The Art of Un-Leading
Leadership, when done right, appears as if no one is leading at all. I want to lead with non-intervention, non-assertion, and non-force so that events can unfold seamlessly — as nature intended it. I want to learn how to guide the path of my team without forcing it, how to cultivate team morale without anyone realizing that I am the motivator, and award the credit of progress to everyone without them feeling like I directed them towards it.
To lead is to love. To lead is to disentangle the fear that debilitates us. And to lead is to surrender to the flow of life. When the team succeeds, I cannot attribute this success to my doing as much as anyone else on the team can to themselves. Rather, it is the collective drive of everyone involved, the will of external forces outside our control, and the workings of intelligence beyond our understanding that pushes us forward.
Sometimes this progress may seem ill-fated; it may manifest in failure, conflict, and doubt. When this happens, it is important to cultivate the awareness to draw lessons and realize how we’ve deviated from life. Tao, Nature, Love, God, Light — call it whatever — but it is from this eternal wellspring of knowledge, the source of infinite giving, that I draw my inspiration and direction.
How often have we felt unsure of ourselves? How often do we live in fear because of unresolved conflicts? And how much does this fear debilitate us to lead with grace? To do inner work is to absolve ourselves from the chains that bind our ego. To expand and free our consciousness is to WAKE UP from that dreadful nightmare that we’ve once lived — shackled by societal norms, the desire to “fit-in”, and the disconnect from truth.
I say to you, wake up, you’ve been asleep all your life, and it is time now to get out of bed. Your family needs you, your community needs you, and humanity needs you. Lead the world in the best way that you know how — artfully in a way that accentuates your deepest expression of self. And when you fully mastered the art of giving, the leader dissolves into non-action, and you — having become your truest authentic self — will dissolve into simply “being”. The leader, the do’er, and the ego dies, and nothing is left to take its place.
A leadership manifesto by Jimmy Chan
Follow me @ odisea.blog
Heroes Journey | Primal Living | Ancient Philosophies
