Chapter 17 - Leaders

The highest rulers, people do not know they have them
The next level, people love them and praise them
The next level, people fear them
The next level, people despise them
If the rulers' trust is insufficient
Have no trust in them

Proceeding calmly, valuing their words
Task accomplished, matter settled
The people all say, "We did it naturally"

What does this mean?

It is all too obvious and unfortunate that all of our politicians and true decision makers in this day and age file into the 'next levels' of love, fear and despise in various forms.  Definately very few of the deserve any sort of trust due to the opaqueness of most political systems, apathy of the common people and the influence of outside wealth.

Look at our democracy, where our lawmakers are constantly afraid of losing approval from those with wealth.  Instead of working towards what is right and being held to it, they are the slaves of that very favor from the elite.  They hide behind emotional pleas and cherry picked facts to hold up their actions that buckle under true analysis.  Then, to keep their job, politicians are forced to brag and tell everyone why they should be re-elected instead of letting their decisions speak for themselves.

It is hard today to truly lead in terms of community.  In the workplace and in your family at least, you have the opprotunity to lead.  In every place where you lead and are visible to others, you are in a position to break someone's trust.  Once that happens, no one will listen to you because no one can believe your motives.

The solution is to not be visible as a leader in a traditional sense.  Then no one can second guess your motives.

How can I use this?

Lead through action.  When you have an emergency wildfire or flood, waiting for the government leaders to tell people to save your house or even your town might be too late.  The true leader is that person who starts sandbagging around their house right away. or chopping down the trees before they burn.  With the right action, others would follow him because it is the right thing to do.

This applies to all sorts of things, and not just emergencies.  If you start exercising and eating right, you can inspire others to do be healthier.  If you clear out the clutter in your house, visitors will admire how nice it is and start their own projects.  If you study philosophy and become more mindful and present, people will want to learn from you why you seem so happy and optimistic even in awful circumstances.

In a best case scenario, they might even ask you how to do it and be ready to listen to you.  More likely they will just look it up on the internet.  At worst, they do nothing which is fine, simply because your life is better by being the change you want.

When the task is done or their life is better, they will probably think it was their idea in the first place.

Be skeptical but flexible.  Just because someone is popular or unpopular doesn't mean they are right or wrong.  Just because someone puts in a lot of hours and is proud of their work doesn't mean it is valuable.  Don't just believe what you are told because it sounds right and you heard it on TV or the internet.

Very few people are actually looking for enlightenment.  They have other agendas.

Most people want fame, power, family or some other desire.  These basic wants that drive our culture make me skeptical of their motives, especially because people don't see it as self-interest right away.  Even a motive like family and friends is simply a broader selfishness that include only the ones you like the best.

That's not to say you never deal with anyone.  That's not realistic.  However, you do have to understand and empathize with why people are motivated before you can understand what they will do and what they want.  Think about what sort of ego boost do people expect by helping you and what service do they expect in return.  Once you understand that, you know what you can ask of those around you when the time comes and figure out if its really worth the cost.

Who can you really trust?

You can always prove someone's trust simply by how open and selfless they can be.  Someone that owns up to their mistakes and takes responsibility is trustworthy.  Someone who is humble about achieving a goal is trustworthy.  Someone that is willing to say "I don't know" and willing to be wrong is trustworthy.  Of course, the best way to encourage it is to be

These are the same things as trying to live with the Tao in mind: a willingness to be honest, vulernable and selfless.