Helping Leaders Lead
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children,
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social conditions;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you lived.
This is to have succeeded.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Intense belief in a goal is one of the most powerful forces on earth. Joan of Arc was a twelve year old shepherd girl when she developed the belief that she would lead the army of France against England. The intensity of her belief was overwhelming. At age seventeen she appeared before and explained her belief to Prince Charles, who was so impressed he gave her a coat of armor and an army to lead. Loan of Arc then led a successful siege against the supposedly unconquerable bastion of Orleans.
To repeat myself, intense belief in a cause or goal is one of the most powerful forces on earth. No matter what the odds may be, or how insurmountable the barriers appear, belief dictates that there is a way. The armor for your belief and goals may take the form of a stethoscope, a typewriter, or a microphone. Your sword may be patience, unselfishness, or a never-say-die attitude.
I believe success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination. Notice that I didn’t say it would be easy. Worthwhile accomplishments seldom are.
~ Zig Ziglar, Steps to the Top, (1985)
Vision and Organization
To choose a direction, a leader must first have developed a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization. The image, which we call a vision, may be as vague as a dream or as precise as a goal or mission statement. The critical pint is that a vision articulates a view of a realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization, a condition that is better in some important ways than what now exists.
~ Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, “Leaders, The Strategies For Taking Charge” (1985)
Words that cannot be heard of are natural.
A gale can not blow for the whole morning.
A rainstorm cannot last for the whole day.
What caused these effects?
Heaven and earth.
Even the actions of nature do not last long.
How much more can human’s behavior last when digressed from the natural Tao?
Thus, one who follows the Great Tao,
When Tao is present, he will benefit the world with Tao.
When Te is present, he will benefit the world with Te.
When Tao and Te are both lost, he identifies himself with the people and benefits them with the enlightenment of teaching.
One who identifies with Tao is glad to be with Tao.
One who identifies with Te is glad to be with Te.
One who identifies with the loss of Tao and Te is glad to be with the lost.
If one does not have enough faith in “Tao,” how can he assist others to practice with faith?
~ Lau Tzu, Tao Te Ching
AS light displaces darkness, and quiet follows storm, so gladness displaces sorrow, and peace comes after pain. The deeper wisdom which flows from acquaintance with sorrow brings with it a holier and more abiding joy than that shallow excitement that preceded sorrow. Between the lesser joys of the senses and the greater joy of the spirit lies the dark vale of sorrow through which all earthly pilgrims pass, and having passed through it, the heavenly Joy, the Abiding Gladness, is henceforth our companion. They who have passed from the earthly to the heavenly pilgrimage have lifted the dark veil of sorrow from the radiant face of Truth.
He whose treasure is Truth, who fashions his life in accordance with Wisdom, will find the Joy which does not pass away; crossing the wide ocean of illusion, he will come to the sorrowless Shore.
~ James Allen, Daily Meditations
Leaders who develop leaders experience an incredible multiplication effect in their organizations that can be achieved in no other way – not by increasing resources, reducing costs, increasing profit margins, analyzing systems, implementing quality management procedures, or doing anything else.
~ John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Remember, no more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and prosperity, than is required to accept misery and poverty. A great poet has correctly stated this universal truth through these lines:
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay me no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
~ Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich (1937)
Ask people their opinions, to help build their self-confidence.
Ask them for favors, to arouse their cooperativeness.
Answer their question by turning it back on them.
Ask them “and, in addition to that?” to get to the bottom of things.
Try giving orders in the form of questions to keep cooperation.
Make suggestions to the boss in the form of questions.
Ask questions that will let people talk themselves into a cooperative attitude.
Ask Questions to win cooperation.
~ Donald and Eleanor Laird, The Technique of Handling People (1943)
Harness the imagination: Sometimes curbing her, sometimes giving her rein, for she is the whole of happiness. She sets to rights even the understanding. She sinks to tyranny, not satisfied with mere faith, but demanding works. Thus she becomes the mistress of life itself. She does so with pleasure or with pain, according to the nonsense presented. She makes people contended or discontented with themselves. By dangling before some nothing but the specter of their eternal suffering, she becomes the scourage of these fools. To others she shows nothing but fortune and romance, while merrily laughing. Of all this she is capable if not held in check by the wisest of wills.
~ Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
To yield is to preserve the whole.
To be misjudged is to be straightened.
To be hollow is to be filled.
To be battered is to be renewed.
To be in need is to possess.
To be abundant is to be confused.
Therefore, the saint embraces the “Oneness” as a standard for the world.
The wise one is not prejudiced, hence he is enlightened.
The wise one is not self-opinioned, hence he is outstanding.
The wise one does not boast of himself, hence he shall receive the credit.
The wise one does not praise his own deeds, hence can long endure.
Because the wise one does not conflict with others and therefore the world cannot contend against him.
It is not true as the ancients say, “To yield is to
~ Lau Tzu, Tao Te Ching
