If you are a leader, be it a manager, a project head, an HR personnel, a department head, a community leader, a social leader, a spiritual leader - any position where you are supposed to head and lead a group of people, any position where you can make decisions about them, then this advice from Chanakya is going to be very very important for you.
Say, you have ten people under you, reporting to you.
Every one of them is not going to be alike.
Each one will have pluses and minuses.
Someone may be good at solving problems.
Someone may be good at communication.
Someone else, systematic and disciplined.
It is your duty to find out the best in each person and assign them duties and responsibilities accordingly.
These are your resources
How to optimize their usage is your talent.
But in any team, there are going to be some good people and some bad people, overall.
There could be someone who has been pampering the boss's ego and has reached the position where he is doing this, doing personal work and favors for the process.
He enjoys undue privilege due to this.
It may be the fault of your predecessor or predecessors.
But now that you are in charge, you have to put it right.
There could be a talent that is neglected because the person is not able to express himself.
But as a team, they know who is good and who is bad.
It is not an individual's perception.
If you are neutral, if you are rational, it will be there for you also to see.
Chanakya says:
अवक्षेपेण हि सतां असतां प्रग्रहेण च।
क्षीणाः प्रकृतयो लोभं लुब्धाः यान्ति विरागताम्॥
Never underrate the good and favor the wicked.
This has two aspects: 1. neglecting the good, not encouraging their talent. 2. encouraging and doing favors for the undeserving.
This has got three harmful effects.
1. The talented who is not recognized would conclude that he will never be able to grow with you.
He will quit and go elsewhere.
2. The wicked whom you are favoring will become more and more greedy and at some point in time, he will go beyond your control.
3. The rest who are watching all these will become disillusioned, indifferent to the progress of the team, the team spirit.
All three are harmful for the efficiency of the team and your own personal growth.