Leadership Lessons from Confucius: not perfect

Confucius said: “A leader adheres to three principles that I haven’t been able to live up to: the good are never anxious; the wise are never perplexed; the brave are never afraid.” Zigong said: “Master, you’ve just described yourself.”
子曰：「君子道者三，我無能焉：仁者不憂，知者不惑，勇者不懼。」子貢曰：「夫子自道也！」

There is no harm in admitting to others that you are not perfect. Like everyone else you have your strengths and weaknesses. Better to show people that you acknowledge the aspects of your character that you need to improve rather than try to hide or deny them. Anyone who cares about you will respect you for it.

It is even more important, though, to get down to the hard work of actually addressing your weaknesses. Knowing what you need to work on is just the first step of the process. Next you need to figure out how you are going to go about it, and then build up the courage to take the plunge. Once you have got over the initial shock from the icy waters, chances are that you will feel so inspired and energized that you will wonder why you have never done this before.

Notes
This article features a translation of Chapter 28 of Book 14 of the Analects of Confucius. You can read my full translation of Book 14 here.

(1) This is a variation of 9.29: “The wise are never perplexed; the virtuous are never anxious; the brave are never afraid.” The key difference is the modesty that Confucius shows in admitting his own failure to live up to the values he espouses. By extension, he is probably reminding his followers that they are not perfect either and need to guard against complacency as well.

I took this image at the Temple of the Duke of Zhou in Qufu. The duke was Confucius’s great hero and role model as a result of his tireless efforts to the establish the foundation of the fledgling kingdom of Zhou while acting as regent to his nephew, the young King Cheng.