Tao on the Issues - Leadership, Part 1

Anyone who half glances through the Tao Te Ching quickly realizes that Lao Tzu has a lot to say on the concept of leadership. In fact, the latter portion of this book deals with leadership in almost every verse. Though certainly not an exhaustive list, here are a few that deal with this topic:

• Verses 58 & 59
  
• Verses 60, 64, 65, 66, 67
  
• Verse 72
• Verse 81

What are some of the traits that Lao Tzu believes represent the hallmarks of a quality leader? Let's look at two of the verses cited above for clues.

Why is the sea king of a hundred streams?
Because it lies below them.
Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.
If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility.
If he would lead them, he must follow behind.
In this way when the sage rules, the people will not feel oppressed;
When he stands before them, they will not be harmed.
The whole world will support him and will not tire of him.

Because he does not compete,
He does not meet competition. (66)

I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;
From humility comes leadership.

Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave;
They abandon economy, but try to be generous;
They do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
This is certain death. (from 67)

Of these various traits, the one I think a lot people have trouble wrapping their heads around is leading by following behind. Jesus is attributed with saying much the same then when he said, the first will come last and the last will come first.

For me, leading by following simply means not standing at the head of the class micromanaging every aspect of the task at hand. It means having trust in those who work with you and offering gentle guidance along the way. It is the clear understanding that, whenever anyone tries to impose (force) their will upon others, the process breaks down into resentment and animus.

The second trait that stands out for me is that of not competing. As alluded to in the paragraph above, competition engenders resentment and anger because the losers always envy the victors and many will plot to turn the tables. When we move away from the idea of winners and losers, we remove a great amount of tension and it creates an environment in which people work together rather than against each other.

The other traits that Lao Tzu holds dear are mercy (compassion) and economy (what Derek Lin translates as "conservation"). A merciful/compassionate leader looks out for the needs of all and tries to avoid decisions and actions that can harm aspects of the nation. The leader who values economy/conservation does not waste resources OR rhetoric on anything that would bring disharmony.

In at least two subsequent posts, I will compare Lao Tzu's vision of the good leader with the kind of national leaders we find in the US today.