Leadership Lessons from Confucius: “must-have” qualities

Zizhang said: “A scholar-official who is ready to risk their life when faced with danger; who does the right thing when presented with an opportunity of profit; who shows due reverence when carrying out a sacrifice, and who truly grieves when in mourning. Such a person is acceptable.”
子張曰：「士見危致命，見得思義，祭思敬，喪思哀，其可已矣。」

What are the “must-have” qualities that you look for when hiring someone? Do accomplishments, experience, skills, and qualifications come at the top of the list? Or do you place more value on personal characteristics such as integrity, resilience, open-mindedness, and creativity?

No matter which qualities you define as being essential in the people who work for you, take time to reflect on whether you are exhibiting them as well. If you are not living up to your own high standards, you should not be surprised when others do not either.

Notes

This article features a translation of Chapter 1 of Book 19 of the Analects of Confucius. You can read my full translation of Book 19 here.

(1) Zizhang was forty-eight eight years younger than Confucius and regarded as one of the most intelligent of his followers. Some of his peers such as Zengzi regarded him as arrogant and more interested in self-promotion than self-cultivation. Even though Analects 2.18 tells us that Zizhang was studying for an official career, he never took a government position. After the death of Confucius, he continued his studies of his master’s teachings and set up his own school of followers to promote them.

(2) It very difficult, if not impossible, to find an adequate English translation for the term 士/shì. It refers primarily to the growing class of educated young men born from relatively humble backgrounds who sought employment as clerks, officials, and advisors for state governments and aristocratic families during the Spring and Autumn period. Unlike the sons of the ruling and aristocratic families, they had to rely on their talents rather than their connections to get ahead. Confucius and his followers can be described as members of this class.

I shot this image in a hillside temple on the Four Beasts near to Taipei.