Cui Gua 95: Leading a Team? It’s People’s Hearts, Not Power — I Ching Insight

1. The Meaning of the Line Text

The Nine in the Fifth Place of the Gathering Together Hexagram (澤地萃) states: "萃有位，无咎。匪孚，元永贞，悔亡。" (Gathering together while holding a position of authority: no blame. If there is no sincere trust, abide in the great, enduring correctness, and remorse will disappear.)

"萃有位" (Gathering together while holding a position of authority) — you’ve gathered people around you and risen to the esteemed position of Nine in the Fifth Place, meaning you’ve become the leader, the head of the group. "无咎" (No blame) — there’s no problem with this.

But the part that follows is the key: "匪孚，元永贞，悔亡。"

"匪孚" (No sincere trust) — people don’t truly believe in you from the heart. "元永贞" (Great, enduring correctness) — you must uphold the right path for the long haul. "悔亡" (Remorse disappears) — only then will all regret and misgivings fade away.

Put together, it means: when you take a leadership role, people may follow your orders on the surface, but they won’t necessarily respect you deep down. What do you do then? Stick to the right path consistently, and win people’s hearts over time with your integrity and virtue.

This line cuts straight to the core of leadership: power can make people obey, but only virtue can make them truly believe in you.

2. Getting the Seat Is Easy; Keeping People’s Trust Is Hard

A lot of people think being a leader just means sitting in the big chair, having the title, and wielding the power — that’s all there is to it.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

Getting the position is only the beginning. The real hard part is earning the genuine respect of the people below you.

You’re in charge now, and everyone calls you "boss" — but you know deep down: how many of them mean it, and how many are just going through the motions, agreeing to your face and doing the opposite behind your back?

In meetings, everyone nods at whatever you say. But what happens after the meeting? Do they actually follow through? Do they truly think your idea is right, or are they just not willing to argue with you?

Power can make people "listen", but listening is not the same as "believing".

People who only listen will move only when you tell them to, and do nothing when you’re not looking. People who truly believe in you will take initiative without being told, and will even think of things you haven’t considered.

A team full of people who only listen is a dead team. Only a team full of people who truly believe in you has real fighting power.

3. How to Earn People’s Genuine Respect

The three characters "元永贞" (great, enduring correctness) are the answer.

"Yuan (元)" — Think Big, Have Broad Vision

Yuan means origin, and it means greatness.

As a leader, you need a big-picture mindset. Don’t fixate on tiny immediate gains — look far ahead, think comprehensively, be able to take on big responsibilities, and know when to let things go.

If you have a broad vision, the people who follow you will have something to look forward to. If you’re small-minded, obsessing over trivial profits every day, the people around you will turn petty and calculating too.

A leader’s ceiling is the team’s ceiling. If you want your team to go far, you first need to have the vision to get them there.

"Yong (永)" — Be Consistent for the Long Haul

Yong means endurance, lasting a long time.

Winning people’s hearts doesn’t happen overnight. You have to show up consistently, reliably, and steadily over a long period.

If you’re honest one day and lie for profit the next, all the trust you’ve built up will be destroyed in an instant.

People’s trust is built up over time, and it can also be destroyed by time. You have to keep doing the right thing consistently — don’t work hard for three days and then slack off for two.

"Zhen (贞)" — Stay on the Right Path

Zhen means correctness, uprightness.

As a leader, you have to walk the straight and narrow. Don’t scheme behind people’s backs, don’t play cheap tricks, don’t take advantage of your subordinates, and don’t do things that harm the team.

If you walk the right path, people will dare to follow you. If you cut corners and do shady things, everyone will be wary — if you’ll cheat someone else today, won’t you cheat me tomorrow?

Uprightness is the foundation of leadership. No matter how capable a dishonest person is, no one will dare to follow them.

4. Common Types of "Disrespect"

Type 1: "You’re not as good as me — why are you in charge?"

Some people don’t respect you because they think you’re less capable than they are.

What do you do then?

If you really are less skilled than them, admit it, learn from them, and put their talents to good use. A leader doesn’t have to be better than their subordinates at everything — but they do have to know how to use people, how to delegate, and how to give people who are better than them a stage to shine on.

If you *are* more capable than them, let your results do the talking. Don’t argue — just show them what you can do.

Respect is never earned by talking — it’s earned by doing.

Type 2: "You got here after me — why are you my boss?"

Some people don’t respect you because of seniority.

You were brought in from outside, you’re younger than them, you joined the team later — so they don’t accept you.

What do you do then?

Don’t rush to assert your authority, don’t rush to prove yourself. First deliver results, first help the team solve problems, first make the long-time team members feel like following you is good for them.

Seniority isn’t something you demand — it’s something you earn. Once you’ve made real contributions, seniority will come naturally.

Type 3: "You took the position I wanted"

Some people don’t respect you because you’re sitting in the seat they wanted.

This is the hardest type to deal with, because they don’t have a problem with *you* — they have a problem with your position.

What do you do then?

Be upfront and honest. Help them find a new path, new opportunities, a new stage to grow on. Once they have something new to look forward to, they’ll naturally let go of that obsession.

Blocking is worse than guiding. If you shut them out completely, they’ll fight you to the bitter end. If you show them a new way forward, they’ll take it.

5. Three Reminders for Managers

1. Use Less Power, More Virtue

Power is a great thing, but it’s also a dangerous thing.

If you use power to push people around every day, it works in the short term — but it fails in the long run. The harder you press, the stronger the pushback will be. The day you lose your position, or your power weakens, those people will turn on you instantly.

Virtue is what lasts. If you’re upright in character, fair in your work, and kind to others, even if you’re no longer the leader, people will still respect you, believe in you, and remember you fondly.

2. Always Keep Your Promises

The worst thing a leader can do is go back on their word.

If you promised a reward, you have to give it. If you promised an opportunity, you have to provide it. If you promised to have their back, you have to stand by them.

Break a promise once, and you lose one person’s trust. Break promises a few more times, and you lose the trust of the entire team.

Doing what you say is the lowest bar for a leader — and also the highest.

3. Pass the Credit Around, Take the Responsibility Yourself

When there’s success to celebrate, share the credit with the team. When things go wrong, take the responsibility on yourself.

If you do this, the team will be willing to work with you. Because following you means you get rewarded when things go well, and you have someone to stand by you when things go wrong.

On the flip side: if you grab all the credit for yourself and push all the blame down the line — only a fool would follow someone like that.

Passing credit down, taking responsibility up — that’s what a real leader does.

6. Final Thoughts

The Nine in the Fifth Place of the Gathering Together Hexagram (澤地萃) reveals the true essence of leadership.

Being a leader doesn’t depend on power — it depends on winning people’s hearts.

Power can get you the seat, but only people’s trust can keep you in it.

"萃有位，无咎。匪孚，元永贞，悔亡。" (Gathering together while holding a position of authority: no blame. If there is no sincere trust, abide in the great, enduring correctness, and remorse will disappear.)

It’s great to have the position. But if you haven’t won people’s hearts yet, you have to earn them slowly — with virtue, with consistency, and by staying on the right path.

You can’t rush people’s trust. But once you’ve earned it, it’s more solid than anything else.

If you treat people with sincerity, they’ll treat you with sincerity back. If you treat people like tools, sooner or later they’ll treat you like a stepping stone.

A leader isn’t someone who sits up top barking orders — they’re someone who stands out front, leading the way forward for everyone.