【Management 0321】当心这七类高管，企业可能被他们带上绝路

刘颖

In the face of disruptive developments in their industries and the world at large, CEOs need to act with speed and agility to pivot an organization’s focus. Continual change can be brutal for their people, so leaders need to focus more than ever on invigorating their organizations to overcome “change fatigue”.

Business leaders who exude positive energy demonstrate authenticity, a clear purpose, discipline and passion about possibility and opportunity. Their energy crosses internal company boundaries and goes viral; it can create social movements, infusing customers, opinion leaders and other stakeholders with excitement. These are leaders that we want to follow.

By contrast, “energy vampires” suck the energy out of a room and leave colleagues feeling dispirited, confused and tired.

For CEOs, having more people who can create energy within the senior team is not just good for morale, it’s good for the company’s top line. Indeed, as part of an ongoing research project that has so far examined the practices of more than 20,000 global leaders and 3,000 teams, we have found that leaders who can sustain energy and optimism are much more evident in “accelerating” companies than in “derailing companies”.

Accelerating companies build momentum more quickly—and pivot more adroitly—than their rivals. They outperform derailing companies in terms of revenues, productivity, and other measures of economic impact.

How can CEOs increase the odds of their functional teams being led by purpose-driven, high-energy leaders and not by energy vampires? They can start by recognizing and ridding the organization of seven energy-draining personality types that are more likely to be found in companies or teams that are derailing. Most importantly, they should avoid becoming energy vampires themselves.

• The Over-promiser/Under-deliverer: People with an inflated self-image can make boastful promises, which is completely fine if they deliver. But when their egos consistently write cheques their capabilities can’t cash, that’s a problem.

• The “Customer Schmustomer”: Customers are hard to gain and easy to lose. The one thing an organization doesn’t need is a leader who doesn’t understand that business is all about winning and keeping customers.

• The Troublemaker: These are not nonconformists who push boundaries, question assumptions, and help the organization think outside the box. Such devil’s advocates are valuable and should be encouraged, but some individuals simply like to create chaos around them. Those who consistently push boundaries in destructive ways need to change or leave.

• The Incapable: We pay people to do a job. The leader’s job is to be clear about what that entails and to give people the tools and training to get the job done. If they either can’t or won’t do that after a few chances, then they’ve probably been given one chance too many.

• The Flake: Some people look the part but, when push comes to shove, can’t be counted on to get the job done or even show up on a regular basis. You simply can’t trust them and life is too short to have employees you can’t trust.

• The Entitled: Some people are more thin-skinned and entitled than they have any right to be. Half their mind is on the job and the other half is waiting for someone to slip up so they can whine and complain or even threaten litigation. Don’t give in to that kind of behavior - cut them loose.

• The Insubordinate Subordinate: Whatever your rules of conduct are, you must uphold them fairly and consistently. Whether an employee is insubordinate to their boss or a top executive lies about something material on their resume, if it breaks the rules, you should show the person the door.

Creating energy in a company involves much more than ridding it of troublemakers. Leaders who create sustained energy do so intentionally by preparing for every moment, meeting and important conversation. CEOs should start by examining the example they set and focus on these three key recommendations identified in our research:

Set three to five strategic priorities that will move the company forward

Get these right and you create the natural energy to execute them; get them wrong and you get confusion. So how do you determine the right priorities? Get inspiration from visits with customers and your marketing department, which should champion the voice of the customer. Mix external input with the views of internal people who really understand what’s going on. Identify strategic priorities based on data and then create a vision of what they will look like when achieved. Link those priorities to the purpose of your organization and to what your people care about. Communicate these priorities again and again.

Finally, when it is time to retire a strategy, move on quickly. Our research shows that as much as 40% of value destruction occurs not as a result of entering doomed opportunities, but by staying in businesses, geographies or products long after competitive advantage has waned.

Lean in

Use stress not as a source of anxiety and retrenchment, but as an opportunity to galvanize the organization and generate energy to keep going. We need to establish coping rituals that will allow people to accept setbacks without the loss of momentum that a bad moment can bring. But we also have to learn from setbacks—and quickly—avoiding the corporate amnesia that afflicts so many. We found that teams in accelerating companies are almost twice as likely as others to be willing to fail fast and learn at speed.

Use purpose as your fuel

We all want to be connected to something meaningful. Creating a strong sense of purpose, tied to contributing to a greater good, gets people off the fence and encourages them to act urgently. This means going well beyond traditional mission statements and slogans. People at truly accelerating companies can tell you in just a few words what they do and why they do it, and get you excited about the company’s true North.

As we move forward in an increasingly unpredictable world, instilling energy, resilience and purpose into our companies, teams and even ourselves as leaders, will be of utmost importance. Setbacks and challenges are to be expected, but leaders who instill energy in their people, while reacting quickly and effectively to disruption, will guide their organizations ahead of their competition.

刘颖

很多行业和整个世界都面临翻天覆地的变化，要求首席执行官们迅速灵活地调整企业的重心。朝令夕改可能会让员工无所适从，所以领导者格外注意激励企业员工克服“变动疲劳症”。

一般来说，散发正能量的商业领袖会显得真诚，目的明确，严于律己，而且对各种可能性和机会充满热情。他们的热情会传遍整个公司，而且会呈病毒式扩散。往大了说，他们可能推动社会变革，让消费者、意见领袖和其他利益相关方感到兴奋。他们是让人愿意追随的领袖。

与之相反，“能量吸血鬼”会吸走所有能量，导致同事心情沮丧，充满困惑而且疲劳不堪。

对首席执行官来说，在高管团队里增加具有正能量的管理者不仅有助提振士气，对整体管理也有好处。我们有一个进行中的项目，已经调研了20000多位全球领袖和3000多个团队，发现能保持团队能量，激发乐观情绪的领导者会更明显地推动企业“加速”，不会令公司发展“掉队”。
加速发展的企业会比竞争对手更快积聚动力，调整方向更加游刃有余。无论看收入、生产效率还是其他经济指标，加速型企业都比发展不稳的企业表现好。

首席执行官如何才能尽量将职能团队交给目标明确、精力充沛的领导者，而不是能量吸血鬼呢？首先就要认清发展不顺的公司或团队里七种常见的负能量性格，避免招进公司。更重要的是，避免自己变成能量吸血鬼。

• 爱夸口/不见实效：自我膨胀的人容易夸海口，如果真能做到的话无所谓。但如果过分自大，总是吹完牛又做不到，那就有问题了。

• “不重视客户”：客户难得易失去。如果不理解企业最重要的业务就是赢得市场留住客户，就不是称职的领导者。

• 总惹麻烦：这种人并非敢于破除陈规，扩大边界，挑战既有认识，帮助企业换角度思考问题。提到的这些素质都是很宝贵的，值得鼓励。惹麻烦的人只喜欢在身边制造混乱。如果总是破坏规矩挑战底线，要么改变做事方式，要么走人。

• 能力不足：公司付薪水是让人干活的。领导者的工作就是明确需要哪些资源，给手下员工提供必要的工具和培训，确保完成工作。如果给了几次机会没法做好或是没有意愿做好，可能就不该给那么多机会。

• 不靠谱：有些人看上去进入角色很快，接到任务却没法按质按量完成，甚至没法保证规律上班。这种人根本不能信任，人生苦短，别留着信不过的员工。

• 有点小权就显摆：有些人神经过敏，承担的责任超过了才能。他们脑子里只有一半工夫想工作，另外一半总在盯着别人犯没犯错，只要有人出错，他们就可以尽情抱怨，甚至打小报告。碰到这种无聊之人别束手无策，赶紧请走省得麻烦。

• 不服管的下属：不管你定下什么规则，都要公平持续地坚持。员工是否服从老板或高管或多或少会体现在简历里，如果做不到，请另谋高就。
激发企业的活力可不只是请走惹麻烦的人。领导者如果想持续激发能量，就得有意为每次事件、会议和重要谈话做好准备。首席执行官应该从检查自身树立的榜样开始，遵从我们研究中提出的三项关键建议：

制定三到五件优先事项，推动公司发展

优先事项制定得准确，执行起来自然有动力；如果定得不合适会引发困惑。如何确定优先事项制定得合适呢？可以拜访客户和公司里的营销部门，因为营销部门最了解客户心意，从中找点启发。以数据为基础确定战略优先级，设想一下如果能顺利完成，公司发展状况如何。将优先级与发展目标，以及所有人最关心的点结合起来。要不厌其烦一遍一遍地沟通，确保优先级制定正确。
最后，如果想终止某项策略，动作要迅速。我们的研究显示，40%的价值损失并非注定失败的项目导致，而是竞争优势消失很久还要死守某项业务、某个区域或某种产品。

精益求精

面对压力不要焦虑退缩，要当成激励企业焕发活力向前的机会。要推崇解决问题的习惯，让人们接受挫折，不要遇到问题就失去奋斗的动力。同时也要注意从挫折中学习，而且行动要迅速，避免栽在很多公司吃过亏的集体健忘症上。我们发现，加快发展型企业迅速接受失败并尽快从中学习的可能性是其他同行的两倍。

把目标当成动力

每个人都想做有意义的事。要有强烈的目标感，将自身努力与更大的事业结合起来，才能推动人们消除隔阂立刻行动。这意味着不拘泥于传统的任务目标，空喊口号。真正快速发展的企业里，人们会毫不犹豫地告诉你他们在做什么，为什么要做这件事，而且能感染你为企业的愿景激动。

当今世界发展迅速，越发变幻莫测，向企业，团队甚至领导者自身注入能量，韧性和清晰的发展目标极其重要。挫折和挑战在所难免，但只要领导者能鼓舞人们团结奋斗，遇到干扰及时有效应对，就能带领企业在竞争中立于不败之地。