Leadership And The Community

Fushan Yuan said:

The leader, who is in a position to lead others, should be humble and respectful in dealing with subordinates. Functionaries should work wholeheartedly for the leadership. when above and below are in harmony,  then the path of leadership goes through.
If the leader is proud and haughty, the subordinates are lazy and personally careless, the minds of those above and below do not communicate. THEN the path of leadership is blocked.
When ancient saints served as overt leaders,  they would casually have discussions with students during leisure time, touching upon just about everything. From this, one word or half a phrase is recorded in the annals, which even now we extol. What could the reason be?
One is to cause the desire to cause higher minds to be communicated to those below, so that the Way of enlightenment is not blocked or obscured. 
Second is their prior knowledge of the capabilities of the students, and whether they were suitable or not. When the saints came forth and when they withdrew, it was all in accord with what was appropriate. There was a natural respect and harmony between those above and those below, so people from far and near came to join with respect.... 

Letter to Master Touzi Yiqing*

In the Holy Odu, IworiOdi, Orunmila says that he will bring heaven to earth and bring earth to heaven. And so, Ifa strives to strike a balance between above and below. And more specifically, because we know that earth is a marketplace, but heaven is our home, it should be clear that leadership and direction begins in the spiritual realm. In like fashion, order begins with leadership. It is the leaders who must assume responsibility for bringing heaven to earth by bringing stability to communities. Stability is not the product of prayers and sacrifices alone. It can only be achieved through the establishment of reliable infrastructure and administrative systems. Through infrastructure we come to understand rank and function. Through administration we understand process and methodology. These two mechanisms, together, are essential for building community. 

*Cleary, Thomas. Zen Lessons. P 10