What makes up a good leader? Where do we start in selecting our leaders?
About 2500 years ago, Confucius’ student Zigong asked his teacher a puzzling question: if a whole village love a person, is he a good person? Confucius answered, “Not enough”. Zigong asked again, if a whole village hate a person, is he a bad person? Confucius answered, “Not enough”. Confucius continued to explain that a good leader is better a person that all the good people in the village love him and all the bad people in the village hate him.
A true leadership must stand to be controversial because it needs high courage to face difficult choices and make tough decisions. Rarely everyone in any village shares the same views on issues, nor each person shares the same interest. When the world we live today becomes more complex, more entwined, more tumultuous, more unpredictable, the leaders we choose need a lot more grits to stand for high values, face up to complex conflicts and endure ugly tribulations. Leadership does not need positions or titles, but when true challenges call, it’s no simple job to select a leader, and even more daring to become one.