If Sages Worked in Tech: Ancient Wisdom for Future‐Proof Leadership

Abstract

Leadership and its definition is on a continual evolution that is often no more than exchanging one outdated characteristic (goodbye “Charismatic Leadership” ‐ the idea that one figurehead inspires and directs the company) (Vergauwe, Wille, Hofmans, Kaiser, & De Fruyt, 2018) for more progressive examples, (hello “Servant Leadership” ‐ the idea that the purpose of leaders it to serve those who deliver the ‘product’) (Linuesa‐Langreo, Ruiz‐Palomino, & Elche‐Hortelano, 2017); without fully explaining the transition. Partly due to the newness of the field compared to other academic disciplines, and partly to the acceleration of business behavior; academic and business definitions of leadership seem to be struggling to keep pace. The current article presents evidence to support a more enduring lens of leadership, with particular attention to leadership definitions from Taoism and contemporary texts that describe the Tao. In the context of “second‐tier” leadership, a relatively modern concept, it suggests approaches to the attainment of the Tao style may be another route to a post‐conventional worldview more applicable in the modern age. The future‐proof leader has a greater capacity to wrestle the complexities of the modern world (Kegan, 1994) and take multiple perspectives on any given problem. Future‐proofed “wise” leadership is agnostic of the change speed of technology, yet the momentum of technology, globalization, and instant communication are what makes its understanding a modern necessity.

A Daoist understanding of mindful leadership

“…Slingerland (2014) contends that "the early Chinese tradition, with its embodied model of the self, offers an important corrective to the tendency of modern Western philosophy to focus on conscious thought, rationality and willpower" (p. 13). Hudson (2020) suggests that Western leaders could unlearn their taken-for-granted worldviews by synthesising Eastern influences so as to gain managerial wisdom. It needs to be clarified that Daoist mindful leadership is not the only or best interpretation of mindful leadership.…”

“…Amaghlobeli and Celepli (2012) elaborate that such a leader “gives followers an opportunity to define the mission themselves but not defining for them” (p. 50; also see Ma and Tsui, 2015). Hudson (2020) likens the easy-going style of Daoist leadership practice to water that is flexible, and free-flowing.…”

Linking Spiritual Leadership with Other Leadership Concepts: A Literature Review of Four Decades

“…A similar opinion has led Anderson and Sun (2017) to state that we should pay attention to the need to integrate different approaches into a new “full range” style of leadership that will allow future investigations to better combine leadership research, rather than replications. However proud the words “ there is not much to learn about how one human can lead others ” (Hudson, 2020, p. 44) sound, they seem to be true today. It seems that the need for integrating that knowledge is more significant now than ever before.…”

“…“ It is almost a point of cynicism that leadership theories seem to be cyclical and return either rebranded or coming back into favor unaltered, rarely feeling entirely complete ” (Hudson, 2020, p. 43). Leadership and its definitions are based on a continual evolution, which frequently amounts to nothing more than substituting one outdated characteristic for more progressive examples, without fully explaining the transition (Hudson, 2020). Uslu (2019) has claimed that new leadership theories are a form of self-replication of old theories.…”

Guest Editor's Introduction

“…The first two papers, The way of water by Barbara Baker () and If sages worked in tech: Ancient wisdom for future‐proof leadership by Trevor E. Hudson (), revisit wisdom from Taoism to extract insightful ideas for leadership practice and preparation for future challenges. Baker discusses the ancient spiritual concept of “taking the way of water” from the Tao Te Ching, and applies that lens to current leaders such as Arianna Huffington, Sir Timothy Berners‐Lee, and Oprah Winfrey.…”