Sun Tzu and the Purpose of Leadership

2,500 years ago, a man by the name of Sun Tzu?(or Sūn Zǐ in pinyin, 孙子 in simplified Chinese, or 孫子 in traditional Chinese) wrote probably the world's first military treatise in China.?If translated, it should be called The Methods of War.?However, when it was translated into French in the 18th century, it was named The Art of War.

Unfortunately, war is anything but "art".?War is cruel, brutal, and pure destruction.?Sun Tzu himself warned against waging wars recklessly.?War is "a matter of life and death, and careful planning and consideration are needed." (兵者，国之大事，死生之地，存亡知道，不可不察也")?In fact, one of the more well-known Sun Tzu's quote is "The ideal situation is to win without fighting" (不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也).

In the context of leadership, wars bring out the worst and, ironically, the best in humanity.?Leadership failures in a war could mean deaths and destruction of unimaginable proportions.?The feedback on how well a commander leads the army, or a soldier leading himself, will be swift and brutal.?It will be a gross understatement that leadership during wartime is leadership under immense stress.?

While many principles in the Art of War could be adapted for business and negotiation strategies, this article focuses on the proven leadership principles that have withstood the test of time.?Over the last 2,500 years, many military commanders adapted these principles to suit the technology and tactics of their time.?In recent years, many business leaders have also adapted some of these principles to lead their teams to achieve greater success.

Defining Goals and Purpose

Sun Tzu had devised 5 constant factors in laying plans?to gain victories in battles.?These could be interpreted as:

1. The Moral Law (Strategic Goals and Purpose)?道
2. Climate (External factors beyond our control??天
3. Terrain (External factors within our influence)?地
4. The Commander (the leadership) ?将
5. Methods and Discipline?法

These 5 constant factors can be adapted to today's business environment as a business strategy.?Moral Law, in this case, is of utmost importance.?In war, it answers why we risk the lives of our sons, husbands, and fathers to fight.?In business, it addresses why we exist as a business.?While It may be easy to coerce your employees to work for you, motivating your team to be committed and go the extra mile is much more challenging.?If your goals and purpose are aligned throughout your organization, you win (上下同欲者胜).

Hence, as a leader or manager, you must frequently communicate your expectations and align your goals with your team to ensure everybody knows what to do, how to do it, and why they are doing the jobs they have been assigned.???

The leader who wins shall be able to

1. Transcend the Moral Law,
2. Optimize Climate and Terrain factors,
3. Train his team well,
4. Delivers fair rewards and punishment

(主孰有道？将孰有能？天地孰得？法令孰行？兵众孰强？士卒孰练？赏罚孰明？吾以此知胜负矣。)

The Art of Leadership

Sun Tzu also provided a set of virtues that a commander (将) should have.?These are:

1. Intelligence 智
2. Trust 信
3. Benevolence仁
4. Courage 勇
5. Discipline 严

While Sun Tzu did not elaborate on what these mean specifically, here's an annotation by Du Mu, a poet, and military attaché in the Tang dynasty Imperial Guard, that perhaps provides more context:

• The way of kings was to put benevolence first; the way of the military leaders was to use intelligence or wisdom first. ?
• The wise are those who are able to use their wits and know how to adapt;
• The trustworthy and faithful are those who do not confuse people with punishment and reward;
• The benevolent are those who love people and have compassion for things and know how to move and work;
• The brave are those who take advantage of the situation and do not hesitate?to take action;
• The strict and disciplined are those who discipline the armies with authority and punishment.

In warfare, the commander starts with wisdom and intelligence, followed by benevolence, followed by courage.?Without intelligence, he could not know the extreme conditions of the people and could not explain the multitudes of the world.?Without benevolence, he could not share the suffering of hunger and labor with the armies.?Without courage, he could not overcome doubts to develop a great plan."

杜牧曰: 先王之道，以仁为首；兵家者流，用智为先。盖智者，能机权、识变通也；信者，使人不惑於刑赏也；仁者，爱人悯物，知动劳也，勇者，决胜乘势，不逡巡也；严者，以威刑肃三军也。楚申包胥使於越，越王勾践，将伐吴，问战焉。夫战，智为始，仁次之，勇次之。不智，则不能知民之极，无以诠度天下之众寡；不仁，则不能与三军共饥劳之殃；不勇，则不能断疑以发大计也。

One may assume that Sun Tzu's leadership style is a form of benevolent authoritarian leadership.?However, there are some other aspects of leadership principles that might sound ahead of their time.?Sun Tzu mentioned the 5 essential factors for victory::

1. Knowing when to and when not to fight? 知可战与不可战者胜
2. Knowing how to utilize superior and inferior forces and resources 识众寡之用者胜
3. The goals and purpose are aligned throughout the organization? 上下同欲者胜
4. Being well-prepared and waiting to take the adversary unprepared? 以虞待不虞者胜
5. Having the right capabilities and not being interfered with by one’s higher-ups 将能而君不御者胜

Of these factors, perhaps the 5th?one on having capable commanders and not being interfered with by the king requires a high amount of trust.?Commanders need to be highly competent and highly committed.?While such working arrangements may sound way ahead of their time, it was the only viable way 2,500 years in ancient China.?In war, the king entrust the commander with soldiers, supplies, and other resources.?The commander could be leading the army hundreds of miles away to battle.?It would be days, if not months before the king could get any news about the outcomes of the battles.?There would be no way a king could intervene sensibly in how the battles must be conducted.?It could spell disaster if the king tried to interfere with the commander's decisions hundreds of miles away from the frontlines.?The king would then make decisions without knowing what was happening in real-time.

Hence, if we were to view the career development of a soldier to a commander, this could be how the transformation may look like:

• When the soldier first joined the military, he was untrained, and might not be committed to the goals of his leaders
• The soldier might have to be convinced of the Moral Law, i.e. the goals and purpose
• The soldier would then be trained to be a competent soldier
• If he was lucky enough to survive some battles, and fought hard enough to show his commitment, he could be promoted
• Eventually, he proved both his competency and commitment, and was entrusted with greater responsibilities as a commander.

As such, in war, as in business, leaders might use a benevolent authoritarian leadership style to lead team members with low commitment and competence.?However, when team members become highly competent and committed, leaders should entrust them with more responsibilities, empowering them to achieve goals and outcomes autonomously..?

Leadership and the Purpose of Coaching

"The commander who understands his soldiers, and who takes care of his people, is the guardian of national security." (故知兵之将，生民之司命，国家安危之主也), said Sun Tzu.?While it was unclear what Sun Tzu meant by "understands his soldiers", one aspect commonly used in both business and war is understanding your team's strengths and skill-sets.?Through observation, feedback, and the usage of assessment tools, we now know how to deploy the right people for the right kinds of jobs that suit them most.?We also know how to communicate and motivate our team members by adapting to their communication styles and motivational needs.?These are modern management tools that are only available in recent years.?However, in the spirit of understanding our team members, today's leaders would have to optimize the available tools to understand their teams and their performances.

Another tool that we have today, which did not exist in ancient times, is coaching.?Leaders coach their team members and gain a deeper understanding of them.?Through coaching, leaders could help team members challenge their limiting beliefs and gain clarity of whom they want to become.?In the bloody battlefields of the past, soldiers had to obey and execute orders.?In today's business "warfare", team members need to be upskilled quickly to use their brains and make critical decisions autonomously.

So what have you learned from the writings of the ancient past??How would you like to apply them when you lead yourselves and others??

c.j. is a sales performance coach and co-author of Sales Map – the only scenario-based assessment tool to evaluate the sales person’s strengths and weaknesses at every step of the B2B sales cycle.?He is a PCC with ICF, and a IAC Masteries Practitioner?.?c.j. can be reached at?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/cydj001/ ??

c.j.是一位销售绩效教练，也是“销售地图”（sales Map）的合著者。“销售地图”是唯一一个基于场景的评估工具，用于评估销售人员在B2B销售周期中每一步的优势和不足。他是ICF的PCC，也是IAC? 的Masteries Practitioner。 你可以通过 https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/cydj001/ ?联系到C.j.。