#6: You Might Be a Violent Leader & Here is How to Fix It

You can fit roughly 120 Taiwans inside the collective landmass of the European Union — yet Taiwan’s income per capita, measured in purchasing power, is almost 50 percent higher than that of the 27-member bloc.

How is that possible? One word: semiconductor.

Behind Taiwan’s chip supremacy stands Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturer, and its founder, Morris Chang, an engineer whose principles turned a resource-scarce island once known for making plastic toys into a nation that powers the modern world.

A Leader Needs Followers

At the TSMC Museum in Hsinchu, visitors can walk through Taiwan’s transformation — from a resource-scarce island once known for making plastic toys to a nation that drives the global digital economy. The tour ends with an interactive “Ask Dr. Morris Chang” — a virtual dialogue where visitors choose from a menu of questions and hear pre-recorded answers from Morris Chang himself.

When I visited three years ago, I pressed the button labeled “How do you become a good leader?”

His reply was calm, almost plain: “To be a good leader, you must have followers.”

I remember feeling unimpressed. After decades of leading a company that runs on atomic precision, this was his grand insight? I left the museum certain that even visionaries can give small answers.

But months ago, when two of my own teammates left Day 2 Studios, that line returned. Our founding group of seven had shrunk to five, and I couldn’t reignite momentum. I sent reminders, held meetings, reasoned, and pleaded — nothing worked.

That’s when I finally understood what Chang meant: you can have brilliance, discipline, and drive — but if people no longer choose to follow you, you’re not leading; you’re just speaking into an empty room.

About the author: Jenny is the co-founder and head creator of Day 2 Coaching.