好英语网为什么你需要一个严苛的老板？
Everyone wants a nice boss. And if a nice boss is one who respects me and my work, challenges me to get better and wants to see me grow as both a professional and a leader, then I’m for it too.
人人都希望自己的老板和蔼可亲。如果和蔼可亲的老板不仅尊重我和我的工作，还能激励我进步，希望看到我的职业素养和领导能力双双成长，我也很支持这样的想法。
But too many people look at a hard-charging boss and jump to the conclusion that he or she is a tyrant.
很多人看到严厉苛刻的老板就认定此人是个暴君。
Here’s what these people don’t get: just because you have a nice boss, doesn’t mean you have a good boss.
但这些人没有明白一个道理：和蔼可亲的老板未必是好老板。
I’ve seen plenty of bosses who might talk the talk about demanding exceptional performance but, all too often, they just want employees to like them. What’s more, they want people to speak well of them, to be “friends” with them. This type of boss is afraid that if they set high performance targets and challenge their staff to meet and surpass them, their esteem will slip. As a result, they ease up on their expectations, sometimes without realising it. Not surprisingly, performance falters.
我见过很多这样的老板：他们或许口头上会要求员工为优异的业绩而努力奋斗，但其内心往往只是希望员工能喜欢自己。除此之外，他们还希望得到员工的称赞，与之成为“朋友”。这种老板都很担心一个问题：如果他们给下属制定了很高的目标，鼓励他们达到或超过这些目标，便会导致自己得不到尊重。因此，他们往往会放松要求，有时甚至连他们自己都没有意识到个问题。在这样的老板手下工作，业绩平庸也就在所难免。
Some of the best leaders I’ve seen, whether in research or coaching, come to work with a razor-sharp focus on results. These immensely successful bosses don’t care much about being liked. Their expectations are both staggering and non-negotiable — and their teams know it.
无论是在研发还是培训领域，我见过的最优秀的领导者都十分关注结果。这些取得巨大成功的老板并不太在乎下属是否喜欢自己，他们的期望高得惊人，而且没有谈判余地——他们的团队也都对此了然于心。
Take, for example, US real estate guru Bill Sanders. “Everybody knew that Bill demanded results,” said Ronald Blankenship, former chairman and CEO of Verde Realty, a real estate investment trust and long-time associate of Sanders. “If you were going to work with him, you needed to be prepared to make that your primary focus.”
以美国房地产大亨比尔·桑德斯(Bill Sanders)为例。曾经担任房地产投资信托Verde Realty董事长兼首席执行官并长期担任桑德斯副手的罗纳德·布兰肯西普(Ronald Blankenship)说：“所有人都知道比尔很看重结果。如果你要跟他共事，就要准备好把这当做头等大事来对待。”
These great leaders are not afraid to lay down the law — they don’t hesitate for an instant. And paradoxically, their toughness, accompanied by their adherence to their unique and inspiring visions, often generates more esteem among their reports, not less.
这些伟大的领导者从不惮于发号施令——他们甚至会毫不犹豫地下达命令。但令人意想不到的是，尽管他们十分严厉，而且对自己独特而振奋人心的愿景始终坚定不移，但却往往能够赢得下属更多的尊重。
In fact, it generates something greater than mere esteem among most employees: A profound respect, loyalty, even love.
事实上，这些领导者获得的不只是多数员工的尊重，而是一种发自内心的尊敬、忠诚，甚至爱戴。
Of course, being tough doesn’t mean being offensive. How do you know if you’re falling prey to the Nice Boss Syndrome? Consider these questions — and keep track of your yesses.
当然，严厉并不意味着无礼。如何才能知道自己是否深受“和蔼老板综合征”的困扰？可以考虑以下几个问题——并统计自己给出的答案。
● During the past year, have you changed your expectations for someone more than once after he or she failed to perform or meet your standards?
● 过去一年内，在某人表现糟糕或未能达到你的标准时，你是否不止一次地改变过自己对他或她的预期？
● During the last year, have you failed to follow up and punish bad behaviour?
● 过去一年内，你是否未能关注并惩罚不良行为？
● Do you sometimes grant employees bonuses or other special compensation even after they have failed to meet their goals — just because they “tried hard”?
● 你是否在员工未能达成目标时依然向其发放奖金或其他特殊补助——仅仅是因为他们“工作很努力”？
● Do you fail to set clear, meaningful goals for your team members? Clear goals are specific, measurable, attainable, and come with a deadline; vague goals don’t.
● 你是否未能给自己的团队成员设定清晰而有意义的目标？清晰的目标必须内容明确、可以衡量、能够实现，而且还要附带截止日期；模糊的目标则不具备这些属性。
● Do you tend to withhold negative feedback for fear of upsetting or alienating someone?
● 你是否因为担心某人不高兴或害怕疏远某人，而放弃给出负面反馈？
● When you do deliver negative feedback, do you find yourself softening it?
● 当你给予负面反馈时，你是否发现自己会弱化这些反馈？
● Do your bosses or fellow managers perceive you as soft and overly accommodating?
● 你的老板或其他管理者是否认为你很软弱或过于随和？
● Do the people who work for you have a tendency to rest on their laurels when they do succeed (for instance, do they think that good work is enough, no striving for the next goal)?
● 当你的手下取得成功时，他们是否往往不思进取(例如，他们是否认为做好工作就足够了，而不会努力达成下一个目标)？
If you find yourself answering “yes” to three or more of these questions, you might be suffering from Nice Boss Syndrome. In that case, it’s time to change your ways. If you want to be respected, not just liked:
如果你发现你在回答上面的问题时，给出了3个或3个以上的肯定答案，那你或许就患上了“和蔼老板综合征”。倘若如此，那就应该调整自己的工作方式。如果你希望得到尊重，而不仅仅是让人喜欢，那就应该采取以下措施：
● Keep an “expectations logbook”, laying out performance expectations for each of your staff, your ongoing daily observations about their performance, and any actions you’ve taken to enforce your expectations.
● 罗列一份“预期日志”，列出你对每位下属的业绩预期、你每天对他们表现的观察结果，以及你为了落实自己的预期所采取的所有措施。
● For each of your reports, revisit the goals you’ve set. Are they ambitious or aggressive enough? Are they clear and quantifiable? Don’t downgrade just because someone failed to meet a goal.
● 重新思考你给每位下属制定的目标。这些目标是否足够野心勃勃、咄咄逼人？是否明确且可以量化？不要仅仅因为有人无法达成目标而放松要求。
● Is there a way to “gamify” performance expectations and make them public or transparent among your team? Doing so might foster healthy competition while making it harder for you to wiggle out if you need to hold people accountable.
● 能否对业绩预期进行“游戏化”改造，以便在团队成员之间保持公开透明？这样或许可以营造健康的竞争环境，而且可以避免你在需要追究责任时摇摆不定。
● Practice delivering negative feedback: Avoid emotion and stick to the facts; flag that negative feedback is coming so it’s not a surprise; focus on how to do it better next time rather than just critiquing the past.
● 练习如何给予员工负面反馈：不要情绪化，而要以事实为基础；让员工知道你会给出负面反馈，避免让他们感到意外；把重点放在下一次如何改善业绩上，而不要过分批评过去的表现。
“Nice” bosses may feel good about themselves, but they don’t get world-class results. Demanding bosses do. And if you work for a nice boss, don’t get too self-satisfied. If you aren’t getting better at whatever you do for a living, and learning and growing in the process, you’re not just standing still, you’re really falling behind.
“和蔼可亲的”老板或许自我感觉良好，但他们无法实现世界级的业绩。但要求苛刻的老板却可以做到。如果你效力于一位和蔼可亲的老板，千万不要过于自满。如果你赖以维持生计的技能并没有提升，也没有在这一过程中学习和成长，那就像逆水行舟一样——不进则退。
In the modern business world – where competition can come from anyone and anywhere, anytime – just getting by is not a winning formula.
在现代商业世界中，竞争无处不在——任何人都有可能在任何时间、任何地方向你发起挑战——所以仅仅取得“过得去”的业绩，是很难获得成功的。