Sun Tzu on leadership
Describe what you are leading through, or just name the topic. You will get the exact passage from The Art of War that fits.
Sun Tzu judged a leader by two things at once: the character to be followed and the discipline to be obeyed. The Art of War is as much about the person in command as it is about tactics, because he believed an army was only ever as good as the general at its head. Name what you are leading through above to find the line that fits.
The qualities of a leader
Sun Tzu defines the commander by five virtues: wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. Note the balance, warmth and hardness in the same person. A leader who is all kindness cannot hold a line, and one who is all severity is abandoned the moment things get hard. The whole list has to coexist.
Loyalty is earned, not ordered
His most human line is about care: treat your people as your own children, he says, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys and stand by you even unto death. Loyalty, for Sun Tzu, is not extracted by rank. It is repaid. People go furthest for a leader they believe is genuinely on their side.
Character plus discipline
The complete leader, he writes, cultivates the moral law and holds strictly to method and discipline, and that combination is what puts success within his control. Inspiration without rigor drifts; rigor without trust resents. Sun Tzu's leader is the one who has both, and so the people are in genuine accord with him, not merely commanded.
Notable lines on leadership
The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.
Bring it to Sun directly
The quote is the start. Tell Sun Tzu what is actually going on and get his read on it, in a real conversation.
Speak with Sun