The best followers are those who think it was their own idea to follow you.
This is from Laozi’s Dao De Jing:
“The best leaders are carefree and at ease, for they rarely issue orders.
Their task accomplished, the people simply say, ‘Hasn’t it always been so?’”
Our models of leadership tend to emphasize the active, the interventionist, even the coercive. But my own experience is that the best leaders really are those who do little explicit “leading.” They tend to facilitate rather than direct, empower rather than command, let go rather than seize the reins.
Kuni’s style of leadership will be challenged in a world of warfare and plots, intrigue and betrayal, but there is a through line of empowering those who follow him.
Jia’s approach to leadership is rather different.
However, I can’t say either is definitely more effective than the other, not when measured by their respective political goals.
Yellagirlgc and 17 other people liked this
