What do the best of leaders do?
Pick the right men for the job, and let them get the job done.
“The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader that is despised.If you don’t trust the people,
they will become untrustworthy.”Lao Tzu on Tao of Leadership
Tao of leadership is more like farming, rather than hunting.
In farming, you plough the land and plant the seeds, but see nothing. You water the plants and remove the weeds. Still, you see nothing. You patiently wait in faith before the fruits are born. However, before they are ripe, you can do nothing.
Finally, it is time for harvest. When the next season comes around, you harvest again.
Hunting is different. You capture the prey, and enjoy the reward immeditately. You have to, nevertheless, continuously hunting for new preys. There is no recurring harvests.
As a leader, if you can function like a farmer, or a hunter.
As a farmer-type of leader, you invest in, and cultivate your relationship with your peaple. You may not get anything immediately, but there will come a time when you can start harvesting, and enjoy the fruits of loyalty team in the long run.
If you behave like a hunter, you can exact respect and obedience by force. It will, however, ‘kill’ the loyalty. If there is no loyalty, the leadership will not last.
Those who lead people by following the Tao
don’t use weapons to enforce their will.
Weapons often turn upon the wielder.
A very valuable lesson that I’ve learned about success is to value failure.
It sounds paradoxical, but life is paradoxical.
There are opposite forces in all things we do. Day is not purely day; and night is not purely night. The moment when the sun rises, the day is inching to the night every second.
So why must a failure be a failure, and not a journey taking you closer to success?
In order to attract success, learn to see failure not as failure, but a necessary element of success. Only when you are able to see failure in this way, that you are able to spot in failure opportunities that breed success.
As Lao Tze says,
“If you want to become whole,
first let yourself become broken.
If you want to become straight,
first let yourself become twisted.
If you want to become full,
first let yourself become empty.
If you want to become new,
first let yourself become old.
Those whose desires are few gets them,
those whose desires are great go astray. ”
(Chapter 22)
A great way to avoid failure is not to see failure as failure.
Jump out from the ‘failure’! By doing so, you ‘ll be able to spot opportunities for success in what do not seem to work. As Thomas Edison puts it, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
As a result, even the most disastrous failure can be turned into a miracle of success. “There are two ways to live your life – one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle,” says Albert Einstein.
Lao Tze sees this is another way, “Good fortune has its roots in disaster, and disaster lurks with good fortune. Who knows why these things happen, or when this cycle will end? Thus the Master makes things change without interfering. She is probing yet causes no harm. Straightforward, yet does not impose her will. Radiant, and easy on the eye.”
A secret weapon behind top achievers is the ‘energy field‘ they work in.
What is the ‘energy field’ that we are talking about?
In the context of Tao, it is described as yin-yang energy. Do not bother about the terminology if you don’t really understand what it is. Just feel it. There is an energy field within ourselves. There is an energy field between ourselves and the things that we interact with. At the same time, there is an energy field in the universe.
The high achievers knows how to make the energy field work in their favor. Wittingly or unwittingly.
Try it.
When you meet a person, first smile at her, and then, turn your face sulky. Take a pause to see how the chemistry between yourself and the person change. This is how an energy field works. You will be able to tell the difference in the change of the energy in this case. It begins positive, then turns negative. Decide on which of the two manners that works best for you , and use it in your favor — on your way to greater achievement.
In Lao Tze, it is said that:
The Tao gave birth to One.
The One gave birth to Two.
The Two gave birth to Three.
The Three gave birth to all of creation.
All things carry Yin
yet embrace Yang.
They blend their life breaths
in order to produce harmony. (Chapter 42)
Contact Tekson at http://www.tao-in-you.com
A secret weapon behind people of high achievement is that they do not just work hard. Working hard alone does not lead to exceptional performance.
In addition to working hard, they work on the magnetic field in which they work.
One way to do this is to see your work as if it’s your romantic partner. See it as if it is someone that you have dearly fallen in love with.
We all know the power of romantic love. If you have not experienced it yourself, you probably would have learned about it from novels and movies like Romeo and Juliet. Romantic love is powerful. You are willing to die for someone you are truly in love with.
The moment that you can see your work as something you truly love, the magnetic field in which you work in changes. You no longer get frustrated easily for not being able to see immediate results. Obstacles become something that strengthens rather than taking your enthusiasm away.
This alone will lead you to exceptional performance.
From the perspective of Tao, the phenomenon is seen as the working of yin and yang.
As Laozi says,
All things carry Yin yet embrace Yang. They blend their life, breath in order to produce harmony. (Lao Tze Chapter 42)
Contact Tekson.
Why many people can’t make decision, even about the most insignificant things in life?
They are not sure what they should eat for lunch and wear for the party; not to mention how they should react when their bosses ask them to comment on something.
What is keeping them from making a decision?
Little do they know, it could be their desire.
When they think of eating Italian pasta, they miss the steak. When they are about to put on their jeans, they miss their skirts.
The problem is our desire is endless. And if you keep thinking about the many things your want, no decision can ever be made.
Instead, find out the best options available, before entertaining your desire. You’ll find decision-making is not exactly a hassle.
Learn from Lao Tze:
Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real. (Chapter 1)
Contact Tekson.
One of the biggest reasons people fail to become a good leader is that they cannot make decision.
They’re not sure what they should do, even about the most insignificant things in life. Which movies to go to? What on the desk or in the carboard should be cast into the dustbin? Should I say ‘no’ to an invitation?
As a result, they lead their life without making decisions.
If you want to be a leader — and unfortunately you are having the decision-making problem that I have just described — you’ll need to change. Decision making is fundamental to leadership. You will not want to follow anyone who does not know where he wants to go. So if you want to lead, you must let your people have clarity of direction.
What is the first step that you should take to change this?
The simple answer is: start making decisions!
Cultivate the courage to make decisions.
But start small. So that you will not run into too much risk when going through the learning process. Make many, many small decisions, and be ready to accept the mistakes that you make in the process.
You may go to a wrong movie, throw away the wrong documents, and hurt a friend’s ego by saying ‘no’ to her invitation, but you learn in the process.
If you would continue to make decisions and review the results of the decisions, the communities effect can be tremendous. You will get better and better, and eventually have the ability to make decisions as a leader, comfortably!
In order to be a great leader, start small.
Just like what Lao Tze says:
The Tao is nameless and unchanging.
Although it appears insignificant,
nothing in the world can contain it. (Chapter 32)
