2023年经济学人 低头做事有好处也有坏处

低头做事有好处也有坏处

商业版块

Bartleby

巴托比专栏

Dullness and its discontents

沉闷者及其不满

Unshowy competence¹ brings benefits as well as drawbacks

低头做事既有好处也有坏处

The charismatic corporate² climber is a common target for resentment³ in office life.

在办公室里，魅力四射且拼命往上爬的人常常招来怨恨。

He—and research suggests men are particularly given to such narcissism⁴—hogs the spotlight⁵ in meetings, is adept⁶ at grabbing undeserved glory, and is a pro⁷ at self-promotion⁸.

他——研究表明，男性尤其容易自恋——在开会时喜欢博取关注，擅长抢夺本不属于自己的荣誉，还是自我推销的行家。

More often than not, he is the boss’s pet.

很多时候，他是老板的宠儿。

But he rises on the back of another, unsung, corporate archetype: the competent, diligent⁹ but unexciting achiever.

但他是靠着另一类默默无闻的公司员工努力工作才得以晋升的：这类人能干、勤奋，但平淡无奇。

Studies find that plenty of confident egomaniacs, unsuited to the subtleties¹⁰ of management, get a leg-up for being, well, confident egomaniacs.

研究发现，虽然许多自信的自大狂因心思不够细腻而不适合做管理工作，但他们恰恰会因为自信自大而被往上拉一把。

Companies disproportionately promote narcissists.

公司会提拔相当多的自恋者。

Perhaps a fifth of chief executives fit the description, researchers have found, a far higher proportion than within the wider population.

研究人员发现，首席执行官之中，符合自恋描述的人占五分之一，这一比例远远高于广大人群中自恋者所占的比例。

Self-absorbed CEOs can sap morale¹¹ and, evidence suggests, produce poor financial results.

以自我为中心的首席执行官可能会挫伤士气，而且有证据表明，他们也会造成财务业绩不佳。

A strong case for the dull striver was made by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a psychologist at University College London, in an article for the Harvard Business Review in 2015 entitled “The best managers are boring managers”.

伦敦大学学院的心理学家托马斯·查莫罗-普雷穆季奇在2015年为《哈佛商业评论》撰写了一篇文章，题为《最好的经理人是无趣的经理人》，文章为支持沉闷但努力的人进行了有力论证。

Understated competence does not intuitively scream leadership.

低调的才干不会直观地表现为领导力。

Many totemic bosses of the age, from bankers to tech founders¹², come with big egos¹³, showy antics and volatile¹⁴ tempers.

现今时代的许多图腾式老板，从银行家到科技公司创始人，都极其自负，爱哗众取宠，且脾气反复无常。

Elon Musk¹⁵ may be accused of many things.

埃隆·马斯克可能会受到许多批评。

Dullness is not one of them.

但沉闷并非其中之一。

Even so, Mr Chamorro-Premuzic argued, conscientious¹⁶ but unprepossessing characters tend to have little-noticed but precious advantages.

即便如此，查莫罗-普雷穆季奇认为，勤勉认真但平平无奇的人往往具有不易被察觉，但非常宝贵的优势。

They can be depended on to make decisions calmly, manage teams deftly¹⁷ and be emotionally mature.

人们可以信任他们会冷静地做出决定，巧妙地管理团队，并保持情感成熟。

They deserve promotion ahead of co-workers with “flash and vision, and bold displays of confidence”.

他们比那些“闪闪发光、有远见、大胆展示自信”的同事值得更早地得到晋升。

A seminal¹⁸ meta-analysis of research on leadership characteristics, published in 2002 by Timothy Judge, then at the University of Florida, and colleagues, indeed found a link between managerial effectiveness and personality traits such as being stable, agreeable and dependable.

2002年，当时在佛罗里达大学工作的蒂莫西·贾奇及其同事发表了一项关于领导力特征研究的影响重大的元分析。该分析确实发现，管理效率与稳定、随和、可靠等人格特质之间存在联系。

One explanation is that level-headedness makes it easier to deal coolly with the many subtle problems thrown up by human beings (who may all too easily infuriate a more volatile manager).

一种解释是，冷静的头脑更容易冷静地处理人类引发的许多微妙问题(人类要激怒一个更反复无常的经理可太容易了)。

Emotional maturity¹⁹ is also an indicator²⁰ of trustworthiness.

情绪成熟也是值得信赖的一个标志。

Studies have found that managers with dysfunctional traits such as narcissism are likelier to get up to no good.

研究发现，具有自恋等功能障碍特征的管理者更有可能做出不好的事情。

Conscientious bosses, by contrast, score highly for integrity.

相比之下，勤勉认真的老板在为人正直方面得分很高。

The dull but diligent could be especially valuable now.

那些沉闷但勤奋的人现在可能格外有价值。

As companies claim increasingly to prize soft skills, such as being able to communicate well with all sorts of people, emotionally intelligent workers ought to be in demand.

随着公司越来越看重软技能，比如能够与各种人很好地沟通，情商高的员工应该会受到欢迎。

A volatile business environment in which firms face problems from recession to climate change, pandemics and war, favours the steady leader.

在动荡的商业环境中，公司面临着从衰退到气候变化、流行病、战争等各种问题，在这种情况下稳重的领导者会受到青睐。

Chief executives face tricky²¹ decisions about how much risk to take in pursuit of growth, as shareholders²² look on nervously²³.

在股东们紧张的目光注视下，首席执行官们面临棘手的决定，即为了追求增长要承担多大风险。

Startup bosses who proudly moved fast and broke things are now falling over themselves to look demure²⁴.

那些以行动迅速、摧枯拉朽为傲的初创公司老板们，现在正前赴后继地让自己看起来严肃庄重。

“We are a very boring company,” Oliver Merkel, head of Flink, a grocery-delivery startup, bragged²⁵ to the Financial Times recently.

“我们是一家非常无趣的公司。”食品杂货快递初创公司Flink的老板奥利弗·默克尔最近这样向《金融时报》吹嘘。

The trend is visible in politics, too.

这一趋势在政坛也很明显。

Joe Biden in America and Rishi Sunak in Britain rose to their countries’ top jobs partly because their boring dependability promised relief from their predecessors’ noisy incompetence²⁶.

美国的约瑟夫·拜登和英国的里希·苏纳克成为各自国家的最高领导人，部分原因是他们无趣但可靠的个性很有可能会把人民从喧嚣但无能的前任中解救出来。

Testing times call for cool heads.

充满考验的时代需要冷静的头脑。

For all that, quietly competent types hoping for greater appreciation²⁷ (and remuneration) should not sit still.

尽管如此，希望得到更多赏识(和薪酬)的沉默能干的人不应安坐等待。

To rise up the ranks, the boring would do well to raise their profiles, whether by speaking up in meetings or talking up their accomplishments²⁸.

要提升自己的地位，沉闷无趣的人最好提高自己的存在感，可以在开会时大胆发言，也可以夸一夸自己的成就。

If they bag bigger jobs they will anyway need to master show-offy things like glad-handing clients, chairing meetings and holding forth²⁹ on strategy.

如果他们坐到更高的位置，他们无论如何都需要学会一些装腔作势的事，比如对客户笑脸相迎、主持会议和提出战略。

Though Mr Judge’s analysis revealed emotional stability and general diligence were crucial to managerial effectiveness, extrovert³⁰ qualities such as sociability³¹ were also telling factors.

虽然贾奇的分析显示，情绪稳定和勤奋对管理效率至关重要，但善于社交等外向品质也是重要因素。

Companies’ penchant³² for promoting the wrong people is deeply ingrained, despite management theorists’ admonitions.

尽管管理学理论家经常发出告诫，但公司喜欢提拔不合适的人的现象依然根深蒂固。

By default, many of those dishing out promotions³³ are themselves narcissists who advanced by wowing their superiors.

一般情况下，许多提拔员工的人本身就是自恋者，他们就是通过在上级面前表现自己来获得晋升的。

And showy sorts’ shameless self-aggrandisement fulfils a convenient function for bosses, giving them a shortcut—no matter how misleading—to finding candidates for elevation³⁴.

而且，爱表现的人毫不脸红地自吹自擂，这为老板们提供了一种便利，为他们提供了一条寻找升职候选人的捷径——无论这种捷径有多大的误导性。

Many managers are too busy to patiently unearth³⁵ genuine talent.

许多经理太忙了，没耐心挖掘真正的人才。

After all, they have other important things on their plates—like impressing their own bosses.

毕竟，他们手头还有其他重要的事情要做——比如给自己的老板留下好印象。

1 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

4 narcissism   

n.自我陶醉，自恋

参考例句：

• Those who suffer from narcissism become self-absorbed.自恋的人会变得自私。
• The collective narcissism of the Kerouac circle is ultimately boring.凯鲁亚克和他周围人物的集体自我陶醉欲最终使人厌烦不已。

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

7 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

8 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

9 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

10 subtleties   

细微( subtlety的名词复数 )； 精细； 巧妙； 细微的差别等

参考例句：

• I think the translator missed some of the subtleties of the original. 我认为译者漏掉了原著中一些微妙之处。
• They are uneducated in the financial subtleties of credit transfer. 他们缺乏有关信用转让在金融方面微妙作用的知识。

11 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

13 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

14 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

15 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

16 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

17 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

19 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

20 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

21 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

22 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

23 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

24 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

25 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

27 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

28 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

29 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

30 extrovert   

n.性格外向的人

参考例句：

• A good salesman is usually an extrovert,who likes to mingle with people.一个好的推销员通常很外向，喜欢和人们交往。
• Do you think you're an extrovert or introvert?你认为你是个性外向的人还是个性内向的人？

31 sociability   

n.好交际，社交性，善于交际

参考例句：

• A fire of withered pine boughs added sociability to the gathering. 枯松枝生起的篝火给这次聚合增添了随和、友善的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• A certain sociability degree is a specific character of most plants. 特定的群集度是多数植物特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

32 penchant   

n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向

参考例句：

• She has a penchant for Indian food.她爱吃印度食物。
• He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.他喜欢拿人开玩笑。

33 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

34 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

35 unearth   

v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出

参考例句：

• Most of the unearth relics remain intact.大多数出土文物仍保持完整无损。
• More human remains have been unearthed in the north.北部又挖掘出了更多的人体遗骸。