Sun Tzu on what makes people follow you
Leadership in a small business is more than strategy and execution. It’s the trust you build, the loyalty you earn, and the personal connections you make with your team and customers.
This morning I came across a passage about “moral influence” in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. He describes moral influence as the kind of leadership that gets people to follow you through tough times because they want to, not because they have to. He builds it on four values: benevolence (kindness), justice (fairness), righteousness (integrity), and confidence (trust in your people).
These four matter in a small business, where leadership is as much about relationships as it is about results.
What moral influence looks like in practice
Moral influence is leadership that lines your vision up with your people’s trust. It creates a shared sense of purpose. People give their best because they believe in you and in the work.
In a small business, you’re in the trenches with your team. They see how you make decisions, how you handle stress, how you treat people. When you lead with kindness, fairness, and integrity, they notice. That trust becomes the foundation for loyalty and the kind of performance that doesn’t show up on a forced ranking.
When I ran my home health company, we built a team that cared about the mission and about each other. Turnover was remarkably low — almost unheard of in our industry. Employees who left often came back, saying they missed being part of what we had built. The thread underneath was simple: treat people with respect, follow through on what you say, and the culture takes care of the rest.
Benevolence: kindness builds loyalty
Kindness isn’t soft. It’s empathy and attention applied consistently.
Tom runs a small law firm. One of his paralegals, Lisa, was struggling with a long commute. Tom offered her two days a week working from home. The arrangement solved her problem and it told the rest of the team something about Tom. Lisa became one of his most reliable people. The team got closer because they knew Tom paid attention.
Tip: this week, look for one place to show kindness. Ask how someone is actually doing. Listen. Offer a small adjustment that makes their life easier.
Justice: fairness earns respect
Fairness and consistency create security. When people trust that they’ll be treated fairly, they stop spending energy on internal politics and start spending it on the work.
At a consulting firm I worked at, there was constant tension over favoritism. Promotions felt arbitrary. Eventually leadership introduced written criteria for promotions, raises, and project assignments. It was painful for the people who had benefited from the old system. It was clarifying for everyone else. The team started focusing on client work instead of office maneuvering.
Tip: write down the criteria for promotions, raises, or major decisions. Share them with the team. Apply them consistently.
Righteousness: integrity builds trust
Integrity is doing the right thing when it costs you something to do it.
An accountant I know turned down a lucrative project because the client’s values conflicted with hers. Walking away from money is never easy. Her existing clients noticed. Over time, her reputation for honesty attracted new clients who shared her values. The business grew in a way that fit her, not the other way around.
Tip: write down your core values and share them with your team. Use them when a hard call comes up.
Confidence: trust your team
Trusting your team makes them stronger. It also makes the business less dependent on you.
The best boss I ever had — thank you, Teri — trusted her people completely. She gave us room to make decisions. She treated mistakes as a chance to learn instead of as a reason to blame. We worked harder for her because we felt trusted and supported.
Tip: pick one decision or task you’ve been holding onto. Hand it to someone on your team this week. Let them own it. Give them feedback after, so the trust builds.
Celebrate the wins together
Sun Tzu also writes about the shared happiness of overcoming challenges together. It bonds a team in a way nothing else does.
At my home health company, we had a tradition we called “high fives.” When someone noticed a colleague going above and beyond, they’d call it out in a team meeting and write it on a board near the front office. It wasn’t fancy. It became a cornerstone of the culture. We got in the habit of looking for things to celebrate. Morale rose. The sense of being a team rose with it.
Tip: find a way to celebrate small wins. A note. A shout-out at a meeting. A lunch when the team finishes something hard. The point is the noticing, not the size of the gesture.
Bringing it together
To build moral influence in your business:
- Define what kindness, fairness, and integrity mean for the work you do.
- Communicate them openly. Meetings, one-on-ones, informal conversations.
- Show consistency. Your actions matter more than your statements.
- Invest in your team’s growth. Mentorship, training, new opportunities.
- Celebrate together when the work goes well.
Moral influence isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up as a leader who can be trusted, day after day.
Pick one of the four — kindness, fairness, integrity, or trust — and commit to one small action on it this week. That’s how the foundation gets built.
About the Author
Ron Tester is a physical therapist with thirty years in the field. He built, grew, and operated a multidisciplinary home health company employing PTs, OTs, and SLPs through a successful exit. He now coaches outpatient PT, OT, and SLP clinic owners on operating at the owner level. Certified Executive Coach and Book Yourself® Solid Coach. Learn more at https://rontestercoaching.com/about.