leadership

Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu is said to have been a philosopher from China. As a philosopher, Tzu sought to provide answers to questions that concerned people and the place they occupied on earth (Kaltenmark, 2). Lao Tzu was born in 604 BC. Tzu was both a writer and a scholar. Lao Tzu is was the author of Tao Te Ching, a book that expressed the thought of Taoist. He is therefore said to be the father of Taoism.

Lao Tzu’s book Tao Te Ching is a book that contains many lessons on how to live simple and peaceful life. Tzu in his book addressed many leadership lessons that one can learn. Through his book, Lao Tzu is recognized as a good leader (Kaltenmark, 6). From the content of his book Tao Te Ching, Tzu would be considered among the best leaders in the society. His teachings about leadership portray his good leadership character that every leader must adapt.

Tao Te Ching, original Taoism of Lao Tzu, contains some good ideas or thoughts about leadership. The book gives an insight on perspectives of good leadership that Tzu discussed. Lao Tzu’s teachings have a lot of principles from which leaders can build their strength (Heider, 5). According to Lao Tzu, leaders need to possess some characteristics that can make leadership an easy to take task. Following are some of the leadership qualities he advocated for in his book and that every modern leader must possess.

Leaders Must Always Remain Open to Any New Ideas

According to Lao Tzu, leaders should be attentive to their staff and positively accept any challenges from followers. They should not just cling to what they think is right (McManus, 118). In case any leader feels he/she is right with his/her ideas, it is good to put it clear your opinions as to why their views need a consideration (Heider, 66). Therefore, clearly from his book, Lao Tzu was a leader who considered and acted according to people’s will.

Leaders Must Serve as an Example

Good leaders act as teachers by setting an example to be adopted by followers. From McManus, leaders are not entitled to commanding and ordering subordinates. Instead of demands and orders, leaders can use non-verbal communication to direct their followers (119). They can get engaged into doing things with the main aim of providing direction to their subordinates who are always in keen observation. To the extent of expressing this though in his piece of literature, Lao Tzu must was therefore a leader who led with example.

Leaders Must Avoid Role Playing

Good leaders should be humble and promote equality every time. Effective leaders are bot biased and give attention to every subordinate regardless of rank and experience. According to McManus (120), ideas important for a person’s leadership situation may originate from anybody. Thus, giving all individuals a chance to involve themselves in leadership roles promotes equality among followers. Thus, this is one of the characteristics that Lao Tzu addressed in his book Tao Te Ching.

Leaders Must Serve their Subordinates

Lastly, among his thoughts, Lao Tzualso held that any leader must be ready to serve their subordinate staff. This, they ensure not do by forcing the staff to do according to their will (Wu, 30). Instead, they accomplish by assisting them perform their duties in their best desired ways possible. As clearly put in Tao Te Ching, leaders have a huge part to play in facilitating timely delivery (Hinton, 45). Lao Tzu therefore supports the idea that leaders should be ready to serve their staff or subordinate.

Therefore, Lao Tzu’s philosophy was of great good to people, both leaders and followers of subordinates. Being an author, Tzu addressed many different issues regarding necessary qualities that leaders should possess for effective leadership. These he addressed in his book called Tao Te Ching. Some good leadership qualities as explained in his book are; serving subordinate, avoid role playing and openness to any new ideas. Therefore, examining different ancient leaders, Lao Tzu is among those who cannot be forgotten due to his good guide for effective leadership anywhere, whether at home or at workplace.

Works Cited

Heider, John. The Tao of leadership: Lao Tzu's Tao te ching adapted for a new age. Green Dragon Books, 2014.

Hinton, David. Tao Te Ching. Counterpoint, 2015.

Kaltenmark, Max. Lao Tzu and taoism. Stanford University Press, 1969.

McManus, Robert M., and Gamaliel Perruci. Understanding leadership: An arts and humanities perspective. Routledge, 2015.

Wu, John CH. Tao te ching. EDAF, 2018.