According to Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, a leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it all ourselves.
I resonate with this idea of collaborative leadership that empowers others. But I don’t expect old Lao Tzu would have imagined that his wisdom might also apply to women, who I believe are particularly skilled at bringing people together in this way.
This is leadership without ego, focusing on the power of the group rather than the individual. This is the kind of leadership we are sorely lacking in the world right now.
Last week I attended a workshop run by Nick Williams of Inspired Entrepreneur fame, entitled The Leader You Were Born To Be. As some of the other (mostly female) participants remarked, even a few months ago few of us would have attended a workshop about leadership. But there we were, considering the possibility that we might be leaders. Fancy that!
My one experience of leadership was in my early 30s, when I became the editor of a music magazine. While I had many valuable skills to bring to the job, I was ill-equipped to deal with the realities of management and found myself longing to be part of the team again. I felt isolated, was hopeless at delegating and carried far too heavy a weight on my shoulders. Unsurprisingly, I burnt out.
After that, I shied away from responsible jobs and hid in the background for many years. I believed I was a follower, and simply not cut out to be a leader.
As Nick pointed out in his talk, this hiding out can be false humility. We think that by showing up we’re going to be showing off. But if you’re already leading your own life, if you’ve already got some answers and experiences that might be of service to others, then it’s important for you to stand up and speak out.
It’s not about setting yourself up as an expert, as some grand figure with all the answers; it’s about encouraging others to follow their own wisdom and find their inner leader.
Perhaps the reason why there are so few great leaders in the world today is because we must all be leaders now. If we take the lead in our own lives by taking responsibility for ourselves, our emotions, our actions, then the ripple effect will be incredible.
I’m still exploring this idea of donning the invisible cloak of leadership, gently coaxing others to shine. Perhaps leaders were never meant to be followed.
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