Lessons of leadership from Art of War by Sun Tzu

The subject of leadership is a perennial long subject of puzzle, there is no one acceptable definition for leadership for all situation, there is no one set of leadership principles for all situation and to everyone, if asked will have an opinion of leadership. Suffice me to say also that the subject of leadership has gone through a lot of empirical studies that have produced concepts like 7 attributes of an effective leader, Inclusive leadership, and irrefutable attributes of an outstanding leader among others.

The ancient Chinese war strategy book; Art of War offers another interesting perspective on leadership from a military standpoint which I found relevant to leadership at all levels.

It defines leadership as a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness. In my opinion, this by far a more encompassing definition of leadership you will ever come across. A leader should have all these 5 virtues if s/he will indeed be a leader over the led.

"The way of the ancient kings" it says "was to consider humaneness foremost, while martial artists considered intelligence foremost. This is because intelligence involves the ability to plan and to know when to change effectively. Trustworthiness means to make people sure of punishment and reward. Humaneness means love and compassion for the people, being aware of their toils. Courage means to seize opportunities to make certain of victory, without vacillation. Sternness means to establish discipline in ranks by strict punishments."

Looking at the deeper dive into the definition one will realize none of the attributes listed can be taken for granted nor will anyone of it survive alone.

Intelligence involves the ability to plan and to know when to change effectively, this is an imperative for leaders of the 21st century and 4th industrial revolution, with the rising growth in innovation and technological advancement that are poised to cause a fundamental change to business models by way of disruption, a corporate leader or any leader for that matter need to make the matter of intelligence acquisition a must for himself, if he cannot satisfy it 100% he can leverage the intelligence of subordinates. Not to have intelligence tough will mark the quick death of such leadership and reliance on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness among subordinates.

Trustworthiness means to make people sure of punishment and reward. Leadership is not a task of favouritism, nepotism, or tribalism, it’s a responsibility of fairness to all under leadership. Leadership will also fall and rise on whether the led trust the leadership or not, the only but a difficult expectation of leadership to ensure trust is the assurance of punishment and reward from the leadership. If I deserve a reward even if the leader does not like me as a person, will I get my reward? If he deserves punishment even if she’s the leader’s favourite, will she be adequately punished? If a leader can create an environment where everyone can answer YES to this question, he has simply won himself the trust most coveted by all leaders and is poised to succeed as a leader, but the fixation on trust alone results in folly.

Humaneness means love and compassion for the people, being aware of their toils. The balance of everything in life is important and understanding of when to let go of yourself and let love and compassion rule is pivotal. When you overdo justice, you will arouse dissent, when you only rule by the law, it’s a matter of time before an uprising comes over you or gossips of your cruelty overshadows your good deeds that are why love and compassion are must for a leader. The led, must be convinced of your love for them, show them you care, that you understand their toils and plight, let them know you’ve also gone through similar routes in your formative years, show them you feel what they feel and you would have won their loyalty before you need it most. However, humaneness alone results in weakness.

Courage means to seize opportunities to make certain of victory, without vacillation. It was Alexander the Great who said “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” impressive! This speaks of the place of a leader in all spheres of endeavour. What differentiates the leadership of a sheep from that of a lion is simply courage. The courage of a leader the led simply follows, because he’s trusted, loved and perceived to be intelligent, it then behoves the leader to direct his courage aright, take calculated risks, understand opportunities, and do things with a good enough level of certainty.

Sternness means to establish discipline in ranks by strict punishments. Any leader who will claim hegemony and command a great coming together of human beings must have well-defined and written down rules to guide the relationship of coming together, for war, work, project, prayer, etc. This will give all a sense of direction and boundary which no one must cross, hence the resultant punishment will be decisively dealt. It is by law and other human coexist but an excessive sternness of command will result in cruelty.

In conclusion from the lessons of leadership from Art of War, when one has the five virtues of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness together, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a military leader or any leader for that matter.