On my first day in business school, our dean told us that we were there to learn how to become business leaders. “Everyone should grow into a leader,” he said.
I was skeptical.
In a school of hundreds of students, many with big egos, if everyone becomes a leader leading in different directions, what kind of chaos would that create? Besides, if everyone is a leader, who will be the followers?
Years later, after studying conscious leadership, I found the answers to my own questions.
While in business school, I equated leadership with position, authority, and control—demanding fear-based compliance. News media often spotlight “leaders” who lack moral values, act like lunatics, or use authority for self-interest. They are overgrown infants unqualified for their authority, yet they grab the spotlight and steer society toward chaos.
Such “leaders” exist, but we have a different choice.
Two Paths of Leadership
There are two ways to exercise leadership: ego-driven or wisdom-driven. The former is narcissistic leadership, the latter is conscious leadership.
Ego is self-serving, grandiose, and controlling. Ego serves “I,” “me,” and “myself”—often at others’ expense. Ego craves unearned attention, superiority, and gain. From ego, our decisions are driven by jealousy, greed, laziness, or arrogance. We judge the unknown through subjective standards. We show anger when the world doesn’t revolve around “me” and “my” expectations.
Wisdom is making choices in alignment with spiritual principles. Wisdom serves “we” without sacrificing “my” interest. With wisdom, we express love, creativity, and humility. We have drive, resilience, tolerance, courage and focus. We are long-term oriented, make wise and moral decisions in paradoxical situations.
If total ego and total wisdom are the two ends of a spectrum, then all human beings fall somewhere in between with various ratios of ego and wisdom. People with big ego focus on “what I want and what others should give me.” People with high wisdom focus on serving collective interests within moral guidelines. Wisdom usually yields win-win-win: “I,” “we,” and the “ecosystem” all benefit. Because all are part of each other.
Our entire life is a self-growth journey—increasing wisdom, reducing ego. As we grow, we let go of self-serving ego, short-term focus, impulsive choices, and entitlement. Instead, we grow independent thinking, creative problem-solving, and reliance on inner potential.
Over time, we grow competence and consciousness. The more we grow, the more people we can serve. Starting with self-leadership, we gradually expand the scope of influence. From initially leading our own lives to leading family, team, company, and nature. If we cannot manage our own lives, building a happy family is difficult; if we cannot manage relationships, leading a team or a company is harder.
Leaders Are Followers
Many people like the idea of being a leader while resist being a follower. This is a reflection of ego. We perceive that leading is glamorous while following is a sign of weakness. Leaders have “authority” while followers occupy an inferior position in a hierarchy. Leaders have power and followers are powerless.
Even if we know that following is necessary to preserve order, we may emphasize freedom by exercising individualism. We automatically reject any leadership as narcissistic leadership. A typical way to respond is being passive aggressive. That is unconscious following.
Conscious leaders are always servant leaders. They see the big picture, exercise situational leadership, switching easily between leading and following without ego getting in the way. They groom more leaders, giving followers chances to lead from the front while they blend in the crowd and support silently. Following is not supposed to be passive. It is a conscious choice and a powerful role to play in a team.
Playing the Same Music
Ego serves self-interest, so leading with ego pulls us in infinitely different directions. Leading with wisdom pulls us toward unity—shared purpose, harmony, and mutual benefits.
Consider a symphony orchestra. How could it make so many musicians with different instruments, backgrounds, and personalities produce harmonious music? Three elements: a visionary conductor, competent musicians and shared music —the same melody and rhythm.
In life and business, the leader holds the shared vision; followers are competent self-leaders. The music notes are spiritual principles or the Laws of Nature. When everyone dances to the same beat, the leaders and followers direct energy toward the shared goal, guided by shared values. When the parts are in resonance, the whole exude immense collective power.
Looking Back
Now, I agree with our school dean that everyone can and should become a leader, however, not a title-powered leader. In business, leadership is not managing people to maximize profit. It is serving people’s interests while acting as a catalyst for social progress. It is self-growth through business creation. It is pass down wisdom, so more people can become leaders.