Balance: Between Monks and Multitasking.
Today's leaders must constantly choose between opposing options. Perhaps it's time to learn from a completely different tradition.
There’s an exercise in kung fu that sounds so simple that you almost underestimate it. You stand. Upright, grounded, knees slightly bent. And you hold this position until your body begins to tremble. Not because you’re weak. But because strength arises when you hold the position, even when everything inside you is screaming for movement.
Anyone who thinks of kung fu solely as a martial art is missing the point. What the Shaolin monks have been practicing for centuries is not just a martial art. It is also the art of maintaining balance. This has more in common with what modern leadership demands today than one might think at first glance.
It's All About Attitude
Here’s an example: A manager is having a conversation with a member of their team. This person is capable and dedicated, but is currently feeling overwhelmed. They need clarity—but they also need space. At that moment, the manager must be both: the person who sets the course, and the person whom the team member truly trusts.
No college major can prepare you for this moment. It’s what you are in this very second that matters. How grounded you are. How present you are. Whether you’re open to the moment, or just reacting.
The Shaolin have a term specifically for this moment: Wu Ji. Literally translated, it means “boundless emptiness.” It is the state of mind with which every exercise begins—physically relaxed, mentally still, free of tension—and precisely because of this, capable of anything. It is the state from which any reaction is possible, because one has not committed to anything in advance.
“Listening is not a weakness, but the highest form of strength.”
Quiet strength
Shaolin monks do not train to dominate. They train their posture, both literally and figuratively. Their physical training is not aimed at overpowering others, but at maintaining their center and not letting themselves be thrown off balance. That is exactly what makes the difference when under pressure.
A leader who remains grounded even during difficult conversations doesn’t need to raise their voice, make threats, or try to appease others. They can listen because they know where they’re going. They can be flexible without compromising their principles. That’s not a weakness—it’s the ultimate form of strength.
The Shaolin principle for this is called “relaxed tension.” Not limp, not tense. Rather, ready to act without being tense. In Chinese, this state is called “song”—the ability to let go completely and, precisely because of that, remain capable of action. Once you internalize this in your body, it will eventually become part of your everyday life.
"In a crisis, the calmest person in the room comes out on top."
Serene Through Letting Go
Modern leadership training programs use many models, frameworks, and reflective questions. All of these have their value. But the body learns differently than the mind. Anyone who can hold a basic kung fu stance until their thighs are burning—and still remain calm—understands that composure is not a state of mind. It is a choice that can be practiced.
The same applies to letting go, one of the central principles of Shaolin training. Physically, you learn this by not forcing a movement but letting it flow. In everyday leadership, it means the same thing: letting go of a decision that has proven to be wrong; handing off a project even though you could do it better yourself; or letting a conversation end without having the last word. That may sound like weakness, but it’s actually the opposite. Those who can let go lead from a position strength.
The calmest person in the room
There's an old rule among leaders: In a crisis, the calmest person in the room comes out on top. Not the loudest one. The one whose inner composure gives others a sense of security.
This isn't a matter of character, but of training. Just as a Shaolin monk isn't serene from birth, but becomes so through years of practice.
Today's leaders are under pressure. AI is changing roles faster than organizational charts can keep up. Teams are becoming more diverse, expectations more contradictory, and decisions more complex.
