Are We Celebrating the Wrong Leaders? | Martin Gutmann | TED

翻译人员: Sue Lu 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

I would like to invite you on a little thought experiment.

我想邀请你做一个小型的思维实验。

Let's pretend that we're going on a polar expedition together.

让我们假装一起进行极地探险，

All of you and me.

我和你们所有人。

And we need to hire a captain.

我们需要雇一个队长，

And we have two resumes in front of us.

而我们面前有两份简历。

One comes from a man

一份来自一位

who has already successfully achieved all four of the major polar goals:

极地探险者，已成功穿越四个主要极地：

the North Pole and the South Pole,

北极与南极，

and the Northeast and the Northwest Passage.

东北和西北航道。

In fact, three of these, he was the first person to accomplish.

他还是穿越其中三个极地的第一人。

Let's call him candidate A.

让我们称他为候选人 A。

Candidate B is a man who set off for the Antarctic four times,

候选人 B 曾四次启程前往南极，

three times as the man in charge,

其中三次他曾担任队长，

and every time resulted in failure,

但这四次航行都以失败、

catastrophe or death.

灾难或死亡告终。

Who should we hire?

我们应该录用谁？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's not meant to be a trick question.

这不是一个刁钻的问题，

I think it's obvious we want candidate A.

答案明显是录用候选人 A，

He's the man for the job.

这份工作的最佳人选。

But, in reality,

但实际上，

we often trick ourselves into hiring candidate B

我们经常会误选候选人 B

or someone like him.

或与他类似的人。

How do I know?

我是怎么知道的？

Well, both of these men were real polar explorers

两位候选人是真实存在的极地探险家，

who lived during the so-called Heroic Age of Polar exploration.

都生活在所谓的极地探险英雄时代。

And in the centuries since,

那之后的几个世纪里，

one of them has been consistently celebrated

其中一位一直被誉为

as a leadership role model in best-selling books, blogs, documentaries, podcasts

领导者的楷模，不断出现在 畅销书、博客、纪录片、播客

and an endless stream of social media posts.

以及数不清的社交媒体帖子中。

But surprisingly,

但令人惊讶、

shockingly,

甚至震惊的是，

this is not candidate A,

那不是候选人 A，

but candidate B,

而是候选人 B，

the very much disaster-prone Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton.

屡遭灾难的英裔爱尔兰探险家 欧内斯特·沙克尔顿（Ernest Shackleton)。

Meanwhile, candidate A,

而候选人 A，

the Norwegian Roald Amundsen,

挪威人罗尔德·阿蒙森 （Roald Amundsen），

by any metric the most successful polar explorer to have ever lived,

有史以来最成功的极地探险家，

has been largely forgotten.

却几乎被遗忘了。

I did a quick search in my university's library catalogue before this talk,

演讲前，我快速搜索了 我的大学图书馆目录，

and I found no fewer than 26 books

发现有不少于 26 本书

that celebrate Shackleton's leadership qualities.

颂扬沙克尔顿的领导才能。

For Amundsen, I found four,

但我只找到四本关于阿蒙森的书，

two of which I wrote.

其中两本还是我写的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What is going on here?

这是怎么回事？

Why are we obsessed with a mediocre, at best, leader

为什么我们着迷于一位平庸的领导者，

and overlooking a truly gifted one?

却忽视了一位有真才实学的？

Well, I'm a historian who studies leadership,

我是研究领导力的历史学家，

and I'm here to tell you we celebrate the wrong leaders.

我想告诉大家， 我们在颂扬错误的领导者，

And not just in the realm of polar exploration.

而这不只限于极地探索领域。

Have you heard of Toussaint Louverture?

听说过杜桑-卢维杜尔 （Toussaint Louverture）吗？

You probably discuss him around the coffee machines in the mornings.

早上在咖啡机旁谈论过他吧。

Maybe not, but you should.

要是没有，那应该了解一下。

He was born an illiterate slave

他身为一个不识字的奴隶，

and rose to become one of the most influential revolutionaries ever

后来成长为历史上 最具影响力的革命家之一，

and outsmarted the biggest empires of the day,

智胜了当时几个最大的帝国，

including Napoleon's.

包括拿破仑帝国。

What about Frances Perkins?

那么弗朗西斯·珀金斯 （Frances Perkins）呢？

She was the pillar in US President

她是美国总统

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous New Deal.

富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福 著名的新政的支柱。

We celebrate the wrong leaders.

我们在颂扬错误的领导者，

And this is not just an academic or a trivial insight.

这不只是个学术见解， 或无关紧要的看法。

Leadership development today is a 60-billion-dollar industry.

当今，领导力开发 是一个价值 600 亿美元的行业，

For good reason.

这是有原因的。

We need leaders, right?

我们需要领导者，对吧？

All the challenges that we face today require people to work together,

所有挑战都需要大家共同努力解决，

and this in turn requires somebody who can motivate them, inspire them,

还需要有人带头激励、鼓舞众人、

coordinate the work,

协调工作、

deal with whatever hiccups might arise along the way.

处理随时可能出现的任何问题。

But for this reason,

因此，

it's important that we celebrate the right leaders

我们必须颂扬正确的领导者，

because the leaders we celebrate are the leaders we learn from.

因为他们将是我们学习的榜样。

And so in this sense,

从这个意义上讲，

the leaders we celebrate have a direct impact on the success

我们颂扬的领导者会直接影响到

or as it may be, failure, of our greatest endeavors today.

当代最伟大的事业的成败。

So why do we celebrate the wrong leaders?

那我们为什么会赞颂错误的领导者呢？

Sometimes it comes down to pure racism and sexism.

有时是出于单纯的种族主义和性别歧视。

We have a well-documented bias for associating leadership with white men.

有据可查的一个偏见就是， 我们常将领导力与白人男性挂钩。

But there's another culprit at work as well,

但还有另一个罪魁祸首在作祟，

what I like to call the action fallacy.

我喜欢称之为“行动谬论”。

Our mistaken belief

我们错误地认为，

that the best leaders are those who generate the most noise,

最好的领导者会搞出最大声响、

action and sensational activity in the most dramatic circumstances.

最多动作和轰动性事件， 尤其在最具戏剧性的情况下。

In other words,

换句话说，

we confuse a good story for good leadership.

我们将精彩故事与好的领导力混为一谈。

But the two are not the same.

但两者并不等同。

As a matter of fact, very often,

事实上，

good leadership will result in a bad story.

好的领导力往往不会成为精彩故事。

Let me explain.

让我来解释为什么。

Imagine leadership for one moment,

想象一下这种领导力，

not as a polar explorer charting a new course

不是如极地探险家般开辟新航线，

or a CEO motivating her staff,

或是如 CEO 激励员工，

but as the simple act of swimming across a river.

而是游过一条河流那样的简单举动。

And not just any river.

当然，不是任何一条河流，

Imagine a violent river with waves crashing together

这条湍急的河流，波涛汹涌，

and rocks lurking somewhere below the surface.

岩石潜伏于水面之下。

If a swimmer ventures in haphazardly,

有位泳者随意而冒险地跃入这条河流，

without being aware of his own capabilities or the currents,

完全没意识到自己的有限能力或急流，

and nearly drowns,

几近溺水，

but splashes around wildly,

于是他狂乱挣扎拍打，水花四溅，

fights with all his strength,

拼尽全力求生，

and somehow miraculously manages to drag himself back to safety,

并奇迹般地将自己拖回了安全地带。

those of us looking on, will notice him,

在岸边观看的人就会注意到他，

and we will probably say, "Wow,

可能就会说：“哇，

what a guy!

这人了不起！

He really fought hard to get himself out of that crisis."

他拼尽全力摆脱了危机。”

And if instead we have a swimmer

但如果我们有另一位泳者，

who has studied the river for years

对这条河流进行了多年考察，

and knows just where and when to enter the water

知道何时何处下水最好，

and how to turn her body in subtle ways,

知道如何巧妙地转动身体，

and so lets the current carry her across,

从而让水流带她过河。

we probably won't notice her.

我们可能很难注意到她，

And if we do,

如果注意到了，

we would probably say,

我们可能就会说，

"Meh, that looks pretty easy."

“嗯，这看起来很容易嘛。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Shackleton and Amundsen are a case in point.

沙克尔顿和阿蒙森就是这样一个例子。

Shackleton, our candidate B,

沙克尔顿，我们的候选人 B，

is best known for his ill-fated “Endurance” expedition,

以其命运多舛的“坚韧号”探险而闻名。

which set off in the summer of 1914

该探险始于 1914 年夏天，

and saw his ship become trapped

他的帆船坚韧号被困，

and eventually crushed by the ice off Antarctica.

并最终被南极洲附近的浮冰击垮。

And he and his men were then forced to undertake a dangerous trek

他和他的队员被迫进行危险的跋涉，

across the ice

穿越浮冰，

and braved some of the stormiest seas on Earth

渡过地球上一些最狂暴的海域，

before finally reaching the safety of South Georgia

最后到达南乔治亚州的安全地带，

in the summer of 1916.

那时已是 1916 年夏天。

Now, Shackleton was a tenacious man, no doubt,

沙克尔顿无疑是个顽强的人，

and his is a captivating story fit for Hollywood.

他的故事引人入胜，很适合好莱坞，

In fact, it was made into a TV series starring a young Kenneth Branagh.

已被拍成了由肯尼思·布拉纳 主演的电视连续剧。

But, it is not a story fit to draw leadership lessons from.

但这个故事并不适合 用来吸取领导力的经验教训。

Because admirable those efforts were,

因为尽管那些努力令人钦佩，

the crisis that beset him was largely self-inflicted.

但困扰他的危机主要是自己造成的。

He overlooked the advice from local whalers,

他忽视了当地捕鲸者的劝告，

who told him the ice was particularly dangerous that season,

那个季节的冰层特别危险；

and he overlooked massive deficits in his equipment, preparation,

他也忽视了很多其他问题， 比如他的装备、行前准备、

crew selection and training.

船员选拔和培训等。

And it gets worse.

还有更糟的。

Rarely highlighted in the many books that celebrate his leadership qualities

在许多赞扬他的领导才能的书中 ， 很少有人强调过，

is the fact that the expedition's other ship, the Aurora,

那次探险的另一艘船，奥罗拉号，

suffered an even graver crisis,

遭遇了更严重的危机，

the result of which was three lost lives.

导致三人丧生。

In contrast,

相比之下，

the expeditions of Roald Amundsen make for boring reading.

阿蒙森的探险故事读起来枯燥乏味。

Not because he was lucky,

不是因为他很幸运，

but because, based on his intimate knowledge of the polar environment,

而是因为基于他对极地环境的深入了解，

his careful and deliberate planning,

他的精心策划和深思熟虑，

and his authentic and innovative leadership in the field,

以及在该领域的可信和创新的领导能力，

he managed to reduce the problems that his team encountered

让他能够将团队遇到的问题减至

to a bare minimum.

最低限度。

In 1905, he achieved, in a tiny fishing vessel,

1905 年，靠着一艘极小的渔船， 他取得了一个惊人的成就，

what the mighty British Navy had failed to do

那是强大的英国海军在过去八十年

the previous eight decades:

都未能成功做到的：

to find and navigate the Northwest Passage above the Canadian mainland.

寻找到并航行于 加拿大大陆上方的西北航道。

In 1911, he reached the South Pole,

1911 年，他抵达南极，

a journey of 3,000 kilometers across hazardous and uncharted terrain,

经历了一段长达 3,000 公里、 穿越危险和未知地形的旅程，

and arrived back at his camp after 99 days,

并在 99 天后返回营地，

just one day off his planned schedule.

仅比计划的时间表晚了一天。

If Shackleton is the swimmer

如果说沙克尔顿是那个冒失的泳者，

who rushes recklessly into the water

鲁莽地冲入水中，

without understanding the currents or his own capabilities,

连水流或自己的能力都不清楚；

Amundsen is the swimmer

那阿蒙森就是一个成熟的游者，

who has spent a lifetime humbly studying the river

一生都在谦逊地研究河流，

before entering the water in just the right spot,

然后在恰当的地点、

at just the right time, and so makes it look easy.

恰当的时间进入水中，因此显得很容易。

Now the action fallacy causes real problems,

行动谬论会引起严重问题，

and not just for our interpretation of the past. right?

不只是在对过去的诠释上，对吧？

I arrived at it through my work as a historian

我是通过历史学家的工作 得出这一结论的，

interested in why we celebrate some leaders of the past,

我很感兴趣为什么 我们颂扬历史上的某些领导者，

but not others.

却忽略其他的。

But it's a dangerous feature in our offices today as well,

这个危险现象也出现在 我们的办公室里。

because after all, the same biases and misconceptions

因为，我们在阅读历史时

that we bring to our reading of the past

怀有的偏见和误解

are one and the same with which we view leadership in our offices today.

同样会出现在 看待工作中的领导者时。

It is the Shackletons of our offices rather than the Amundsens,

通常是沙克尔顿们而不是阿蒙森们

who serve as role models,

成为我们的榜样，

who get promoted and who get rewarded.

得到晋升和奖励。

In fact, this is something

实际上，这种情形

studies in organizational psychology have confirmed.

已被组织心理学的研究证实。

We see leadership potential in people who speak more,

我们认为讲话多的人更有领导潜力，

regardless of what they say.

无论他们讲什么。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In people who appear confident,

还有那些显得自信的人，

regardless of how competent they are.

不管他们能力如何。

And we have an unyielding admiration for people who are perpetually busy,

我们对一直忙碌的人 有种不可动摇的钦佩之情，

regardless of what they're actually doing.

不管那些人到底在忙什么。

I see some of you are imagining specific people in your office right now.

你们中有些人 正在想象办公室里某些同僚吧。

Don't worry, we won't tell them.

别担心，我们不会告诉他们的。

In other words, appearing to be a good leader,

换句话说，在台面上似乎是个好领导，

rather than actually being one behind the scenes,

幕后却不尽到领导的职责，

is the path to fame and bonus and promotion today.

这才是当今成名、 多拿奖金和晋升之路。

And this causes all kinds of problems.

但这种行为会导致很多问题。

With the wrong leaders in charge,

如果由错误的领导者掌权，

organizations are obviously not performing at their full potential.

企业组织就无法充分发挥潜力，

And it creates a toxic culture in which those actually doing good work

还会形成有害的文化， 令那些真正工作出色的人

feel overlooked and demotivated.

感到被忽视，从而失去动力。

And perhaps worst of all,

也许最糟的是，

it's a self-perpetuating cycle

这将是个周而复始的循环。

because by celebrating these flawed, action-oriented leaders,

因为表彰有问题、 以表面行动为导向的领导者，

we're actively creating more of them.

相当于我们在积极制造出更多这样的人。

So this is a problem that we need to solve.

所以，我们需要解决这个问题。

The good news is we can.

好消息是，我们能够做到。

And it starts with reimagining what good leadership looks like.

从重新认识优秀领导是什么样开始，

And there's two sides to this.

这包括两个方面。

First, we have to learn to ignore what we can call the captains of crisis,

首先，必须学会忽略那些“危机队长“，

the Shackletons,

沙克尔顿们，

those who are lurching from one dramatic circumstance to another.

他们总是在戏剧性境况中打转。

While some crises can't be avoided,

尽管有些危机无法避免，

many are self-inflicted or amplified by poor leadership,

但许多都是领导不力造成的，咎由自取，

or sometimes just a figment of their imagination.

有些甚至只是他们想象中的虚构。

Keith Grint, the preeminent scholar of leadership today,

当今领导力领域的著名学者 基思·格林特（Keith Grint）

brilliantly summarizes this problematic dynamic.

精辟地总结了这种充满问题的动态。

"Since we reward people who are good in crises,

“由于我们奖励在危机中表现出色的人，

and ignore people who are such good managers that there are few crises,

并忽略善于管理令危机减到最少的人，

people soon learn to seek out or reframe situations as crises."

人们很快就学会去找出危机 或重新将境况定义为危机。”

We need to disincentivize this style of leadership

我们不应鼓励这种领导方式，

by refusing to give these people the attention they crave.

要拒绝给予这些人所期望的关注。

And that's easy when we're confronted with the sober facts.

这不难做到，只要我们直面事实：

Ahmanson's four successes, Shackleton's four failures.

阿蒙森的四次成功， 沙克尔顿的四次失败。

But as soon as it's embedded in a story,

不过，一旦将这些变成故事来讲，

the dramatic details pull us in like a magnet

戏剧性的细节 就会像磁铁一样吸引我们，

and give us a false sense of inspiration.

并给我们一种虚假的激励感。

False, because there's no real substance there.

虚假，是因为没有实质内容。

Instead, we need to learn to celebrate those who mitigate

因此，我们需要学会赞赏那些减少

rather than promote drama.

而不是宣扬戏剧性的人。

And this can be challenging

但这可能很具挑战性，

because often they do so in very subtle ways

因为他们通常会悄无声息地行事，

below the surface of the water,

一切就如在水面之下，

in the case of our swimmer, right?

像前面那个熟练的泳者一样，对吧？

They're obsessive planners.

他们是执着的计划者，

They build processes that align the organization's strengths

他们建立的流程能够顺应组织的优势

with the unique challenges they face.

来应对所面临的独特挑战。

And they're authentic and create cultures that bring out the best in people.

他们很真诚，积极创建 激发人们最佳表现的的文化。

Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun

哈佛商学院教授 拉斐拉·萨敦（Raffaella Sadun）

has studied the profound impact this behind-the-scenes work can have,

研究了“幕后工作”的深远影响，

and she has given it a name.

并给它起了个名字。

I don't want to give you too many technical, academic terms here,

我一般不愿讲太多术语，

but this is an important one, she calls it

但这个术语很重要，她称之为

boring management.

“枯燥的管理”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But as she tells us from her research,

正如她通过研究告诉我们的那样，

the evidence is clear that boring management matters.

证据表明，枯燥的管理很重要。

It may not be as exciting as leading a cavalry charge from the front

它可能没有那么令人兴奋， 不像带领骑兵在前线冲锋陷阵，

or giving a brash pep talk,

或进行大放厥词的演讲，

but it's the real toolkit of good leaders.

但它才是优秀领导者真正的工具包。

And to me,

对我来说，

making a difference from behind the scenes,

在幕后默默发挥作用，

unconcerned with what other people are thinking,

不理会其他人怎么想，

unconcerned with spilling self-aggrandizing words, or exaggerating,

不屑于自吹自擂或夸大其词，

such people are truly inspirational.

这样的领导才真的很鼓舞人心。

Let me summarize.

让我总结一下。

The action fallacy tricks us into celebrating the wrong leaders.

行动谬论诱使我们颂扬错误的领导者，

And this comes with huge costs.

让我们付出巨大的代价。

We can overcome it.

但这个可以得到纠正，

I would say we must overcome it.

我要说，我们必须纠正它。

And this starts with reimagining what good leadership looks like.

首先要重新认识优秀领导力是什么样的。

So the next time you’re in a position to judge or reward a leader,

因此，当你下次评判或奖励领导者时，

or maybe just the next time you're trying to figure out

或者试图弄清

whose efforts actually guided your team or organization to success,

谁的努力真正引导团队走向成功时，

resist the temptation to be dazzled by tales of adventure and derring-do,

一定要抗拒诱惑， 不要被被冒险故事蒙蔽，

and take a moment to look below the surface

花点时间看看表象之下

or in the quieter corners of your team.

或团队中那些安静的角落。

And this is important,

这很重要，

because the next time your organization is faced

因为下次当你的组织面临

with the equivalent of the ice pack looming on the horizon,

相当于冰层漂浮在地平线的境况时，

who do you want in charge?

你会选谁掌舵？

The leader who responds to the ship freezing in place

是那种看到船只冻在原地

by frantically cranking the engine,

就疯狂地启动发动机、

unpacking the crates of dynamite,

拆开装有炸药的箱子、

and pushing his men to their breaking point?

并将手下逼到崩溃边缘的领导？

Or the leader who avoids getting stuck in the ice in the first place?

还是一开始就避免被困在冰层中的领导？

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）