Modern leadership, at the end of the day, is about leading "people," especially leading talent. As the saying goes: "success lies in people," all worldly miracles are created by people. So-called "talent" refers to individuals with specific professional knowledge or specialized skills who engage in creative labor and make contributions to society. They are highly capable and qualified workers among human resources. Talent is the first resource for China's economic and social development. In the process of human social development, talent is an important driving force for social civilization progress, people's prosperity and happiness, and national prosperity and flourishing. The focus of domestic and international competition today boils down to competition for talent. The world is currently undergoing major developments, transformations, and adjustments. World multipolarity and economic globalization have developed further, technological progress is rapid, the knowledge economy is on the rise, and accelerating talent development is a significant strategic choice to gain the upper hand in intense international competition. China is currently at a critical stage of reform and development. To fully implement the scientific outlook on development, comprehensively promote economic, political, cultural, social construction as well as ecological civilization construction, push forward the deepening development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, marketization, internationalization, fully build a moderately prosperous society, realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to greatly enhance the quality of the citizenry. While continuing to leverage China's human resource advantages, we must accelerate the formation of comparative advantages in talent competition, gradually transitioning from a human resource powerhouse to a talent powerhouse.
The Party and the state have always attached great importance to talent work. Since the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, a series of policies and measures to strengthen talent work have been proposed, cultivating a large number of talents in various fields. Entering the new century and new stage, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council made the major decision to implement the strategy of becoming a talent powerhouse. The strategy of becoming a talent powerhouse has become a basic strategy for China's economic and social development, and talent development has achieved remarkable results. A scientific view of talent has gradually been established, and various types of talent teams, focusing on high-level and high-skilled talents, have continued to grow. Policies favorable to talent development have been further improved, the foundational role of market allocation of talent resources has initially taken effect, the effectiveness of talent has significantly improved, and a new pattern of Party management of talent work has basically formed.
The next few decades will be an important strategic opportunity period for China's talent cause. We must further enhance our sense of responsibility, mission, and crisis, actively respond to increasingly fierce international talent competition, proactively adapt to the needs of China's economic and social development, unwaveringly follow the path of becoming a talent powerhouse, scientifically plan, deepen reforms, highlight key areas, and advance comprehensively, continuously creating new situations where talents emerge in large numbers and everyone can contribute their talents.
In the current and upcoming period, the guiding principle for China's talent development is: serving development, prioritizing talent, using talent as the foundation, innovating mechanisms, leading with high-end talent, and developing holistically. By 2020, the overall goal of China's talent development is: to cultivate and create a large-scale, optimized structure, reasonably distributed, and high-quality talent team, establish the country's competitive advantage in talent, enter the ranks of global talent powerhouses, and lay a talent foundation for basically achieving socialist modernization by the middle of this century. Promoting talent development requires comprehensive consideration and phased implementation. By 2015, there should be significant breakthroughs in institutional building and mechanism innovation. By 2020, all tasks should be fully implemented to ensure the realization of the talent development strategic goals.
Therefore, leaders at all levels in China, especially senior leaders, must embrace the Marxist view of talent and treat talent well. Summarized mainly into the following ten mindsets:
First mindset: Love for talent
Modern leadership, at the end of the day, is about leading "people." Therefore, modern leaders must first do good work with people, opposing tendencies that see events but not people, see authority but not people, see things but not people, see money but not people, and especially treat talent well. How to treat talent well? For this, the book plans to write about ten optimal mindsets for treating talent well. Among them, loving talent is the ideological foundation for treating talent well. Only by loving talent like one's life can one thirst for talent, and have the passion to identify, seek, cultivate, use, stimulate, tolerate, and protect talent... Otherwise, all these would be meaningless "armchair talk." There are many things in the world, some people do very well, while others do poorly or even cannot do them, with vastly different effects, the key lying in each person's differing abilities. Viewing the leadership's cause merely as something anyone can do, disregarding who is talented, lacking love for talent, is a common ailment among many leaders today.
How to do leadership work well? Mao Zedong had a famous saying: "A leader's responsibility, summed up, mainly involves coming up with ideas and using cadres." What is meant by "coming up with ideas" is essentially also "coming up with ideas" for subordinates and cadres. Because leadership work, at the end of the day, is about leading "people." Why must leaders at all levels have a "love for talent"? First, any leader, especially under today's conditions of socialized mass production and a large economy, if they don't have a few talented generals under them, if they don't have a batch of professionals in various fields, no matter how much skill they themselves possess, they cannot possibly master all related knowledge, understand such complex and ever-changing situations, handle everything personally and "rule the world alone." Their primary responsibility is mainly to fully utilize the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of their subordinates, mobilize everyone's intelligence, and unite in the struggle for the prosperity and development of the common cause. Without necessary talent, they will become a "commander without troops" who "cannot accomplish anything alone." Therefore, they must first have a "love for talent."
People all know that in the army, an excellent commander is mostly someone who "loves soldiers like children," only then can his troops bravely kill enemies and win every battle; second, emotion plays an important role in recognizing talent, and the depth of a leader's feelings towards talent directly controls and influences the evaluation and use of talent. Many excellent leaders throughout history share the common characteristic of having a love for talent, viewing talent as the most precious treasure. Therefore, as an excellent leader, one must "cherish talent like life," fully utilizing the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of their subordinates, fully mobilizing everyone's intelligence, so that the cause they lead can flourish and remain strong indefinitely. This is basically a rule, violating this rule inevitably leads to failure.
Talent is the decisive factor in achieving success in a cause, therefore, a leader who treats talent well must first understand the value of cherishing talent, mainly because: 1. "Success depends on people," without talent nothing can be accomplished, let alone achieve great causes; 2. Only by valuing talent can one correctly treat and use talent; 3. Modern technology cross-penetrates more deeply and extensively, knowledge obsolescence accelerates, product replacement cycles shorten rapidly, relying on relevant professional talent is essential to meet the requirements of high-tech development in new situations; 4. China itself lacks talent, socialist modernization construction requires a large number of talents, so it is even more necessary to cherish each talent and fully leverage their roles.
For this reason, we must establish the concept that talent resources are the first resource:
(1) Fully recognize that talent is the first element of social production: As creators and disseminators of advanced productive forces and advanced culture, talent is the most active and important factor among production elements, being the core element of social productivity development today. Like land and capital in the agricultural and industrial economic eras, talent is the first element of social production, possessing the enormous potential for self-enhancement, and is increasingly becoming the primary wealth and important capital.
(2) Fully recognize that talent is the first capital of social production: Viewing talent as capital is the inevitable result of the continuous development of the social economy, and also the result of humanity's deepening understanding of itself. Now, many countries around the world are gradually realizing that talent capital is a core capital and are intensifying investment and development. China, being a populous country, should seriously study talent capital theory and its real forms, striving to promote the transformation of human resources into talent capital.
(3) Fully recognize that talent is the first resource for social development: Talent is the first resource for social development. First, the development of talent resources is the determining factor for the development of other resources; second, the quality of talent resources determines the efficiency of the use of other resources; third, talent resources have superiorities that other resources lack (such as enhancement, repeatability, and infinite developability). The future of human society does not entirely depend on capital and land, but mainly on the development of talent resources.
(4) Fully recognize that talent is the first driving force for social development: Talent is the source of economic and social development, being the inexhaustible driving force for economic growth, scientific and technological innovation, and social development. The development and utilization of talent resources can not only directly promote the advancement of social productivity but also help fundamentally improve the utilization of other production factors, driving the overall progress of society. Clearly, talent is the main force and driving source for promoting economic and social development.
Building socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieving the great revival of the Chinese nation is an unprecedented great cause involving hundreds of millions of people. It must have a large group of talents succeeding each other and uniting in struggle. Currently, China still relatively lacks talent, and to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, it must have a large, comprehensive group of talents persistently working together. Leaders at all levels can only more positively, seriously, and enthusiastically identify, seek, attract, cultivate, motivate, use, and protect each talent, fully excavate, utilize, and play out the intelligence of each talent, viewing the waste of talent as a crime. Without this love for talent, it is not only impossible to generate such enthusiasm, but may also consciously or unconsciously damage, suppress, waste, accumulate, and squander valuable and limited talent resources.
Leaders must cherish talent because if you use one talent, it will attract more talents to come, inevitably making the cause you lead more prosperous and developed; if you use a villain, talents will leave you, flatterers will take advantage and come to your side, not only possibly disrupting the effective implementation of correct decisions, but also causing many troubles, ultimately leading to the decline of the cause. Another point must be emphasized: contrary to appointing people based on virtue, appointing people based on kinship is a taboo and easily committed fault for leaders. Due to familial ties, blind trust and ease of use can mistakenly regard mediocrity as talent, subjectively amplifying their strengths while ignoring their weaknesses, which is something to be vigilant about. Leaders are human, not gods, these all belong to normal human emotions, completely achieving appointments based solely on virtue requires a high spiritual realm, and without a high sense of responsibility for the party's cause, it is hard to achieve. Of course, loving talent does not avoid relatives or enemies; if there is indeed talent among your relatives or enemies, they should be treated equally, boldly used, and their roles and talents fully utilized. As the ancients said: "Strict with those close, lenient with those distant," this is a moral norm, not a management norm. If truly out of public interest without any private thoughts, there is no need to worry. And leaving this point aside, it can only be appointing people based on kinship.
Second mindset: Recognizing talent
Having a love for talent is just a subjective wish, it is still necessary to have the ability to recognize talent, only then will one know who the true talents are. Where is the talent? What are their abilities? Under a mediocre person, there are no talents. If a leader is themselves mediocre and shallow, recognizing and using talent becomes impossible, and may even gather incompetent individuals who do more harm than good. Talents are just like ordinary people, without obvious external features. If one does not have keen insight, even when talent stands right before you, you may not recognize it. Someone compared recognizing talent to identifying jade (beautiful stone), which is quite fitting. Stones and jade are found on the same mountain, looking very similar externally, but their essence differs greatly. This makes identifying jade quite difficult, and without careful examination, one might mistake a stone for jade.
To use talent effectively, leaders must understand talent, known as "knowing people and assigning them appropriate roles." Only on the basis of "knowing people" can one truly "assign appropriate roles," a simple truth. "Knowing people" means first understanding their abilities, not just tangible aspects like knowledge, specialties, skills, experience, and capabilities, but also intangible aspects like thought, character, spirit, and temperament. Additionally, what do they pursue? Why are they here? For example, some seek treatment, some seek status, some seek career achievements... Goals vary, and leaders should understand these to better adapt their abilities, virtues, and pursuits to the overall demands of the cause, truly using talent scientifically and reasonably to allow their enthusiasm and abilities to be more fully utilized. It must also be pointed out: to recognize talent, one must first act out of public interest, break through factionalism, and eliminate biases in selecting talent based on personal likes and dislikes, proximity, or grudges. If a leader is within a faction and uses personal preferences as a standard, they will certainly fail to select true talent, and instead may enable mediocrities to thrive. One should have sharp eyesight to truly recognize and appropriately use talent, distinguishing between the good and the bad.
Additionally, leaders should understand that "knowing people" is not just a one-sided wish of the leader. Unbeknownst to many, talents are also constantly seeking and observing leaders, hoping to find a "modern Bo Le" who appreciates and helps them display their talents and realize their "life value," known as "mutual selection." A mature and astute leader understands this, thus they can also put themselves in the shoes of talent, trying to accommodate reasonable demands of talent, possessing higher leadership art in using talent. If one cannot "know people and assign appropriate roles," even when talent stands before you, you may not recognize it, and even if they become your subordinate, they may be difficult to retain, let alone fully utilize their abilities. "If I am not welcome here, there will be another place that welcomes me," eventually they will leave. So, how to recognize talent? Mainly grasp the following five points:
(1) Believe in the existence of talent. Often hear some leaders complain about the lack of talent, but facts are often not so. Generally speaking, everyone has their own talents, just that the direction and size of talents differ. Be adept at recognizing various types of talent, for instance, expecting an excellent scientist to become an excellent leader. Different types and characteristics of talent have different uses, the key is to "use them for our benefit." For example, the U.S.'s "Manhattan Project" for developing the atomic bomb was originally suggested by Einstein, why wasn't Einstein chosen to command it, but instead a second-rate scientist named Oppenheimer? Because Einstein's strength is research, not command, and his command abilities are inferior to Oppenheimer's. Moreover, at different stages of the development of a cause, the requirements for talent differ. For example, during wartime, military talent is valued, during construction periods, economic talent is valued; in small-scale production times, conservative-type talent is valued; in modern large-scale production times, pioneering-type talent is valued... Such situations abound in real life. Thus, the key lies in the different requirements for talent in different industries and times, so it is crucial to identify accurately and use appropriately. Then, talent will immediately appear before you. Otherwise, even if talent stands before you, it is practically meaningless. Tang Dynasty's Han Yu said: "There must be Bo Le before there can be a thousand-li horse. Thousand-li horses are often present, but Bo Le is not." Therefore, the problem now is not whether there is talent, but whether there is a contemporary "Bo Le."
(2) Look at the essence of talent. "Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth," recognizing talent mainly looks at their morality, talent, learning, insight, and their specializations, experiences, and abilities, etc., their essence. The essence of talent always manifests through their words and actions. So, pay attention to listening to their words and observing their actions, primarily observing their actions, preventing being deceived by superficial appearances. Recognizing talent often requires the test of time. As the saying goes: "Only after a long journey can one know the strength of a horse, and only after a long time can one see the heart of a person," time can provide leaders with an opportunity to "distinguish loyalty from treachery in adversity." In times of difficulty for the cause, those who dare to face difficulties head-on are surely rare talents, not only because they are loyal to the cause, but also because they have full confidence; those who still follow you, approach you, and help you when you are down are at least uniquely insightful talents, and can be heavily relied upon. Conversely, those who surround you when you are smooth sailing, but disappear when you are in trouble, may have talent but lack virtue, and should not be heavily relied upon. Therefore, recognizing talent, the hardest to recognize are "flatterers." As the ancients said: "Great villains appear loyal, great deceivers appear trustworthy." These "great villains appear loyal, great deceivers appear trustworthy" people, not only disrupt your recognition of talent, but also slander and harm talent, damaging your cause. Zhang Wentian wrote in "On Issues of Interpersonal Relationships": "In fact, those who are good at flattering themselves, fawning on themselves, and sucking up to themselves are precisely those who are easiest to ruin things. And those who can regularly point out and criticize one's shortcomings and mistakes are the most helpful people, the most valuable people." Leaders at all levels should take this as a lesson. The problem lies in that although everyone criticizes "flatterers" and the behavior of sucking up, both flatterers and leaders who enjoy being flattered are not uncommon, a difficult-to-treat social chronic ailment.
This article is excerpted from www.nmny.cn, please indicate the source if reprinted. Related thematic articles: Dietary health slows aging speed. Am I "afraid of gatherings"? Is it a class reunion or a show-off gathering?