Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leadership: Tang-Song Eight Great Prose Masters — Great Leaders Create More Leaders: Ouyang Xiu and the Power of Developing Talent: Leadership Virtue #3

By: Dr. Jian Zhang

What Is the Greatest Measure of a Leader?

Early in our careers, success is often measured by what we accomplish ourselves.

We work hard. We develop expertise. We earn promotions. We solve problems and produce results.

But as our leadership responsibilities grow, the definition of success should also change.

At some point, the question is no longer simply: “What have I accomplished?”

It becomes: “Who has grown because I was their leader?”

More than nine hundred years ago, Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修) demonstrated this form of leadership. He was one of the great writers, scholars, historians, and statesmen of the Northern Song Dynasty. Yet perhaps one of his most enduring contributions was not what he wrote or what positions he held.

It was the people he recognized, encouraged, and helped bring forward.

His life reminds us of a timeless truth: Great leaders do not simply attract followers. They

create more leaders.

Leadership Virtue #3: Developing Others

In this series, I am revisiting the Tang-Song Eight Great Prose Masters (唐宋八大家) not only for their literary achievements, but for what their lives can teach us about leadership, success, failure, and growth.

Each represents a different leadership virtue:

• Han Yu 韩愈 — Courage of Conviction

• Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 — Growth Through Adversity

• Ouyang Xiu 欧阳修 — Developing Others

• Su Xun 苏洵 — It’s Never Too Late

• Su Shi 苏轼 — Inner Freedom

• Su Zhe 苏辙 — Quiet Leadership

• Wang Anshi 王安石 — Transformational Leadership

• Zeng Gong 曾巩 — Long-term Excellence

Han Yu taught us to stand by our principles.

Liu Zongyuan taught us not to let setbacks define us, but to reinvent ourselves.

Ouyang Xiu takes us one step further: Once we have developed ourselves, how do we help

others develop?

From Being Talented to Recognizing Talent

Ouyang Xiu's own path was not easy.

He lost his father when he was very young and grew up in modest circumstances. According to the well-known account of his childhood, his family could not easily afford writing materials, and his mother taught him to write characters using a reed on the ground.

Through study and persistence, he eventually passed the imperial examinations and entered public service. He became an accomplished statesman, historian, poet, and prose writer and emerged as a major intellectual figure of the Northern Song.

But there is another dimension of his legacy that is especially important for leadership.

Ouyang Xiu knew how to recognize talent.

As an influential examiner and literary leader, he championed a clearer, more substantive style of writing and helped identify promising scholars whose work did not simply conform to fashionable conventions.

Among the people whose talent he recognized or encouraged were several names that would themselves become giants of Chinese intellectual history—including Su Shi (苏轼), Su Zhe (苏辙), and Zeng Gong (曾巩).

Think about that for a moment.

Three of the eight names in the Tang-Song Eight Great Prose Masters were part of the generation Ouyang Xiu helped bring forward.

His legacy therefore did not end with himself. It multiplied through others.

Two Timeless Leadership Lessons

Lesson One: See Potential Before Everyone Else Sees Success

It is easy to recognize successful people after they have become successful.

The harder leadership skill is seeing potential before it becomes obvious.

Great leaders look beyond the résumé, the title, the confidence, or the polished presentation.

They ask different questions: Does this person think independently? Do they have character? Are they curious? Can they grow? Do they see something others do not?

And perhaps most importantly: What could this person become if someone believed in them

and gave them an opportunity?

Ouyang Xiu's example reminds us that talent development begins with 识人—the ability to recognize people and their potential. But recognizing potential is not enough. Leaders must also be willing to open doors.

A word of encouragement can change someone's confidence. An introduction can change

someone's network. A challenging assignment can change someone's career. Sponsorship can place someone in a room they could not yet enter on their own.

Sometimes a leader's greatest contribution is simply seeing something in another person before that person can fully see it in themselves.

Lesson Two: Don't Just Mentor People—Build a Leadership Pipeline

Ouyang Xiu's example also raises a modern leadership question: Is developing a few talented individuals enough?

For today's organizations, probably not.

Personal mentorship is powerful, but organizations cannot depend entirely on one gifted leader who happens to recognize talent.

Modern leaders must turn talent development into a system.

That means creating an environment where:

• 识人 — we recognize talent.

• 育人 — we develop talent.

• 用人 — we give people meaningful opportunities.

• 成就人 — we help people succeed beyond us.

  
  

This requires more than mentoring.

It requires succession planning, sponsorship, stretch assignments, honest feedback, leadership development, and a culture in which experienced leaders are expected to develop the next generation.

The ultimate test of succession is not whether the organization can function while the leader is present. It is whether the organization can continue to grow after the leader is gone. That

is when leadership becomes legacy.

From Achievement to Contribution

There is another reason Ouyang Xiu's story speaks to me.

Leadership changes as we move through different stages of life.

Earlier in a career, much of our energy naturally goes toward proving ourselves—learning,

achieving, building organizations, solving difficult problems, and establishing credibility.

But eventually, another question becomes more important: What do I do with everything I have learned?

At that stage, leadership begins moving from achievement to contribution.

Success becomes less about occupying the highest position and more about helping others become capable of occupying positions we once held—and perhaps leading even better than we did.

That requires confidence.

Leaders who are insecure may fear talented people.

Leaders who think about legacy seek them out.

The goal should not be to create people who think exactly as we do.

It should be to develop people who have the character, competence, confidence, and opportunity to find their own way of leading.

Dr. Jian Zhang's Leadership Reflection

Over the course of my career, I have come to believe that one of a leader's most important responsibilities is developing people.

Organizations will change. Strategies will change. Leaders themselves will eventually leave.

But the people we develop continue the work.

Ouyang Xiu reminds us that our greatest legacy may not be something with our own name on it. It may be the person we encouraged when others overlooked them. The young professional to whom we gave an opportunity. The emerging leader we challenged to grow. The successor we prepared to lead without us.

And perhaps, years later, the leaders they develop.

That is how leadership multiplies across generations.

So instead of asking only: “What have I accomplished?”

Perhaps every leader should eventually ask: “Who has become more capable, more confident, and more successful because I helped them grow?”

Because in the end:

Great leaders don't create followers.

Great leaders create more leaders.

~~~

真正的领导者，培养更多领导者

欧阳修与人才培养的力量

By Dr. Jian Zhang

衡量一个领导者最重要的标准是什么？

在职业生涯早期，我们往往用自己取得了多少成就来衡量成功。

我们努力工作，提升专业能力，争取机会和晋升，解决问题，创造结果。

但是，随着领导责任越来越大，我们对成功的定义也应该发生变化。

到了一定阶段，问题不应该再只是：“我取得了什么成就？”

而应该变成：“因为我的领导，有谁得到了成长？”

九百多年前，欧阳修就展现了这样一种领导力。

他是北宋著名的文学家、史学家、政治家，也是当时文坛的重要领袖。但他留给后世最重要的贡献之

一，也许不仅是他写了什么、担任过什么职位，而是他发现、鼓励和成就了什么样的人。

欧阳修的一生提醒我们一个历久弥新的道理：真正的领导者，不只是拥有更多追随者，而是培养出

更多领导者。

领导力品格（三）：培养人才

在这个系列中，我重新阅读唐宋八大家，不只是欣赏他们的文学成就，更希望从他们真实的人生、成

功、失败和选择中，寻找对现代领导力的启示。

八个人，代表八种值得我们思考的领导力品格：

 韩愈 — 原则与勇气

 柳宗元 — 逆境成长

 欧阳修 — 培养人才

 苏洵 — 终身成长

 苏轼 — 自我领导

 苏辙 — 谦逊与稳定

 王安石 — 改革与执行

 曾巩 — 长期主义

韩愈让我们思考如何在原则受到考验时坚持自己。

柳宗元让我们看到，当原来的道路改变以后，如何不让挫折定义自己，而是在逆境中重新创造可能。

欧阳修则把我们带到领导力的下一个阶段：当我们已经成长起来以后，如何帮助更多人成长？

从自己有才华，到能够发现人才

欧阳修自己的人生道路并不平坦。

他幼年丧父，家境并不富裕。相传母亲以荻秆在沙地上教他识字写字，这就是后来广为流传的“画荻教

子”。

通过长期学习和努力，他考中进士，进入仕途，后来成为重要的政治家、史学家、诗人和散文家，也

是北宋文坛的重要人物。

但从现代领导力的角度来看，他还有一个特别值得我们学习的能力：欧阳修善于识人。

作为重要的文坛领袖和科举考官，他提倡更加质朴、重视内容的文风，也愿意发现那些不只是迎合当

时流行标准、而真正具有思想和才华的年轻人。

在他赏识、提携或影响的人才中，包括后来成为中国文化史上重要人物的苏轼、苏辙和曾巩。

想一想：唐宋八大家中的另外三位，都属于欧阳修所提携和影响的后辈一代。

因此，欧阳修的成就并没有停留在他自己身上。他的影响，通过别人继续放大。

欧阳修留给我们的两点领导力启示

第一课：在别人成功之前，看见他的潜力

一个人已经成功以后，再发现他优秀，并不困难。

真正考验领导者的，是在一个人的潜力还没有完全显现时，就能够看见他未来可能成为谁。

优秀的领导者不会只看履历、职位、表达是否成熟，或者眼前已经取得了多少成绩。

他们会问：这个人是否能够独立思考？有没有品格？有没有好奇心？能不能持续成长？他是否看见了

别人还没有看见的东西？

更重要的是：“如果有人相信他，并给他一个机会，他可能成长为什么样的人？”

欧阳修告诉我们，人才培养首先从“识人”开始。

但看见潜力还不够，领导者还要愿意为人才打开一扇门。

一句鼓励，可能改变一个人的自信；一次介绍，可能改变一个人的网络；一个有挑战性的任务，可能

改变一个人的职业道路；一次真正的举荐和支持，可能让一个年轻人进入原本没有机会进入的舞台。

有时候，领导者最重要的贡献，就是在一个人还没有完全看见自己的时候，先看见了他的可能。

第二课：不要只培养几个人，要建立人才成长的机制

欧阳修的故事也给现代领导者提出了另一个问题：培养几个优秀的人，是否就足够了？

对于今天的组织来说，可能还不够。

个人导师非常重要，但一个组织不能只依赖某一位特别善于识人的领导者。

现代领导者更重要的责任，是把人才培养从个人行为变成组织能力。

也就是说，要形成一个完整的过程：

 识人 — 发现潜力。

 育人 — 帮助成长。

 用人 — 给予真正承担责任和创造价值的机会。

 成就人 — 让他们有一天能够超越我们，成就自己的领导道路。

这不仅需要导师制度，还需要继任规划、赞助与举荐、挑战性任务、坦诚反馈、领导力发展项目，以

及一种把培养下一代视为领导者责任的组织文化。

检验继任是否成功，不是看领导者在位时组织运行得多好。而是看领导者离开以后，组织是否仍然

能够继续成长。

到了这个时候，领导力才真正变成传承。

从个人成就，到成就他人

欧阳修的故事还有一点特别打动我。

随着人生和领导阶段的变化，我们对成功的理解也会发生变化。

职业生涯早期，我们自然会把很多精力放在证明自己：学习、成长、取得成绩、建设组织、解决困难、建立专业信誉。

但是到了某一个阶段，一个新的问题会变得更加重要：“我应该怎样运用自己这一生积累的经验和智慧？”

从这个时候开始，领导力逐渐从“个人成就”走向“成就他人”。

成功不再只是自己站在最高的位置，而是帮助更多人有能力走到我们曾经的位置，甚至比我们做得更好。

这需要领导者有足够的自信。

缺乏安全感的领导者可能害怕有才华的人；真正思考传承的领导者，则会主动寻找比自己更优秀的人。

培养人才的目的，也不是培养一群和我们想法完全一样的人。

而是帮助他们建立自己的品格、能力、自信和机会，最终找到属于自己的领导方式。

Dr. Zhang领导力思考

在多年的领导实践中，我相信，培养人是领导者最重要的责任之一。

组织会变化，战略会变化，领导者自己最终也会离开。

但是，我们培养的人会继续前行。

欧阳修提醒我们，一个领导者最大的传承，未必是一件写着自己名字的成就。

它可能是那个别人还没有看见、而我们曾经鼓励过的人；那个我们愿意给机会的年轻人；那个我们曾

经挑战他走出舒适区的新领导者；也可能是我们认真培养、最终能够独立带领组织继续前行的继任者。

甚至多年以后，是他们继续培养出来的下一代领导者。

领导力，就是这样一代一代地放大。

所以，当我们不再只问：“我取得了什么成就？”

也许每一位领导者最终都应该问自己：“因为我的帮助，有谁变得更有能力、更有信心，也更加成 功？”

因为归根到底：

真正的领导者，不只是拥有更多追随者。

真正的领导者，培养更多领导者。