See the Series Introduction for Just Tao It, Part I: HERE
See the Just Tao It Series Introduction Tao/It on-ramp, PART II: HERE
See Just Tao It, Chapter 1: HERE

From my interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 63 (Unpublished):

Act without ado.
Serve what is.

Be among the willing few.
See seeds in trees
and trees in seeds.

Savor what is,
without excess.

Start small.

See both
this and that.

Do what is yours,
and let it be.

When things are easy,
see the difficulty.

When difficulty is all you see,
wear it down,
chip it away.

The great do not try to be great.
They are,
and do not hold to being.

Expect difficulty,
and meet what comes.

In this,
there is harmony.

With It,
love moves.

Most leaders are trained in Doing. Goals, plans, metrics, accountability, action. If something isn’t working, do more. Faster, smarter, better.

It’s not wrong. It’s incomplete.

The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) point to what’s often missing. The first dimension is Being, and the fifth is Doing. In the IDG framework they function like bookends—reminding us that capability on the inside must develop alongside action on the outside. I’ve been working with the IDG community as an Ambassador (Aconcagua Cohort) since 2024, and being at the 2025 Summit in Stockholm was especially meaningful because the theme was Bridging Polarities. Not choosing sides, but developing the capacity to hold both.

This chapter of the Tao Te Ching sits directly in that tension.

It does not say stop Doing.
It does not say only Be.

It holds both.

Doing AND Being.

When we overfocus on Doing to the neglect of Being, we begin forcing. We push outcomes before they’re ready. We act because action feels like control. We move so quickly that we stop seeing what is actually unfolding. Teams feel it. Families feel it. Organizations feel it. The system tightens.

When we overfocus on Being to the neglect of Doing, we drift. We observe, reflect, consider—and keep considering. We wait for clarity that isn’t coming. We call it patience. Others call it indecision. The system slows.

Neither works over time.

This isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a polarity to leverage.

In this chapter it shows up simply: Do what is yours AND let it be.

Do what is yours. Act. Decide. Take responsibility. Move something forward.

And let it be. Don’t over-control. Don’t force timing. Don’t try to make everything conform to your plan.

That’s not passivity. It’s what Taoists point to as wu wei—acting without forcing. Acting in alignment with what is actually unfolding rather than pushing against it.

It’s natural in tensions like this to lean harder on one side. I often hear clients say, “I’m wired to act.” See a problem? Jump in, direct, fix. We call it leadership. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s anxiety in a leadership costume.

Others—present company included—are wired to allow. Step back, observe, include, create space. We call it wisdom. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s avoidance with flattering language.

Whatever the preference, people and systems need both.

This is also where the chapter connects to Servant Leadership. “Serve what is” doesn’t mean being agreeable or stepping back all the time. It means serving the reality of the system, not your preferred version of it. Sometimes that requires direction. Sometimes restraint. Sometimes stepping in. Sometimes getting out of the way.

Servant leaders don’t serve their ego. They serve what is needed—and what is needed is always moving. (And yes… I’m making a few notes to self right now.)

That’s why this line matters:

See seeds in trees and trees in seeds.

What is small is becoming something large.
What is large began as something small.

This is where the Part AND Whole connection becomes visible.

In 2015, 193 countries agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—17 goals and 169 targets. A massive Doing effort at the system level. But progress stalled, and in many cases reversed. It became increasingly clear that systems alone cannot deliver the outcomes they seek.

That realization gave rise to the Inner Development Goals—a focus on the inner capacities of leaders: awareness, empathy, courage, humility. In other words, Being.

The SDGs focus on the Whole.
The IDGs focus on the Part.

And like all polarities, each needs the other.

Global systems cannot shift without capable human beings. And individual growth without systemic change cannot scale.

Part AND Whole.
Being AND Doing.

The Tao noticed this tension a long time ago.

Individuals, teams, families, organizations—even global systems—rarely change through a single bold action or a perfectly designed strategy. Change emerges through people capable of holding both poles, making many small moves over time, and noticing early enough to act well enough to matter.

One of my mentors, Richard Barrett, likes to say, “Organizations don’t change. People do.”

Which is why, if you want to go big:

Start small.

Lao Tzu offers two simple reminders:

“When things are easy, see the difficulty.”
That’s foresight.

“When difficulty is all you see, wear it down, chip it away.”
That’s persistence.

Both matter.

Underneath it all is another reminder: the great do not try to be great.

They are—and do not hold to being.

That’s Being without attachment. Doing without ego.

Leading without needing to perform leadership or signal authority. You do what is yours, let go of what is not, and over time something else becomes visible. Not immediately. Not perfectly. But reliably.

If you want a simple check:

Where are you forcing when you don’t need to?
Where are you waiting when action is needed?
Where are you serving your image instead of the system?
Where are you missing the seeds because you’re focused only on the tree?

That’s the work.

Stay with It.

Because when Doing (what’s yours) AND Being (letting it be) are leveraged together, something begins to move—inside individuals, between people, and across the larger systems we are part of.

Not all at once. Not in a way we can control.

But over time, in a way people—and systems—can trust.

Here’s a Polarity Map for Doing (What’s Yours) AND Being (Let It Be):

 

INVITATIONS:
How does:
Doing (What’s Yours) And Being (Let It Be) show up for you these days?
Try the “AI-trained Chat w/Cliff for Step 1, Seeing, CLICK HERE.

If you want to take a quick self-assessment for Doing (What’s Yours) And Being (Let It Be)? CLICK HERE – the results include Leveraging Action Steps and Early Warnings (to support maximizing upside benefits and minimizing downside limitations).

Want to go deeper into Polarity Thinking? See our online self-directed Credentialing and Introduction to Polarity Practice, CLICK HERE.