating distance as a method of dealing with insecurity.
Cautious
Of the Moving Away scales, Taiwanese leaders’ highest derailer is Cautious. Leaders who display this pattern are known as careful, thorough, independent, and objective, which facilitates developing root-cause solutions. However, they may tend avoid decision making, especially for fear of failure. This may lead others to perceive them as inhibited, aloof, or cold, as well as indecisive and risk averse. In times of stress, Taiwanese leaders may avoid innovating, resist making tough decisions, and follow company policy rigidly. This can cause difficulties for subordinates and colleagues and can hinder work progress in a timely way.
Dutiful
Lastly, Taiwanese executives score notably higher on the Dutiful scale—16 percentile points above the global average. This suggests they may hesitate to make independent decisions without approval, struggle with managing upward, and show a strong deference to authority, potentially at the expense of advocating for their teams. The prominence of high Dutiful scores indicates that individuals who align with and adhere to authority are more likely to ascend to leadership positions. This reflects organizational structures that prioritize compliance over dissent and may lead to delayed timelines for fear of acting without the boss’s approval.
According to Joanne Lee, consultant at Mobley Group Pacific, the combination of high Dutiful and high Cautious reflects a traditional “second place” philosophy in leadership, revealing a cultural expectation of strong respect for authority. This phenomenon explains the existence of numerous hidden champion companies in Taiwan— such as those producing screws or adhesive tapes— that may not be publicly listed or as renowned as tech firms but dominate their industries globally in market share. These companies achieve remarkable revenues through steady progress and continuous improvement while remaining relatively low profile. This understated approach has proven to be a key factor in their success.
Additionally, per Hwang, Taiwan is filled with family-owned businesses, where a paternalistic leadership culture often prevails. These expectations are marked by respect for authority and adherence to the decisions of superiors. Despite Taiwanese leaders possessing unique and independent perspectives, these expectations may compel leaders at various levels to confirm with the expectations of their superiors, resulting in careful compliance, analysis paralysis, or waiting on their leaders’ decisions. Those who engage in this type of careful consideration and deference tend to be promoted and rewarded.
What Can We Learn About Taiwanese Leaders?
Taiwanese business executives exhibit a distinctive leadership style shaped by cultural, economic, and organizational factors. They are highly driven by MVPI Commerce, reflecting a strong emphasis on financial success, hard work, and strategic cost management, which aligns with Taiwan’s globally competitive industries, such as semiconductors. They also value MVPI Aesthetics and Hedonism, indicating a focus on creativity, innovation, and quality, as well as a balanced approach to work-life enjoyment. Leaders’ everyday behaviors highlight high HPI Inquisitive, fostering strategic problem-solving and openness to change, while lower Ambition and lower Learning Approach suggest a collaborative and hands-on approach to getting work done. Finally, potential derailers, such as high Moving Away scales and high Dutiful, may hinder decision-making, reflecting a preference for deference to authority and risk aversion.
According to Lee, with the unique combination of low Tradition, high Aesthetics, high Commerce, high Inquisitive, and high Cautious, leaders in Taiwan tend to be imaginative, aspiring to achieve larger goals while maintaining control to ensure immediate commercial success. Taiwan is a small island with limited natural resources, and various economic challenges have fostered a heightened resilience among the people and leaders.
In this context, Taiwanese leaders’ innovation models lean toward a focus on feature development to enhance cost efficiency and operational effectiveness. This aligns with the government’s ongoing efforts to promote industrial upgrades, which have been crucial in Taiwan’s transition from OEM to original design manufacturing (ODM). However, many companies shifting toward original brand manufacturing (OBM) face longer and more complex learning curves. The initial investments can be substantial, and when short-term profits do not meet expectations, leaders may hesitate in decision-making due to the pressure of maintaining cost control, potentially missing opportunities. According to Lee’s recent experience serving clients in the technology sector, leaders face challenges in driving innovation while managing further transformations.
Lee also notes that Hedonism stands out as a unique value. As a global hub for semiconductor research and development, Taiwan has cultivated a significant pool of talent in this field. Many people dedicate extensive hours to their work, finding joy in the exploration and development process. They take pride in showcasing their products and contributions on the world stage, embodying the work hard, play hard ethos.
In combination, these unique insights reveal Taiwanese leaders’ strengths in balancing innovation, pragmatism, and tradition, while also highlighting opportunities for growth in fostering greater decisiveness and global strategic impact.