什麼樣的好領導纔有人緣

“I don’t tell people I’m the company’s co-founder. I say I work there. Then, if they ask, I say I work on the business side, and then if they ask further, I say I’m the CEO.”
“我不會告訴別人我是公司的合夥人，只會說自己是在那兒工作。如果他們問，我就說自己是做業務的，再追問的話，我就說是CEO。”

–Slava Rubin, Co-founder of crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, to FORTUNE Magazine
——衆籌平臺Indiegogo的聯合創始人斯拉瓦•魯賓告訴《財富》雜誌的記者。

I recently circulated this quote on my Sibuxiang weibo. It comes from a highly successful American entrepreneur who was speaking to a writer from FORTUNE Magazine.
最近，我在自己的微博 “四不像”中轉發了這句話，它出自一位美國成功企業家與《財富》雜誌撰稿人的對話。

Among the feedback I received was an interesting question from one young Chinese fan : “Why?” In other words, why would the CEO of a very successful company display this kind of attitude?
在這條微博的評論中，有位年輕的中國粉絲問了個有趣的問題：“爲什麼啊？”換言之，就是爲什麼一家成功企業的CEO要作如此表態？

I think it’s a question worth examining. Rubin makes a very revealing statement about one aspect of his leadership style as CEO. It is obviously rooted in an American cultural context, but it is interesting to consider whether it is a quality which can cross over different cultures effectively. I happen to think that it can and does.
我認爲這個問題值得探討。魯賓的表述極具啓發性，從一個側面揭示了他作爲首席執行官的領導風格。這固然和美國的文化背景一脈相承，但想想如能將它用作有效克服文化差異的能力也頗有意思。我個人認爲這不僅可行而且已經見效。

If you imagine a spectrum of values with arrogance at one end and humility at the other, Rubin’s statement reflects the opposite end of the spectrum from arrogance .
試想存在一個價值觀圖譜，一端是傲慢，另一端是謙卑，魯賓的表態就應顯示在圖譜上與傲慢相反的一端。

It shows that he strongly identifies as an equal with the rest of his colleagues, to an extent that both internally and externally, he is reluctant to bask in the glory of being the boss. My weibo fan, quite rightly, asks “Why”?
這反映出魯賓極力想證明自己與同事平起平坐，甚至到了對內對外都不願籠罩在老闆光環下的地步。正因如此，我的粉絲纔會問“爲什麼”。

I don’t know Rubin, but I have dealt with a lot of CEOs and other organizational leaders, and it strikes me that humility is not an uncommon trait, especially outside of Asian societies which tend to have deeply-rooted, weighty hierarchical traditions.
我和魯賓不曾相識，但我接觸過其他很多CEO和領導者。他們身上普遍具備的謙卑品質給我留下了極深的印象，尤其是亞洲以外地區的領導。亞洲的等級制度相對森嚴，由來已久，根深蒂固。

Among Chinese CEOs that I’ve met, some of the notably successful ones are also relatively humble in their style of interaction with others. Frankly, especially among larger company CEOs, that’s fairly unusual . Chinese culture tends to treat leaders with an enormously high degree of deference and respect, and quite a few big company CEOs project an image not unlike the emperors of olden days .
在我遇見的中國CEO中，一些成就顯著的人士待人接物比較謙遜。但坦白地講，越是大型企業的CEO就越少表現出這種姿態。中國文化講究對領導絕對地服從和尊重，很多大企業的CEO展現出的形象無異於古代的君主。

When I first came to China in the mid-1970s, there were no CEOs. Chinese companies were not really companies, but government departments; and private enterprises were taboo. Everyone dressed the same, looked the same, and didn’t even carry business cards. International company CEOs, with very few exceptions (mainly smaller companies), didn’t visit China yet because it was considered a marginal, pre-emerging market.
上世紀七十年代中期我初次來華，那時還沒有CEO。中國的公司不是真正意義上的企業，只是政府的下屬部門，私企也絕對遭到禁止。那時大家的穿着相仿，外貌相仿，甚至連名片都沒有。跨國企業的CEO，除極個別（主要是小型公司）外，根本就沒到過中國，因爲那時中國還被視作尚未崛起的邊緣市場。

So, along with a lot of other things, the development of the leadership style of Chinese CEOs is actually a very recent phenomenon. China’s State-owned Enterprises enjoy a fair degree of controversy these days. One thing about the leaders of the biggest SOEs is that they have management experience in a wider range of organizations than most international company CEOs. Many have done stints as provincial, municipal, and central government leaders, either on the government or party side, or both.
所以，隨着形勢的發展，中國CEO領導模式的形成其實只是最近的事。眼下，圍繞中國國企的爭論相當多，其一就是大型國企的領導比跨國企業的CEO擁有更多的組織管理經驗，他們很多人都曾擔任過省、市和中央一級的政府或黨內領導，或者黨政職務一肩挑。

In many respects, this is a strength, although it tends not to produce leaders with a humble style of interaction with internal and external communities. To some extent, these leaders are by necessity following a script on style and substance, as compared with their counterparts in China’s fast-growing non-State sector. Being accessible to stakeholders at a lower level, or those external to their organization, is not necessarily something they are accustomed to or experienced with.
雖然從很多方面這都不失爲一種優勢，但在內外交往中卻很難塑造出態度謙遜的領導。某種程度上，這些領導和中國快速發展的非公企業老闆相比，從表到裏都不可避免地遵循着一套固有模式，對下級或外部人員平易近人不是他們已經慣熟的那一套。

Entrepreneurs face myriad choices on the road to building their companies. Some of these relate to what kind of leader they want to be, including the question of where on the spectrum of “arrogance versus humility” they want to place their leadership style.
在打造企業的過程中，企業家面臨多種選擇，有些與他們想要成爲哪種領導相關，包括領導風格在“傲慢與謙卑”的圖譜上如何定位。

This is not just a reflection of one’s personality, although that clearly has an important bearing.
這不僅是一個人品格的展現，雖說品格也很重要。

So, back to my weibo fan’s question: “Why? ”
所以，再回到粉絲的問題上，“爲什麼？”

I can’t answer for Mr. Rubin, but I can outline some of the benefits that leaders enjoy when they choose a leadership style closer to his than to the emperor’s.
我無法替代魯賓回答這個問題，但我能勾勒出選擇與魯賓相近的領導風格比選擇“帝王”風格好在哪裏。

For an organization to be effective, bad news must travel up, alerting top leadership to looming problems and emerging crises. This is commonly not a strength of Chinese companies, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, arrogance at the top discourages managers from passing bad news up. Accountability among managers is a part of the problem, but so is fear of reprisal.
有效的組織必須容許“報憂”，能向領導發送應對潛在問題和危機的警示。由於這樣那樣的原因，中國企業普遍不具備這種優勢，原因之一就是上級領導的傲慢挫傷了經理層報憂的積極性。經理層的責任心固然重要，但害怕報復也是問題所在。

Another strength of effective organizations is teamwork. A culture of teamwork is essential to innovation, problem-solving, and managing organizational change. Although achieving this depends on much more than just the leadership style of the CEO, it’s a lot easier to achieve when the top dog considers himself or herself to be cut from the same cloth as all the other colleagues.
有效組織的另一個優勢是團隊合作。合作文化對改革創新、解決問題和組織變革至關重要。儘管實現這一目標還要依賴除CEO領導風格外的很多東西，但如果一把手能把自己和其他同事視爲同類，實現目標就會容易得多。

Humility tends to make leaders more approachable and better listeners. If you’re seeking to create a company where outstanding customer service is essential, a corporate culture of approachability is important. It helps if this starts with the CEO, as a role model.
謙卑讓領導更平易近人，長於傾聽。要想打造以卓越客戶服務爲核心的企業，具有親和力的企業文化尤爲重要。若能從CEO開始率先垂範，就更有裨益。

More often than not, humility is a choice. Arrogance is a default position often based on insecurity, or on following perceived norms of behavior within a societal set.
多半情況下，謙卑是一種選擇，而傲慢卻是由於缺乏安全感或是順從某一社會羣體自覺行爲規範的本能反應。

Arrogance tends to build pedestals and walls. Humility builds bridges and channels.
傲慢只能築起神壇和壁壘，而謙卑卻可以搭建橋樑和渠道。

The interesting thing is that humble leaders are not only more pleasant to work with, but they build enterprises which tend to be more successful and profitable on a sustained basis, even after they move on.
有趣的是，謙和的領導不僅讓人更願意與他共事，還能促進企業的可持續成功及盈利，即便是在領導離開之後。

Are their exceptions to this? Sure. Can I prove this assertion empirically? Nope. Just my two cents’ worth based on forty years’ wandering around observing with eyes and ears open.
有沒有例外呢？肯定有。那麼我能憑經驗證明這個論斷嗎？當然不行。這只是在下基於四十多年所見所聞的一點愚見，呵呵。