Sun Tzu's Five Factors of Leadership

In the ancient Art of War, Sun Tzu identifies five factors which inform a leader’s decisions: The Way; Heaven; Earth; Leader; and Law.

The Way is the extent to which there is singularity of purpose, with leader and soldiers tightly bound to the same goals. The group can move with the power and purpose of one.

The Way involves the five virtues of humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith. A person with these is “all of a piece” and galvanized by clear goals.

Heaven and Earth are the conditions in which a general wages war. In a modern context, this can mean heightened, present-moment awareness of the social, political and economic environment in which you live and work.

Such awareness allows you to make the most of opportunities, avoid dangers and develop intuition about what is to come.

Leader means a person with both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ attributes. Sincerity, wisdom, benevolence, courage and strictness are qualities of the great general. Humane, but forceful.

A ‘Leader’ organization is tightly focused on its mission, and yet acts ethically.

Law in Sun Tzu’s terminology refers to “the ordering and partition of troops”. Today it means having one’s house in order and establishing priorities.

In an organization, Law may mean the appointment of the right people, who know exactly what they are accountable for and who have the resources to execute their mission.

Sun Tzu says of these five factors of action:

“to know them is to conquer; to know them not is to be defeated.”