A leader is best when people barely know he exists.
Lao Tzu is the name attached to the author of the Tao Te Ching, the founding text of Taoism, composed in China around the sixth or fourth century BC. Whether he was a historical person or a collection of several authors has been debated for centuries. The book works through paradox and restraint, and opens by warning that what matters most cannot be put into words.
About this theme: Leadership
Almost everything written about leadership today repeats one old question: does it come from example or from position. History's answer is fairly monotonous. The people we remember as leaders rarely called themselves that, and those who insisted on the title are mostly forgotten. Marcus Aurelius was an emperor, and filled his notebooks with reminders not to become arrogant.
More by Lao Tzu
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
- Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
- Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
- When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
More on Leadership
- Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.— Publilius Syrus
- I attribute my success to this — I never gave or took any excuse.— Florence Nightingale
- Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.— Abraham Lincoln
- If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.— Booker T. Washington
- Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.— Mark Twain