作者：Robert I. Sutton，2010年5月28日
What makes a boss great? It’s a question I’ve been researching for a while now. In June 2009, I offered some analysis in HBR on the subject, and more recently I’ve been hard at work on a book called Good Boss, Bad Boss (published in September by Business Plus).
哪些因素能使一个老板变得优秀？这个问题我已经研究了一段时间，2009年6月，我为《哈佛商业评论》所提出的这一主题进行过若干分析，而最近我正集中精力写一本名为《好老板，坏老板》的书（将于9月份由Business Plus出版）。
In both cases, my approach has been to be as evidence-based as possible. That is, I avoid giving any advice that isn’t rooted in real proof of efficacy; I want to pass along the techniques and behaviors that are grounded in sound research. It seems to me that, by adopting the habits of good bosses and shunning the sins of bad bosses, anyone can do a better job overseeing the work of others.
不管是进行主题分析还是在写书的过程中，我所提出的看法都尽量基于真实案例，也就是说，我不会给一些脱离实际情况的建议，我想告诉大家的是基于可靠的研究而得到的一些技巧和方法。在我看来，如果能采纳“好老板”的习惯，规避“坏老板”的过失，那么任何一个人都可以做好管理别人的工作（即“成为一个牛逼的老板”）。4
At the same time, I’ve come to conclude that all the technique and behavior coaching in the world won’t make a boss great if that boss doesn’t also have a certain mindset.
同时，我还得出了一个结论：如果一位老板没有一个特定的心态，即便他掌握了世界上所有的方法和技巧，也无法成为一位“伟大的老板”！
My readings of peer-reviewed studies, plus my more idiosyncratic experience studying and consulting to managers in many settings, have led me identify some key beliefs that are held by the best bosses — and rejected, or more often simply never even thought about, by the worst bosses. Here they are, presented as a neat dozen:
通过对那些“同行评审研究材料”的阅读，再加上给经理人进行过各方面的咨询及辅导的独特经验，我总结出“最好的老板”所遵循的一些关键准则（这是那些“最差劲的老板”所拒绝或从未想到过的），简单概括为以下12条：2
1．I have a flawed and incomplete understanding of what it feels like to work for me.
1、那些“为我所用”的东西是不完整的，是有缺陷的！
2．My success — and that of my people — depends largely on being the master of obvious and mundane things, not on magical, obscure, or breakthrough ideas or methods.
2、我（和我的员工们）的成功很大程度上是因为我们可以掌握了一些显而易见、平淡无奇的东西，而不是那些神奇、晦涩、充满突破性的点子与方法。6
3．Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much. My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my people to make a little progress every day.
3、拥有雄心壮志和明确的目标是非常重要的，但是“眼高手低”是绝对没有用的！我的工作是着眼于那些“小小的成功”，以保证我的员工每一天都能取得一点点进步！
4．One of the most important, and most difficult, parts of my job is to strike the delicate balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough.
4、最重要、最艰难的一点是，我的部分工作是平衡好“过于自信”和“不够自信”之间的微妙关系。
5．My job is to serve as a human shield, to protect my people from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every stripe — and to avoid imposing my own idiocy on them as well.
5、我的工作就是充当一个“人体盾牌”，来保护我的员工免受外界的干扰和侵袭，使他们远离那些“愚蠢的事情”，同时也要避免自己把一些愚蠢行为（或想法）强加到他们身上。
6．I strive to be confident enough to convince people that I am in charge, but humble enough to realize that I am often going to be wrong.
6、我会有足够的信心来告诉员工“我能搞定这些事”，但同时也要谦虚地认识到，我也会经常犯错误。
7．I aim to fight as if I am right, and listen as if I am wrong — and to teach my people to do the same thing.
7、努力工作时，我会认为自己是正确的；认真倾听（别人）时，我会认为自己是错误的——同时让我的员工也这样做。
8．One of the best tests of my leadership — and my organization — is “what happens after people make a mistake?”
8、检验“我的领导力”和“我的公司”的最佳方法之一是：“大家在犯了错误之后会发生什么事？”
9．Innovation is crucial to every team and organization. So my job is to encourage my people to generate and test all kinds of new ideas. But it is also my job to help them kill off all the bad ideas we generate, and most of the good ideas, too.
9、“创新”对于每一个团队和组织都是至关重要的，所以我的工作是激励我的员工产生并检验各种新的想法，但同时我也要帮助他们消灭所有的坏主意和一部分好主意（只留下最好的主意）。
10．Bad is stronger than good. It is more important to eliminate the negative than to accentuate the positive.
10、“坏情况”比“好情况”更有用，消除“消极因素”要比强化“积极因素”更加重要！
11．How I do things is as important as what I do.
11、“如何做”比“做了什么”更加重要！
12．Because I wield power over others, I am at great risk of acting like an insensitive jerk — and not realizing it.
12、由于我拥有凌驾于别人之上的权力，所以我就更像是一个对“巨大风险”不敏感（无法意识到）的笨蛋！
What do you say: does that about cover it? If not, tell me what I missed. Or if you’re not quite sure what I mean in these brief statements, stay tuned. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be digging into each one of them in more depth, touching on the research evidence and illustrating with examples.
你可能会问：“这12条真的就面面俱到了么？”如果没有的话，请告诉我遗漏了什么；如果你对这些简短的描述不太明白的话，敬请关注（我的博客），在未来的几周时间里，我将结合实际案例及研究证据，对每一条进行详细阐述。4
If you’re like most people I meet, you’ve had your share of bad bosses — and probably at least one good one. What were the attitudes the good one held? And what great, workplace-transforming beliefs could your worst boss never quite embrace?
如果你和我所遇见的大多数人一样，那么你肯定遇到过有不少“坏老板”，当然至少应该遇到过一位“好老板”，那么，“好老板”拥有哪些态度？拥有哪些“坏老板”从未关注的可以改变工作环境的伟大信念呢？
Robert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He studies and writes about management, innovation, and the nitty-gritty of organizational life. His new book is Good Boss, Bad Boss.
作者简介：Robert Sutton，斯坦福大学管理科学与工程学教授，主要研究领域为管理学、创新和组织生活基本要素等，最近出版的书为《好老板，坏老板》。2
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