Thursday, August 25, 2011

Five Fingers of Tao: Pointing Out 21st Century Leadership


1.     Tao Means How
"To see things in the seed, that is genius." -Lao Tzu 

Tao is synergy of principle & creation, and it’s a process, about how and what. All process reveals the underlying principles, the Tao leadership convey a sense of harmony, create the synergy between business nature and human nature, and link strategy & execution via observation, communication and principles. .




2.     Tao Means Polarities
"The words of truth are always paradoxical." -Lao Tzu 

All behavior consists of opposites or polarities, which means any over-determined behavior produces its opposite: Over-complexity make inefficiency; on the positive side: simplicity is ultimate sophistication 

Knowing Tao, the wise leader does not push to make things happen, but instead pull the people, process and technology together seamlessly, to build up the high performance self-functioning team and deliver the innovative products and services.

3.     Tao means Being Oneself
"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." -Lao Tzu 

Being authentic, the wise leader pay respectful attention to all behavior, dig into substance beyond the style, inspire the team to be open for the opinions and take innovative initiative. By being self , the nature is on your side, you can lead effortlessly and achieve the ultimate goals.  

4.     Tao Means Equal Treatment
Silence is a source of great strength." -Lao Tzu

Tao is unity, neither is one person or one people better than the rest of humanity, the same principle is as the golden rule: treat others as we want to be treated. Tao also means unbiased leadership with a little humility in order: silence is a great source of strength, the leadership harmony comes from influencing, not command & control..


5.     Tao Means Yin: the Open Collaboration
"Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it." -Lao Tzu

Being open and receptive is called Ying, the pond in valley or water. The wise leader is like water: cleanses and refreshes all creatures without distinction and judgment, it penetrate deep beneath the surface, it’s fluid, responsive and flexible; From observing the movements of water, the leader can learn that in action, timing is everything.

In conclusion: the form of “dong without doing” is the ultimate expression of Tao leadership

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