Why Do Some Ineffective Leaders Still Have Teams That Work Their Tails Off for Them?

There’s a really interesting phenomenon in the workplace.

Some leaders seem to have average ability, aren’t the most proficient in business, and even know less about technical issues than their subordinates. But strangely enough, their teams are extremely united—everyone is willing to follow them and works exceptionally hard.

Then there are other leaders who are super capable, handle everything themselves, and can do the work of three people alone. But their teams fall apart instead: turnover is high, everyone drags their feet, and they feel cheated if they have to do even a little extra work.

Why is that?

Why do highly capable leaders struggle to lead good teams, while those with average ability can build a high-performing one?

The answer lies in **Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram**.

Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram: The Leader of Troops Isn’t the Best Fighter

The Line Text (Yao Ci) for the second line of The Army Hexagram reads: **在师中，吉，无咎，王三锡命。** (In the midst of the army, good fortune, no blame; the king bestows three commissions.)

Let’s break this line down.

"In the midst of the army" — being in the middle of the troops, in the center of the team. Nine in the Second Place is the ruling line of The Army Hexagram, representing the commanding general. But it is not in the highest position; it is lower down, right in the middle of the ranks.

"Good fortune, no blame" — auspicious, with no fault or error.

"The king bestows three commissions" — the king issues appointments repeatedly and grants rewards many times. "Three commissions" means repeated commendations and constant trust.

What is this line telling us? It describes what a good commander should be like.

The Army Hexagram is water within the earth; Nine in the Second Place is the central line of the lower trigram Kan / The Abysmal. Kan represents water, danger, and the army. Nine in the Second Place is a yang line holding the central position, meaning the commander is among the troops—strong, upright, and respected by all.

But notice what is above Nine in the Second Place: Six in the Fifth Place. Six in the Fifth Place is the position of the ruler, the king. No matter how capable the commander is, there is a sovereign above them. The commander is not the top leader; they are the one who leads troops on behalf of the top leader.

So what is the wisdom of Nine in the Second Place? — **You lead the troops, but you do not claim credit for their achievements; you have ability, but you do not overstep your position.** When the king commends you three times, you do not grow arrogant—you keep leading the troops well. Your subordinates respect you, and your superiors trust you. That is what "good fortune, no blame" really means.

The Xiang Commentary says: "Good fortune from being in the midst of the army comes from receiving the favor of heaven." — Being in the middle of the ranks and gaining good fortune means you bear the grace of heaven. What is "heaven’s favor"? When your superiors trust you and your subordinates support you, and you thrive in the middle between them—that is the greatest blessing of all.

Wen Laoshi often says that the worst thing a leader can do is think they are the most important person. If you believe you are the best and can do everything, your subordinates will end up being good for nothing. If you think you have to manage every single thing, your subordinates will stop taking responsibility for anything.

A Good Leader Isn’t the Most Capable—They’re the One Who Bears the Most Burden

I know an internet company founder.

He started out in tech and wrote code for over a decade. After starting his own business, he couldn’t break the habit of doing everything himself. He’d revise the product manager’s prototypes, tweak the designer’s visuals, and review and rewrite the programmers’ code.

What was the result?

He worked until 2 a.m. every day, the most exhausted person in the company. But what about his employees? They became more and more passive. Since the boss would meddle in everything and was never satisfied no matter what they did, they just waited for his orders.

After three years in business, his company was still a small team of just over ten people. Core employees left one after another—he couldn’t keep anyone on board.

He felt so wronged: "I treat them well, their salaries aren’t low—why can’t I keep people?"

I told him, "Because you’re not giving anyone room to grow."

If you do everything yourself, what’s left for others to do? If you’re always right, what’s the point of anyone else being there?

A good leader doesn’t do all the work themselves—they help their subordinates do their work well. The more you do on your own, the slower your team grows. The more capable you are, the less capable your team becomes.

Why does Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram say "in the midst of the army" instead of "at the top of the army"? Because a true commander isn’t someone standing on a mountaintop giving orders—they’re the one who stays with the troops and takes the heat for them.

When you lose a battle, you’re the first to take responsibility. When you win, the credit goes to everyone. You shoulder the pressure from above so your team doesn’t have to suffer. When a subordinate makes a mistake, you protect them and help fix the mess—then teach them to do better in private.

This is what "receiving the favor of heaven" means: you accept the trust from above, and you carry the difficulties from below. You stand in the middle, acting like a cushion and a messenger at the same time.

A leader like this might not be the most skilled, but people will follow them willingly. Because working with them gives you a sense of security.

Three Keys to Winning People’s Hearts

How do you win people’s hearts? Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram gives us three lessons.

**First: Stay among your team, don’t float above them.**

The phrase "in the midst of the army" is the most important part. What does it mean? It means you can’t disconnect from the front line or from your people.

Some leaders start putting on airs as soon as they get promoted. They shut their office door and won’t see anyone. They have no idea what their subordinates are doing, what they’re thinking, or what difficulties they’re facing. They only look at reports and listen to briefings.

When a problem finally blows up, they’re shocked: "Everyone’s been unhappy this whole time? The situation’s been bad for ages—why didn’t anyone tell me?"

It’s not that no one told you—it’s that you isolated yourself from everyone. You’re no longer part of the team; you’re floating above it.

Why is Nine in the Second Place in the middle of the lower trigram, not the upper trigram? Because a commander needs to be with their soldiers. Only when you’re with them do you know what they’re thinking, what they need, and how to lead them.

**Second: Be upright and fair, don’t play favorites.**

Nine in the Second Place is a yang line in a yin position, firm in the center and in resonance with the line above. "Firm in the center" means you have principles and bottom lines, and you handle things fairly. "Resonance" means you have a connection with Six in the Fifth Place above, and your subordinates respect you below.

The worst thing a leader can do is play favorites.

If you give benefits to people you like and make things hard for people you don’t, your team will fall apart quickly. Because everyone will start thinking that being good at your job doesn’t matter as much as being in the leader’s good graces.

Once that kind of culture takes root in a team, the people who actually do the work will leave, and only the bootlickers will stay. In the end, your team will turn into a den of sycophants that can’t get anything real done.

That’s why Wen Laoshi often says fairness isn’t a moral issue—it’s an efficiency issue. When you’re fair, people will focus on doing their work instead of currying favor.

**Third: Handle praise and criticism with equal grace.**

"The king bestows three commissions" — the king commends you and puts you in important positions again and again. That’s a good thing, but it’s also a test.

A lot of people get cocky as soon as they’re praised, and swell with pride as soon as they get a promotion. They think they’re amazing, that the whole company would fall apart without them. Then they start giving reckless orders, making arbitrary changes, and treating everyone else like they don’t matter.

What happens in the end? The higher you climb, the harder you fall.

Why does Nine in the Second Place bring "good fortune, no blame"? Because even though it receives repeated commendations, it stays grounded—it knows who it is and what it’s supposed to do. It doesn’t abuse the trust from above, and it doesn’t take the support from below for granted.

Winning people’s hearts isn’t hard—what’s hard is keeping it. You have to handle the good times and the bad times with equal steadiness.

True Leadership Is Making Others Better

After all this, what is leadership, really?

It’s not how great you are yourself—it’s how many people you can help become great.

It’s not how many people you can control—it’s how many people are willing to follow you.

It’s not how high you stand—it’s how many people you can lift up.

"In the midst of the army" from Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram sounds like a low position, but it actually reflects a very high state of mind. When you’re willing to stand in the middle of the team, stay with everyone, and take the burden for them, people will be willing to lift you up in return.

The more you think highly of yourself, the less others will think of you. The less you fixate on your own importance, the more others will respect you.

This truth sounds simple, but it’s hard to put into practice. Because human nature makes us want to prove how great we are, stand in the spotlight, and enjoy being looked up to.

But truly capable people all understand this: one person can walk fast, but a group of people can walk far. No matter how good you are on your own, how much can you really do? You might be able to outperform a hundred people—but can you outperform ten thousand?

The sooner a leader figures this out, the easier their job will be.

A Few Final Words

Going back to the question at the beginning: why do some leaders with average ability lead better teams?

Because they don’t lead with their own ability—they lead with people’s trust. They make everyone feel trusted, respected, and valued, so everyone is willing to put in the work.

Leaders who are extremely capable, on the other hand, often like to jump in and do things themselves to prove how good they are. The result? The more capable they are, the weaker their team becomes; the harder they work, the lazier everyone else gets.

Nine in the Second Place of The Army Hexagram says "in the midst of the army, good fortune, no blame" as a reminder to every team leader —

Your place is not on the mountaintop, but among your team.

Your value is not measured by how much you can do yourself, but by how much you can help everyone achieve together.

Your honor is not in the three commissions from the king—it’s in the team behind you that’s willing to go through thick and thin with you.

Once you understand that, you’ll truly start to be a good leader.