The Invisible Leader

An unworthy leader is despised,
a common leader is feared,
a good leader wins praise,
but the people are hardly even aware
of a great leader; in fact,
they think they are leading themselves.

Based on verse 17 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Dwight Goddard

Immateriality

A wheel may have thirty spokes,
but its usefulness lies in the empty hub.

Excerpted from verse 11 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Dwight Goddard

Lead Without Force

Because wise Leaders love their Followers,
they lead without using force.

Based on verse 10 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Dwight Goddard

Humility

In practicing humility,
a Leader is worthy of praise.
By putting others first,
a Leader becomes great.

Based on verse 7 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Dwight Goddard

The Way of the Leader

The Way of the Leader is to do his duty, not to strive with anyone.

Based on verse 81 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

The Way of the Leader

The Way of the Leader is to conquer without striving, evoke responses without speaking, attract others without summoning, and calmly achieve shared visions.

The reflective Net of Gems is vast and sparsely meshed, yet nothing can escape it.

Based on verse 73 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

Reflection

The light of Leadership shines everywhere, illuminating the guidance that those around you need to see.

The Way of the Leader

In handling affairs, people often spoil them just at the point of success.
With heedfulness in the beginning and patience at the end, nothing will be spoiled.

Excerpted from verse 64 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

The Way of the Leader

Difficult things of the world
Can only be tackled when they are easy.
Big things of the world
Can only be achieved by attending to their small beginnings.

Excerpted from verse 63 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

The Way of the Leader

What is well planted cannot be uprooted.

Excerpted from verse 54 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

Reflection

In any organization, Leadership appears like a reflection; thus do we see the Leader according to the differences in our understandings.

The Power of Metaphor

Leaders, read between the lines.

The Way of the Leader

To give life but to claim nothing,
To do your work but to set no store by it,
To be a leader, not a butcher,
This is called hidden Virtue.

Excerpted from verse 51 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu

The Tyrant's M.O.

Also known as "the bungee boss" for the ability to spring in when an issue hits senior management's radar then spring back out again when the coast is clear, the tyrant, according to Wiseman and McKeown, "has two modes: One is 'all over it' and the other is 'completely absent'" (p. 183).

Found in Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman with Greg McKeown

The Way of the Leader

The Leader has no interests of his own, but takes the interests of those around him as his own.

Based on verse 49 in Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by John C.H. Wu