The power of invisibility

Reading chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching

“The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects. Next comes the ruler they love and praise. Next comes the one they fear. Next comes the one with whom they take liberties.
Where there is not enough faith, there is a lack of good faith.
Hesitant, he does not utter words lightly. When his task is accomplished and his work done, the people all say “it happened to us naturally”.

In the chapters I read before this one, lots of things were already abandoned. Action was abandoned in chapter 43, arrogance in chapter 61, speaking in chapter 56, following the crowd in chapter 20, and rules in chapter 38. This chapter combines all that by stating that the highest form of leading is invisibility. Having a leader that is loved and praised is good, but having a leader that is invisible is better. Leaders that are feared can be effective but that is not the way of the Tao. Leaders that are despised are the worst of course.

But why is an invisible leader better than a leader that is praised and loved? According to Lao Tzu, this has to do with trust. Being invisible, operating unseen in the background, means trusting others to do the work, to make the decisions. Gia-fu Feng and Jane English (I am reading the translation by D.C. Lau) translate the fifth line of this chapter as: “He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” A leader must be trusted but the trust that is given stands in direct relation to the trust that is received. Leadership according to Lao Tzu is about empowerment, trusting people, and not wanting to take the credit. A leader who is loved and praised is a leader who takes the credit. A leader that is invisible lets the credit flow to others, to the team. If the job is done, people should feel like it is their accomplishment. If the influence of the leader is less visible, the team feels more powerful.

True leadership is invisible because it eliminates any trace of ego and self-centeredness. It is about helping people grow. Or course this might complicate getting ahead in your career because your accomplishments might not be visible (enough). Benjamin Franklin also worried about that when he wrote this:

“Avoid getting credit for your ideas. It’s easier to accomplish things if you don’t worry about getting the credit. Eventually people will learn about you and respect you even more.” — Benjamin Franklin

If leadership is about getting things done and empowering people and not about career, then being an invisible leader is the highest form of leadership because it is not about your ego but about the higher good and empowering others. Inspiration. Guidance. Someone who takes someone else to another, a higher place.

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