Leadership & Relationship
Leadership is a relationship: whoever leads stands in relationship, and every leadership crisis is first a crisis of relationship. On this page you will find my essays on leadership, from Confucius and Laozi through the I Ching to systemic order in organisations and family businesses.
Where are you starting from?
Questions of leadership wear different faces. Start with the situation closest to yours: each one leads to the essay that addresses it.
-
You carry responsibility, and with it you are alone in your thinking. Loneliness at the top →
-
Something in your team or company has stalled, and no strategy explains why. Leadership crisis as relationship crisis →
-
You are facing a succession, or you are already in the middle of one. Succession in the family business →
-
You are looking for an understanding of leadership other than pressure and control. Laozi and letting go in leadership →
What did Chinese philosophy know about leadership?
Confucius, Laozi and the I Ching describe leadership as an order of relationships, not as a technique. These essays carry that insight into the situations leaders face today, from the team to the succession.
- Leadership Is Relationship Why the separation of work and private life is an illusion, and what Confucius knew about leadership.
- Loneliness at the Top Whoever carries responsibility while remaining alone in their thinking knows the emptiness that no coaching can fill.
- Leadership Crisis as Relationship Crisis When leadership fails, the reason seldom lies in a lack of strategy. It lies in the relationships.
- Confucius and the Five Relationships Not a system of subjugation but a framework of mutual obligation, and more relevant to modern leadership than any organizational chart.
- Chinese Philosophy for Leaders What Confucius, Mengzi and Laozi knew about leadership, and what Western management theory never reached.
- The Four Leadership Modalities There are exactly four ways to lead people. The real question is when each one is appropriate.
- Laozi and Letting Go in Leadership Wu wei as a principle of leadership: why the most effective leadership begins where forcing ends.
- The I Ching and Leadership The way of the Noble: yielding at the right moment is not weakness but the highest form of leadership.
- Order in Organizations Organisations follow the same ordering principles as families, and the same entanglements are at work in them.
- Succession in the Family Business Why successions fail despite good planning: loyalty conflicts and the invisible bonds between generations.
Frequently asked questions
Why is every leadership crisis a relationship crisis?
Why do leaders feel lonely?
What does the I Ching teach about leadership?
How is philosophical accompaniment different from coaching for leaders?
If you carry responsibility and are looking for a space to think outside your own organisation, you will find my work with leaders here.