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

譯者: 麗玲 辛

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

我想邀請大家一起進行 一個小小的思考實驗。

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

讓我們假裝我們要一起去極地探險。

All of you and me.

全部的人和我。

And we need to hire a captain.

我們需要聘請一位船長。

And we have two resumes in front of us.

我們面前有兩份簡歷，

One comes from a man

一份來自一個已經成功達成

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

四大極地目標的男人：

the North Pole and the South Pole,

北極、南極、

and the Northeast and the Northwest Passage.

東北航道和西北航道。

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

事實上，其中三個目標 他是首位達成的。

Let's call him candidate A.

讓我們叫他候選人 A。

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

候選人 B 是一個 曾四次前往南極探險的人，

three times as the man in charge,

其中三次是以領隊的身份，

and every time resulted in failure,

每次都以失敗、

catastrophe or death.

災難或死亡告終。

Who should we hire?

我們應該聘請誰？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's not meant to be a trick question.

這不是一個故意刁難的問題。

I think it's obvious we want candidate A.

我想很明顯，我們會選擇候選人 A。

He's the man for the job.

他是最適合這個工作的人。

But, in reality,

但是，現實中，

we often trick ourselves into hiring candidate B

我們經常會誤選候選人 B

or someone like him.

或類似的人。

How do I know?

我怎麼知道？

Well, both of these men were real polar explorers

這兩個人都是在所謂的極地探險 英雄時代的真實探險家。

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

And in the centuries since,

在此後的幾個世紀中，

one of them has been consistently celebrated

其中一位一直被推崇為 領導力的榜樣，

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

在暢銷書、部落格、紀錄片、播客

and an endless stream of social media posts.

和無數的社群媒體貼文中受到讚揚。

But surprisingly,

但令人驚訝的是，

shockingly,

令人震驚的是，

this is not candidate A,

這個人不是候選人 A，

but candidate B,

而是候選人 B，

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

這位多災多難的英國-愛爾蘭 探險家歐內斯特·沙克爾頓。

Meanwhile, candidate A,

與此同時，候選人 A，

the Norwegian Roald Amundsen,

挪威人羅爾德·阿蒙森 （Roald Amundsen），

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

無論從任何指標看， 都是有史以來最成功的極地探險家，

has been largely forgotten.

卻被多數人遺忘。

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

此次演講前，我在我大學圖書館的 書目中快速搜索了一下，

and I found no fewer than 26 books

發現多達 26 本書

that celebrate Shackleton's leadership qualities.

在讚揚沙克爾頓的領導能力。

For Amundsen, I found four,

而阿蒙森的書籍只有四本，

two of which I wrote.

其中兩本是我自己寫的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

What is going on here?

這是怎麼回事？

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

為什麼我們迷戀一個頂多 算是平庸的領導者，

and overlooking a truly gifted one?

而忽視了一位真正有天賦的領導者呢？

Well, I'm a historian who studies leadership,

我是研究領導力的歷史學家，

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

我來這裡是要告訴大家， 我們常讚揚不合適的領導者。

And not just in the realm of polar exploration.

不僅僅是在極地探險領域。

Have you heard of Toussaint Louverture?

你們聽說過杜桑·盧維杜爾嗎？

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

或許你們早上在咖啡機旁談論過他。

Maybe not, but you should.

可能沒有，但你們應該認識他。

He was born an illiterate slave

他出身是個不識字的奴隸，

and rose to become one of the most influential revolutionaries ever

卻成為歷史上 最具影響力的革命家之一，

and outsmarted the biggest empires of the day,

並智勝了當時最大的帝國，

including Napoleon's.

包括拿破崙的法國。

What about Frances Perkins?

那麼法蘭西斯·柏金斯呢？

She was the pillar in US President

她是美國總統富蘭克林·羅斯福

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous New Deal.

新政的支柱之一。

關於領導者，我們常讚揚錯人。

We celebrate the wrong leaders.

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

這不只是學術上的見解 或微不足道的看法。

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

今日，領導力發展是個 600 億美元的產業。

For good reason.

這是有原因的。

We need leaders, right?

我們需要領導者，對吧？

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

我們今天面臨的所有挑戰 都需要人們共同合作，

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

因此，我們需要一個人， 能夠激勵、鼓舞大家、

coordinate the work,

協調工作、

deal with whatever hiccups might arise along the way.

處理一路中可能會出現的問題。

But for this reason,

因此，

it's important that we celebrate the right leaders

重要的是我們要推崇對的領導者，

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

因為我們推崇的領導者 就是我們學習的榜樣。

And so in this sense,

從這個意義上說，

the leaders we celebrate have a direct impact on the success

我們推崇哪些領導者會直接影響到

眼前最重大事業的成敗。

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

So why do we celebrate the wrong leaders?

為什麼我們會讚揚 那些不合適的領導者？

Sometimes it comes down to pure racism and sexism.

有時候純粹是因為 種族主義和性別歧視。

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

有充分的證據表明，我們習慣 將領導力與白人男性聯繫在一起。

But there's another culprit at work as well,

但還有另一個因素在起作用，

what I like to call the action fallacy.

我稱之為行動謬誤。

Our mistaken belief

我們誤以為

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

最好的領導者是那些 在最戲劇性的情況下

action and sensational activity in the most dramatic circumstances.

說話最大聲、行動最煽情的人。

In other words,

換句話說，

we confuse a good story for good leadership.

我們把好的故事誤認為是好的領導力。

But the two are not the same.

但兩者並不相同。

As a matter of fact, very often,

事實上，

good leadership will result in a bad story.

好的領導力結果往往 是個不精采的故事。

Let me explain.

容我解釋一下。

Imagine leadership for one moment,

想像一下領導力的情境，

not as a polar explorer charting a new course

不是極地探險家開闢新路，

or a CEO motivating her staff,

也不是 CEO 激勵她的員工，

but as the simple act of swimming across a river.

而是簡單的游泳過河。

And not just any river.

不過，這不是一條普通的河。

Imagine a violent river with waves crashing together

想像一條暴烈的河流，波濤洶湧，

and rocks lurking somewhere below the surface.

暗礁潛伏。

If a swimmer ventures in haphazardly,

如果一個游泳者冒失地進入水中，

without being aware of his own capabilities or the currents,

不了解自己的能力或水流，

and nearly drowns,

差點溺水，

but splashes around wildly,

他瘋狂拍水，

fights with all his strength,

拼命掙扎，

and somehow miraculously manages to drag himself back to safety,

最終奇跡般地硬拖回到安全地帶，

those of us looking on, will notice him,

我們這些旁觀者會注意到他，

and we will probably say, "Wow,

我們可能會說，「哇，

what a guy!

這傢伙真厲害！

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

他真的拼盡全力，才脫離危險。」

And if instead we have a swimmer

但相對地，如果有另一位游泳者，

who has studied the river for years

她已經研究這條河流多年，

and knows just where and when to enter the water

知道在哪裡和何時入水，

and how to turn her body in subtle ways,

如何以微妙的方式轉動身體，

and so lets the current carry her across,

讓水流帶著她過河，

we probably won't notice her.

我們可能不會注意到她。

And if we do,

如果注意到，

we would probably say,

我們可能會說，

"Meh, that looks pretty easy."

「嗯，看起來挺容易的。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Shackleton and Amundsen are a case in point.

沙克爾頓和阿蒙森就是典型的例子。

Shackleton, our candidate B,

我們的候選人 B，沙克爾頓，

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

最著名的是他那次命運多舛的 「耐力號」探險，

which set off in the summer of 1914

這次探險在 1914 年夏天啟程，

and saw his ship become trapped

他的船在南極附近被冰困住，

and eventually crushed by the ice off Antarctica.

最終被壓碎。

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

然後他和他的隊員們 不得不冒險穿越冰層，

across the ice

and braved some of the stormiest seas on Earth

並面對地球上最狂暴的海域，

before finally reaching the safety of South Georgia

最終在 1916 年夏天 安全到達南喬治亞島。

in the summer of 1916.

Now, Shackleton was a tenacious man, no doubt,

毫無疑問，沙克爾頓是個堅毅的人，

and his is a captivating story fit for Hollywood.

他的故事引人入勝，適合拍成電影。

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

事實上，這已經被改編成一部電視劇， 由年輕的肯尼斯·布萊納主演。

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

但是，這故事並不適合 從中汲取領導力教訓。

Because admirable those efforts were,

因為雖然他的努力值得讚揚，

the crisis that beset him was largely self-inflicted.

但這場危機主要是他自己造成的。

He overlooked the advice from local whalers,

他忽視了當地捕鯨人的建議，

who told him the ice was particularly dangerous that season,

他們告訴他夏季的冰層特別危險，

and he overlooked massive deficits in his equipment, preparation,

他忽視了裝備、準備、

crew selection and training.

隊員選拔和訓練上的巨大不足。

And it gets worse.

更糟糕的是，

Rarely highlighted in the many books that celebrate his leadership qualities

在眾多讚揚他領導力的書籍中，

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

很少提及另一艘探險船

「極光號」遭遇了更嚴重的危機，

suffered an even graver crisis,

the result of which was three lost lives.

導致了三人喪生。

In contrast,

相對而言，

the expeditions of Roald Amundsen make for boring reading.

羅爾德·阿蒙森的探險讀起來很無聊。

Not because he was lucky,

不是因為他運氣好，

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

而是因為他對極地環境的深刻了解，

his careful and deliberate planning,

他的周密計劃，

and his authentic and innovative leadership in the field,

以及他在現場的真實、創新的領導力，

he managed to reduce the problems that his team encountered

讓他的隊伍遇到的問題降到了最低。

to a bare minimum.

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

1905 年，他用一艘小漁船，

what the mighty British Navy had failed to do

完成了英國海軍在過去八十年中 未能完成的壯舉：

the previous eight decades:

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

發現並航行穿越加拿大 大陸北部的西北航道。

In 1911, he reached the South Pole,

1911 年，他到達了南極，

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

這是一段穿越危險且未知的地形的 3000 公里的旅程，

and arrived back at his camp after 99 days,

他在 99 天後返回營地，

just one day off his planned schedule.

只比計劃的時間多了一天。

If Shackleton is the swimmer

如果沙克爾頓是 那個不顧水流和自身能力，

who rushes recklessly into the water

without understanding the currents or his own capabilities,

魯莽進入水中的游泳者，

Amundsen is the swimmer

阿蒙森就是另一位泳者，

who has spent a lifetime humbly studying the river

花了一生時間謙虛地研究河流，

before entering the water in just the right spot,

然後在恰當的時間和地點入水，

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

使其看起來輕而易舉。

Now the action fallacy causes real problems,

行動謬誤導致了真實的問題，

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

不僅僅是對過去的誤讀。

I arrived at it through my work as a historian

經由研究過去我們 為何讚揚某些領導者，

interested in why we celebrate some leaders of the past,

而忽略其他領導者， 我得出了這個結論。

but not others.

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

在我們當今的職場環境中， 這也是一個危險的現象。

because after all, the same biases and misconceptions

因為這些我們過去看待 領導力的偏見和誤解，

that we bring to our reading of the past

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

也同樣影響著我們 現在職場上對領導力的看法。

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

辦公室裏，「沙克爾頓們」， 而不是「阿蒙森們」，

who serve as role models,

成為了榜樣，

who get promoted and who get rewarded.

被提拔、獲得獎勵。

In fact, this is something

事實上，這一點

studies in organizational psychology have confirmed.

已由組織心理學的許多研究證實。

We see leadership potential in people who speak more,

我們認為那些話多的人較有領導潛力，

regardless of what they say.

無論他們說了什麼。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

In people who appear confident,

看起來自信的人有領導潛力，

regardless of how competent they are.

無論他們是否有能力。

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

我們對那些總是忙碌的人 有著不變的崇拜，

regardless of what they're actually doing.

不管他們到底在忙什麼。

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

我猜現在有些人想起 辦公室裡的某個人物。

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

別擔心，我們不會跟他們講。

In other words, appearing to be a good leader,

換句話說，表現出好領導的樣子，

rather than actually being one behind the scenes,

而不是在幕後實際做好領導工作，

is the path to fame and bonus and promotion today.

是通向名望、獎金和晉升的途徑。

And this causes all kinds of problems.

這會導致各種問題。

With the wrong leaders in charge,

不適合的領導者掌權，

organizations are obviously not performing at their full potential.

組織顯然無法充份發揮潛力。

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

這也會創造有毒的文化，

讓真正做好工作的人 反而感到被忽視和缺乏動力。

feel overlooked and demotivated.

And perhaps worst of all,

或許最糟糕的是，

it's a self-perpetuating cycle

這是一個自我延續的循環，

because by celebrating these flawed, action-oriented leaders,

因為通過讚揚這些有缺陷的、 以行動為導向的領導者，

we're actively creating more of them.

我們實際上是在培養更多這樣的人。

So this is a problem that we need to solve.

這是一個我們需要解決的問題。

The good news is we can.

好消息是我們可以解決它。

And it starts with reimagining what good leadership looks like.

我們要開始重新想像 優秀的領導力是什麼樣子。

And there's two sides to this.

這有一體兩面。

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

首先，我們要學會忽視 那些危機中的船長，

the Shackletons,

「沙克爾頓們」，

those who are lurching from one dramatic circumstance to another.

那些從一個戲劇性的情況 跳到另一個戲劇性情況中的人。

While some crises can't be avoided,

雖然有些危機無法避免，

many are self-inflicted or amplified by poor leadership,

但很多危機是由於領導不力 造成或加劇的，

or sometimes just a figment of their imagination.

有時甚至只是來自他們的想像。

Keith Grint, the preeminent scholar of leadership today,

當代領導學權威基斯·格林特 (Keith Grint)

brilliantly summarizes this problematic dynamic.

精辟地總結了這種有問題的動態。

"Since we reward people who are good in crises,

「因為我們獎勵那些 在危機中表現出色的人，

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

忽視那些管理得當， 以至於很少有危機發生的人，

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

人們很快就學會尋求或重塑狀況， 讓它看起來像危機。」

We need to disincentivize this style of leadership

我們必須拒絕給這些人所渴望的關注，

by refusing to give these people the attention they crave.

才能抑制這種領導風格。

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

當我們冷靜看待事實時， 這很容易做到。

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

阿蒙森的四次成功， 沙克爾頓的四次失敗。

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

但一旦這些事實融入一個故事，

the dramatic details pull us in like a magnet

戲劇性的細節就像磁鐵一樣吸引我們，

and give us a false sense of inspiration.

讓我們產生虛假的鼓舞。

False, because there's no real substance there.

虛假，因為那裡沒有真正的實質內容。

Instead, we need to learn to celebrate those who mitigate

相反，我們需要學會讚揚

那些減少而不是促成戲劇性的人。

rather than promote drama.

And this can be challenging

這可能具有挑戰性，

because often they do so in very subtle ways

因為他們經常以非常微妙的方式

below the surface of the water,

在水下行事，

in the case of our swimmer, right?

如同在游泳者的案例中，對吧？

They're obsessive planners.

他們是強迫症般的計劃者。

They build processes that align the organization's strengths

他們建立的流程使組織的優勢 與面臨的獨特挑戰相匹配。

with the unique challenges they face.

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

他們是真誠的，創造出 能夠激發人們最好狀態的文化。

Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun

哈佛商學院教授拉斐拉·薩頓 (Raffaella Sadun)

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

研究了這種幕後工作的深遠影響，

and she has given it a name.

並給它起了一個名字。

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

我不想給你們太多技術性的學術術語，

but this is an important one, she calls it

但這是一個重要的概念，

boring management.

她稱之為「無聊的管理」。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But as she tells us from her research,

但正如她的研究所告訴我們的，

the evidence is clear that boring management matters.

證據顯示無聊的管理很重要。

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

它可能不像前線指揮騎兵突擊

or giving a brash pep talk,

或發表激昂演講那麼令人興奮，

but it's the real toolkit of good leaders.

但這才是優秀領導者真正的工具箱。

And to me,

對我來說，

making a difference from behind the scenes,

從幕後默默無聞地發揮影響，

unconcerned with what other people are thinking,

不在意別人怎麼想，

unconcerned with spilling self-aggrandizing words, or exaggerating,

不想自我吹捧或誇大其詞，

such people are truly inspirational.

這樣的人才能真正激勵人心。

Let me summarize.

讓我總結一下。

The action fallacy tricks us into celebrating the wrong leaders.

行動謬誤讓我們讚揚了 不合適的領導者，

And this comes with huge costs.

這帶來了巨大的代價。

We can overcome it.

我們可以克服它。

I would say we must overcome it.

我想說，我們必須克服它。

And this starts with reimagining what good leadership looks like.

這始於重新想像 優秀的領導能力是什麼樣子。

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

所以，下一次你有機會 評價或獎勵一位領導者，

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

或者只是在試圖弄清楚

whose efforts actually guided your team or organization to success,

誰的努力真正引導 你的團隊或組織走向成功時，

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

不要被冒險故事和英雄壯舉所迷惑，

and take a moment to look below the surface

花點時間看看表面之下

or in the quieter corners of your team.

或你團隊中較安靜的角落。

And this is important,

這很重要，

because the next time your organization is faced

因為下一次你的組織面對

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

等同於冰層逼近的危機時，

who do you want in charge?

你希望誰來掌舵？

The leader who responds to the ship freezing in place

是那個應對船隻被冰封住動彈不得，

by frantically cranking the engine,

只會瘋狂地加速引擎、

unpacking the crates of dynamite,

拆開炸藥箱

and pushing his men to their breaking point?

並將手下推向極限的領導者，

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

還是那個一開始就避免 被困在冰層中的領導者？

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）