Tao Te Ching, Chapter 57

Govern a country with upright integrity
Deploy the military with surprise tactics
Take the world with non-interference
How do I know this is so?
With the following:

When there are many restrictions in the world
The people become impoverished
When people have many sharp weapons
The country becomes more chaotic
When people have many clever tricks
More strange things occur
The more laws are posted
The more robbers and thieves there are

Therefore the sage says:
I take unattached action, and the people transform themselves
I prefer quiet, and the people right themelves
I do not interfere, and the people enrich themselves
I have no desires, and the people simplify themselves.

Tao Te Ching, Ch 57, translated by Derek Lin

This is one of many chapters from the Dao De Jing that addresses leadership. In fact, I very much view this text as a guide for "leading one's life". We are all leaders of our own life and responsible for our actions. In the first three lines we learn that the highest form of leadership is one of non-interference, which has a close relation to the concept of wu wei(nonaction/uncontrived action). This approach applies universally, while lines one and two have limited applications. Saying this, Laozi brings the areas of government and military force to light because he understands that they have their time and place. Lead through non-interference by using it as a foundation - a common ground in which other methods emerge when necessary. This necessity is dictated by developing an intimate understanding of the world around us.

So why is non-interference the highest approach? If we take a look at complex adaptive systems, such as social systems, we find that they are self organizing due to emergence and feedback. Complexity means that there is diversity, which can lead to many creative ways the system can adapt. These systems are sensitive to initial conditions due to their nonlinear nature, which means that small changes can have large impacts through iteration. For this reason, too much interference can have a negative impact on a system in two main ways. First, it can stifle creativity, which in turn can effect the system's ability to effectively and efficiently adapt. Second, the wrong input into a system can snowball into a large problem over time. Laozi's idea of non-interference teaches us to be cautious and considerate of our actions and their possible effects on the future.

Now, connectiveness within a system will determine how well it self organizes. If we look at the sage's declaration at the end of this chapter, it offers a further glimse into Laozi's leadership style and how it improves connectiveness. The sage leads their life in accordance with Dao, which in turn develops de(inner power/influence). Through the accumulation of "de" the sage's presence and example teaches without words and influences a like transformation in others - they break down barriers without trying to force or control, which improves connectiveness in terms of relationships. The final line of this chapter leaves us with the means and goal of the text. The means being a desireless state of wu wei - the goal being the achievement of simplicity(pu), which represents a state of naturalness(ziran). This naturalness is the way the sage accords with Dao.

I realize I have condensed a lot into a short post so elaboration will be needed. As I explore other chapters from the Dao De Jing, some stuff will become more clear. I suspect at some point in the future though, I will be dedicating separate posts to the subjects of wu wei, ziran, and de.

Here is the site where a full version of Derek Lin's translation of the Tao Te Ching is available: http://www.taoism.net/teahouse/