from Verse Eighty-TwoThose who wish to be above others should lower themselves to them in their speech; those who wish to precede others should follow them. Then the world will emulate their love and promote their humaneness and justice, so there will be no cruelty.~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
For me, the above passage represents a more poetic way of saying, Lead by Example.
Too often, both our leaders and each of us wants to lead by words. It's the do as I say not necessarily what I do mentality. The problem with this kind of strategy is that it doesn't work! People pay more attention to what other people do than to what they say, particularly when the two don't intersect.
So, if I want others to treat me with kindness and respect, it's incumbent on me to treat them with kindness and respect. And I don't need to announce that I'm doing it; I just need to do it.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
Too often, both our leaders and each of us wants to lead by words. It's the do as I say not necessarily what I do mentality. The problem with this kind of strategy is that it doesn't work! People pay more attention to what other people do than to what they say, particularly when the two don't intersect.
So, if I want others to treat me with kindness and respect, it's incumbent on me to treat them with kindness and respect. And I don't need to announce that I'm doing it; I just need to do it.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
I will restrain myself from telling you about the meetings I had to attend today! Words, words, words.
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