17
sunlight highlighting
a bright, tiny emerald bug
a jewel from a dead king’s crown
Lesson # 17
Most leaders
want to leave a legacy.
Many leave a trail
of tears and wounds behind them.
The deeply wise leader
leaves no trace behind.
Those they led still believe
that they did it
all by themselves.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number Seventeen: Kinds of leaders
There are many levels of leadership
The Despotic Leader
is one who abuses power to succeed
often at a cost to the ones they lead
The Authoritarian Leader
is one who’s success comes
from controlling the ones they lead
The Charismatic Leader
is one who inspires others
and their success leads to praise and fame.
The Sage Leader
is one who trusts those they lead and therefore
their people trust them
In Akido the Master barely moves
They leverage the momentum of their adversary to throw him across the room
So too a Master leader barely leads
They use the genius and expertise of those they lead
to thrust the project forward almost invisibly
When the Master leader is done and the work is over
the people who they led believe
that it was the work of the group that created success
They believe that their success came from their efforts not the leader’s
NUMBER SEVENTEEN
In ancient times
The people knew that they had rulers.
Then they loved and praised them,
Then they feared them,
Then they despised them.
The rulers did not trust the people,
The people did not trust the rulers.
The rulers were grave, their words were precious.
The people having finished their work,
and brought it to a successful issue, said:
“We affirm the Self.”
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number Seventeen (commentary) How much leadership is enough?
Here are some contemporary labels for leadership styles:
Command and Control Leader This leader uses power to push their people towards completion. This leadership style is often used in crisis situations. The leader may end up being resented by those they lead.
Rational Leader This leader sees that their role is to get clear goals, access performance and reward success. To them excessive emotions are a hindrance to performance. Their people can feel unseen.
Motivating Leader This leader uses acknowledgements, verbal rewards, praise and installing a fear of failure to motivate their people. Their people can feel special, or they can feel used or manipulated.
Inspirational Leader This leader uses charisma to lead their people, inspiring them to greatness. Their people feel lucky to be serving such a special person and praise their leader often. Their people can also feel like they are inferior to their “amazing” leader.
Quietly Empowering Leader This leader seems to not be doing very much. They use the art of getting out of the way to empower the people they lead to discover their own greatness. They are modest. Their people are proud of their own accomplishments and barely notice who led them. They rarely think to acknowledge their leader, because their leader isn’t looking for that.
Tangent and Tool # 17, Leading through quiet empowerment: (Reflective exercise) Take an honest look at your own leadership style, using these categories. Then ask someone you trust to give you an honest, unvarnished opinion about how they see your leadership style, using these categories.