John Wayne reins in his horse to summon the posse. The Captain of Industry makes the lonely decisions necessary to save his company. The charismatic president gives the epoch-changing speech to a spellbound nation. Highly visible, and bold, these are the quintessential leaders in the western image. Acting, giving, doing.

We're less likely to notice that the followers in this model of leadership are polarized: they are hidden and passive where the leader is active, weak and needy where he is strong and giving. This leader runs the danger of disempowering those who follow him, taking away from them the qualities he demonstrates in himself.

In this charming, ingenious, and blessedly brief book, John Heider presents a model for leadership drawn from the Chinese philosophy called Taoism. The Taoist leader "does by not-doing (wu-wei)". He leads from the rear, conducts the training from the back of the room, and, in his leading, constantly empowers his "followers." "When the competent leader has acted, the people are grateful; when the superior leader finishes his work, the people say 'We did it ourselves.'" "It puzzles people at first to see how little the able leader actually does, and yet how much gets done. . . . When the leader gets too busy, the time has come to return to selfless silence. Selflessness gives one center. Center creates order; there is little to do."

This book is actually a version of Lao Tzu's classic Tao Te Ching rewritten to apply specifically to group leadership. There is much in it that is counter to the central thrust of our culture, and this is precisely the source of its value to us.

Review by John Enright, Ph.D.