Leadership Lessons from Confucius: setting yourself up for failure

Duke Jing of Qi was preparing to receive Confucius and said: “I cannot accord him the same level of treatment as the head of the Ji family receives. I will accord him the same level of treatment him as someone who ranks between the head of the Ji family and the head of the Meng family.” Later he said: “I am too old. I cannot employ him.” Confucius left.
齊景公待孔子曰：「若季氏則吾不能，以季、孟之間待之。」曰：「吾老矣。不能用也。」孔子行。

Even if the CEO of a company is eager to hire you in a senior position, make some background calls to find out whether the other members of the management team feel the same way. If they are not so keen on your appointment, you risk setting yourself up for failure.

Notes

This article features a translation of Chapter 3 of Book 18 of the Analects of Confucius. You can read my full translation of Book 18 here.

(1) The timing of this visit by Confucius to the court of Duke Jing of Qi is unclear. It could have taken place in around 517 BCE or 505 BCE. Although the duke is believed to have been keen to hire Confucius as a senior official, his chief minister Chen Heng was so opposed to him making such an appointment that he is said to have plotted to murder the sage. Realizing that there was no realistic chance of securing employment, Confucius fled the state.

(2) Given that Confucius had a low social status and only ever reached the mid-level position of minister of crime, it is odd that Duke Jing considered granting him similar levels of treatment as the heads of the three most powerful noble families of Lu, the Ji, Shu, and Meng. One interpretation of the duke’s comments is that he was musing that he would not be able to appoint Confucius as chief minister, the usual position held by the head of the Ji family in Lu, because the post was too senior for him. Instead, he may have been considering giving him a role similar to the one held by the head of the Shu family looking after diplomatic affairs. Another explanation is that this passage was written at a later date in order to make Confucius appear much more important than he actually was.

(3) After starting out as a capable ruler when working in tandem with his great chief minister Yan Ying, Duke Jing subsequently lost interest in government affairs and his court became riven by strife over the succession between the sons of his principal wife Yan Ji and his favorite concubine Yu Si. Confucius probably dodged a bullet by not being drawn into the conflict.

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