leadership needs skill to succeed

领导人的面具

Authentic leadership needs skill to succeed

英国《金融时报》管理编辑 安德鲁•希尔

When Texas senator and US Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul accused his rival Rick Santorum of being “fake” during last week’s televised debate, Mr Santorum pinched himself and said: “I’m real, Ron, I’m real, I’m real.”	当美国得克萨斯州参议员、共和党总统候选人罗恩•保罗(Ron Paul)在最近的电视辩论中指责竞争对手里克•桑托勒姆(Rick Santorum)“很假”时，桑托勒姆掐了一把自己，然后说道：“我是真实的，罗恩，我是真实的，我是真实的。”
Mr Santorum’s surge in the Republican primaries has brought the issue of his (and his opponents’) “authenticity” to the fore. Some supporters have pointed out that even if they don’t agree with all his policies, the fact he is “more authentic” has won their vote.	桑托勒姆在共和党初选中的异军突起，让他（及他竞争对手）的“真实性”问题成为人们关注的焦点。桑托勒姆的一些支持者指出，尽管他们并不全盘认同他的政策，但他“更具真实性”这一点已赢得了他们的选票。
But authenticity – as corporate and political leaders now apply it – is an act. Not recognising it as such could be dangerous.	但企业界和政界领袖们力求展示的真实性只是一种作秀。不承认这一点可能是危险的。
The extent to which leaders should show their true colours has been a staple of management thinking since Plato praised the truthfulness of philosopher-kings and Greek actors donned masks to hide, or display, their feelings. But the authenticity strain became an epidemic after the US corporate scandals of the early 2000s dealt a blow to public trust in business and spread further following the financial crisis. It is now propagated through social media, whose gurus regularly remind chief executives to use their “authentic voice” online.	自柏拉图(Plato)赞扬“哲王”(philosopher-king)的真实以及希腊演员 带上面具隐藏或展露情感以来，领导人应该在多大程度上展示他们的真面目一直是管理学研究的主题。但在本世纪初美国企业丑闻破坏公众对企业界的信任之后，关 注真实性问题的人变得越来越多；金融危机之后，这个问题得到了更普遍的关注。现在，人们通过社交媒体来弘扬真实。社交媒体领袖们经常提醒首席执行官们要在 网上发出他们“真实的声音”。
The ubiquity of the term and the vast coaching industry that has fed on its popularity give the game away. Outside those coaching sessions, few people use “authentic” as a term of personal praise (thank goodness). The fact companies are prepared to pay consultants to teach authenticity to their executives shows it is as superficial as the modern repairwork and veneer that makes an antique piece of furniture less valuable even as it starts to look more genuine.	如今到处都在提“真实”这个词，庞大的培训行业也从这个词的流行中受益匪浅，我们从这两件事中 看出了一些门道。在那些培训课程以外，很少有人会用“真实”来表扬人（感谢上帝）。企业准备聘请顾问来教授高管们如何才能表现得“真实”，这一事实表明， 这个词同现代修补及镶饰一样流于表面——修补及镶饰导致古董家具的价值下降，尽管它看上去更纯正。
There is a reason why people still talk about “suiting up” for business challenges: they recognise they must adapt their persona to different situations. When the suit and situation are out of sync, the outcome can be catastrophic.	人们仍在谈论应对商业挑战时的“着装”问题，原因之一是：他们认识到自己必须在不同场合展示不同的形象。当着装与场合不协调时，后果可能是灾难性的。
Tony Hayward’s self-deprecating, down-to-earth engineer’s competence was one reason he was selected to run BP after the regal Lord Browne stepped down. This image is, as far as I can know, the “authentic” Tony Hayward. Yet when the Deepwater Horizon disaster hit, his style was judged completely unfit for the storm that broke over the company.	唐熙华(Tony Hayward)是一位谦虚务实的工程师。他的这种品性是他在高调的布朗勋爵(Lord Browne)辞职之后被选为英国石油(BP)首席执行官的原因之一。就我所知，这种形象就是“真实的”唐熙华。然而，当“深水地平线” (Deepwater Horizon)灾难爆发时，人们认为他的风格完全不适于应对公司遭遇的危机。
Rupert Murdoch attracted criticism last year for his inconsistent reactions to the phone-hacking scandal in the UK. Within the space of a few days he appeared out of touch and (in his own words) “humble” in front of a British parliamentary committee, but razor-sharp and in control before News Corp shareholders. Critics, meanwhile, have praised his tweets as the expression of his genuine, no-holds-barred opinions on business and politics. Who is to say these are not all faces of the “real” Rupert Murdoch, carefully selected for each occasion?	鲁珀特•默多克(Rupert Murdoch)去年因其在英国“窃听门”丑闻中前后不一的反应而招致批评。在短短几天时间里，他先是在英国议会委员会前表现得对整件事全然不知、态度 “谦卑”（用他自己的话来说），随后在新闻集团(News Corp)股东面前却表现得头脑敏锐、完全掌控局面。与此同时，评论人士赞扬他在Twitter上对企业界和政界表达了真实而不留情面的看法。谁会说这些 不是“真实的”鲁珀特•默多克为每个场合精心选择展现的形象？
Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones were guilty of fuelling the authenticity fad with their 2006 business bestseller Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? But the book gives a more nuanced view of this leadership trend than many inferred from the title or its message to “Be yourself”. They point out precisely that good leaders need a chameleon’s ability to adapt themselves to different situations, and to conform to the culture of their organisation. As they have been wearily explaining for the past six years, their maxim is actually “Be yourself – more – with skill”. The awkward qualifier marks the essential difference between a chief executive blurting out her fears about a deal on the eve of its announcement, and suppressing them in order to encourage her followers to pull together. “Leadership is a role,” Prof Goffee told me. “We do applaud people who are able to pull off these skilful performances.”	在“真实性”成为流行话题的过程中，罗布•戈斐(Rob Goffee)和加雷斯•琼斯(Gareth Jones) 2006年合著的商业畅销书《为什么要听你的？》(Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?)起到了推波助澜的作用。但与许多人从该书书名或主旨（“作你自己”）中推断出的观点相比，该书就这种领导力潮流给出的看法实际上要更加微妙。二 人一语中的地指出，优秀的领导人需要具备“变色龙”的能力——既能适应不同场合、又不违背所在企业的文化。正如二人在过去6年里不厌其烦地解释的那样，他 们的格言其实是“作你自己——最好是有技巧地作”。这个别扭的修饰语标志着两种首席执行官之间的本质区别：一种是在交易宣布前夕脱口说出自己不安心情的首 席执行官，另一种则是掩饰不安情绪、鼓励下属协力完成交易的首席执行官。戈菲告诉我：“领导是一个角色。我们真的很赞赏那些能够娴熟扮演这一角色的人。”
I wouldn’t endorse dishonesty in any leader, and I agree that a mismatch between a corporate or political leader’s words and deeds can be fatal. That is one reason why political campaigns, as Mr Santorum is finding out, often involve arid debates about real or perceived inconsistencies between candidates’ past practice and current preaching.	我不会支持任何领导人的不诚实行为，我同意企业界或政界领袖言行不一可能会造成灾难性后果的说 法——政治选战中之所以经常出现就候选人过去行为与当前主张之矛盾（无论是真实存在的矛盾还是人们以为存在的矛盾）展开的枯燥辩论（桑托勒姆已经发现这一 点），其中一个原因就在于此。
But the gulf between the apostles of authenticity and the past masters of political intrigue is not as great as the first group claims. As Niccolò Machiavelli wrote: “It is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.” Now, where’s my mask?	但是，“真实性”倡导者与以往政治权谋大师之间的分歧并没有前者宣称的那么大。正如尼科洛•马基雅维里(Niccolò Machiavelli)所写的那样：“一个君主没有必要具备我列出的所有优秀品质，但他很有必要表现得具备这一切品质。”那么，我的面具在哪里？
	译者/何黎