The Art of Using People
When it comes to personnel work, it ultimately boils down to using the right people for the right tasks. Knowing your people and assigning them appropriately is the greatest political wisdom and leadership skill a leader can possess. A leader of a large system (including a county, city, enterprise, or school), especially the top official, should spend at least one-third of their time on personnel matters. Once the right people are chosen, everything else falls into place. If leaders focus solely on doing tasks while neglecting personnel management, meticulously handling tasks but carelessly managing people, it represents the biggest dereliction of duty. Misjudging people and misplacing talent, failing to distinguish between talent and mediocrity, good and evil, is the epitome of incompetence.
In history, emperors who laid foundations and ushered in prosperous eras demonstrated extraordinary courage in identifying and employing talent. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, were two wise rulers with grand strategies. Their examples in knowing and utilizing people effectively provide valuable lessons that still inspire admiration today.
After securing his empire, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, summarized his victory over Xiang Yu: "For planning within the tent and winning battles thousands of miles away, I am not as good as Zhang Liang; for stabilizing the state, comforting the common people, providing supplies, and ensuring uninterrupted food supplies, I am not as good as Xiao He; for commanding millions of troops, always achieving victory in battle and success in attack, I am not as good as Han Xin. These three are all outstanding individuals, and my ability to use them is why I have secured the empire. Xiang Yu had Fan Zeng but did not use him, which is why he was captured by me."
This statement from Liu Bang vividly and plainly encapsulates several crucial principles of leadership and the art of using people:
First, those who obtain talent obtain the world, and those who lose talent lose the world.
Second, the essence of using people lies in leveraging their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses.
Third, leaders must have both insight into others and self-awareness. Only someone with self-awareness can truly understand others. The most commendable quality of Emperor Gaozu, even as the supreme ruler, was his courage and humility to admit, "I am not as good as others." A leader must recognize areas where they fall short to identify talent, leverage others' strengths, compensate for their own deficiencies, and motivate everyone's enthusiasm. This synergy creates a powerful leadership team. Some leaders, once they attain high office, often hear only praise, gradually losing self-awareness. They believe everyone is inferior to them and rarely acknowledge their own shortcomings. Even if you possess great abilities, if you insist on being the best and taking on everything alone, the result will inevitably mirror Xiang Yu's downfall—surrounded on all sides, betrayed by allies, separated from loved ones, and utterly defeated.
Emperor Taizong of Tang might be regarded as the most open-minded emperor who received the most criticism and engaged in the most candid dialogues with ministers, summarizing extensive governance experience. Not only was he adept at identifying and employing talent, but he also courageously protected it, earning the unwavering loyalty of his ministers. Around him gathered a plethora of virtuous officials and capable generals like Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, Wei Zheng, and Wen Yanbo, leading to the flourishing era known as the Zhenguan Reign.
In his work "Imperial Garden," Emperor Taizong specifically discussed his philosophy on employing people: "From the wise, take their strategies; from the foolish, take their strength; from the brave, take their might; from the timid, take their caution. Use all without discrimination. Thus, a skilled craftsman does not discard materials, and a wise ruler does not abandon talent. Do not forget virtue because of one fault, nor overshadow merit due to minor flaws." This discourse captures the essence of employing people with remarkable wisdom and brilliance!
Two years before his death, Emperor Taizong summarized five fundamental experiences of employing people and governing:
1. Since ancient times, emperors have often suspected and envied those stronger than themselves, whereas I can see others' strengths and make them my own.
2. No one possesses all virtues and talents. I frequently discard their shortcomings and utilize their strengths.
3. As a ruler, many would favor the talented as confidants and dismiss the less capable. I respect the talented and sympathize with the less capable, ensuring each finds their proper place.
4. Most rulers dislike upright individuals, punishing loyal subjects openly or covertly. Since ascending the throne, upright individuals have stood beside me, and I have never dismissed any.
5. Historically, emperors valued the Chinese and looked down upon distant minorities. I treat them all equally, considering all peoples as one family, thus earning their trust as if they rely on parents.
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