Why You Need Charisma

新一代领袖与企业家，除了要拥有具发展潜力的构想，还要有一项共同特质：强烈的领袖魅力。

The emerging leaders and rising entrepreneurs on whom I place my bets have one thing in common besides a promising idea: a lot of charisma.

保罗·李（Paul  Lee，化名）擅长吸引人们认同他的愿景，对他产生信赖感。他对人兴趣盎然，因此总是孜孜不倦地经营人脉；他只要花30分钟搭乘一班通勤班机，就可能交到新朋友。对于有意愿的投资人，以及运动界和娱乐圈的名人，他会使出浑身解数，提供贴心的服务，例如帮他们的孩子拿到运动比赛的门票，或者立即用手机介绍别人认识对方。保罗的吸引力不在于他说的故事，而在于他会全神贯注聆听其他人诉说的故事，再促使他们加入能够联系自身故事的活动中。保罗离开一家大公司两年之后，在纽约与洛杉矶建立了一家小型企业集团，他得到资金支持与名人代言，并为慈善捐款，而这一切的基础就是他能够让人们加入他的行列，并且不断培养耕耘这些人际关系。

“Paul Lee” (not his real name) is particularly adept at attracting people to his visions and engendering trust. A tireless networker because of his great interest in people, he can spend thirty minutes on a commuter plane and disembark with new friends. He approaches potential investors and also top figures in sports and entertainment based on sheer charm and willingness to do personal things for them, like get tickets to a game for the kids or make introductions, immediately on his mobile. His magnetism isn’t in the stories he tells; it comes from the intense way he listens to other people’s stories and then draws them into an activity connected to that story. Within a two years after leaving an established firm, Lee built a mini-conglomerate in New York and Los Angeles. He attracts capital, celebrity endorsements, and money for philanthropy based on talking people into joining him and constantly nurturing those relationships.

保罗采用的模式是先以一家市场营销公司为核心，再投资成立周边的公司，然后充分利用核心公司的能力来实现成长的潜能。至于他的领导模式，主要就是让人们能够感觉到自己的独特性，自己的特殊需求可以得到满足，但同时又有共同的参与感，从人际联合中得到力量。对于主持慈善活动，保罗和妻子会选择自己真正关切的主题，让CEO与他的童年好友、摇滚歌手打成一片。保罗的世界非常积极正向，因此很吸引人，几乎没有任何的对手与敌意（虽然我知道，如果他想要丑化打击对手，他是能够做到的）。

Lee’s business model involves building a core marketing company and surrounding it with satellite investments that can draw on the capabilities of the core to realize their growth potential. His leadership model involves making sure all feel that they are special and will have their particular needs met, yet also feeling that they are all in it together, drawing strength from association. At charity events Lee and his wife host for causes he cares about, CEOs mingle with his childhood friends and rock singers. Lee’s world is appealing because it is highly positive; it’s hard to find a hint of rivalries or enmities (even though I know he could demonize a rival if he wished).

领袖魅力靠的不是口才或修辞，保罗并不是熟练卓越的演说家或作家。领袖魅力也不能脱离实质内涵，保罗现在的成绩单一定很漂亮，实际上也真的是如此，因为他能够招揽最优秀的人才，再让这些人去吸引其他精英。保罗刚刚踏上领导之路，但是已经能够得到人们的信赖。或者更确切地说，信赖来自个人吸引力所组成的团队。这才是领袖魅力的精髓。

Charisma isn’t oratory or rhetoric; Lee is not a polished speaker or writer. Charisma isn’t devoid of substance, either. Lee’s numbers must look good — which they do, because he can entice the best people and that entices others. Lee is just at the beginning of his leadership journey, but people have faith in him — more accurately, faith in the groups he can assemble because of his magnetism. That’s the essence of charisma.

近年来领袖魅力蒙上负面印象，领导力专家目前的趋势是质疑“伟大男性”的理论（女性领导者还不够多，因此还没有“伟大女性”的理论可供质疑），转而强调多重领导者、被领导者行为（followership）、分布式领导（distributed   leadership）、团队等概念。的确，单打独斗难以成功，就算是所谓的“水上行走者”，他们之所以能走过水面，靠的仍是脚下的石头，也就是台面下的支持体系（水上行走者，water   walker，名称取自宗教人物，也是我在《信心》一书中最喜欢运用的形象之一）。另一方面，领袖魅力沾染的宗教色彩，的确会营造出盲目信仰的形象，或者相信新CEO能够只手挽救公司失败的命运。然而，完全排斥领袖魅力的因素也是因噎废食，轻视了成为领导者必备的个人吸引力。

Charisma has been getting a bad rap recently. The trend among leadership gurus is to discredit the “great man” theory of leadership (there aren’t enough women leaders yet for a “great woman” theory to discredit), and emphasize instead the ideas of multiple leaders, followership, distributed leadership, and teams. It is true that no single individual succeeds by himself or herself. Even so-called “water walkers” (named after a religious figure, and one of my favorite images from my book Confidence) have stones holding them up while they walk on the water — that is, support systems just below the surface. It is also true that the religious tinge associated with charisma conjures up images of blind faith, whether leading people to drink the lethal kool-aid or invoking the false hope that a new CEO can rescue a failing corporation all by herself. But rejecting charisma as a factor goes overboard, missing the personal appeal that makes someone a leader.

历届美国总统选举也有类似的问题，经常被批评为过度强调人格特质，而非实质问题。社会心理学家将好感度（likeability）与能力视为截然不同的变量，这么做显得好像领导者无法兼具两者。每逢选举季节，权威人士会衡量好感度的因素，但同时又提出质疑，将它丑化为只是选择啤酒酒伴的条件。然而我站在另一阵营：我认为如果其他条件都差不多，民众应该选择较具领袖魅力的候选人；因为一位领导者如果能让我们着迷、引领我们参与反映自身美好特质的行动，他也就比较能够运用这种吸引力，在争斗不休的政治环境中做出一番成绩。比尔·克林顿（Bill  Clinton）与罗纳德·里根（Ronald  Reagan）两位总统都拥有非凡的领袖魅力。领导者如果不会做Excel表格，可以请人帮忙，然而人际关系技巧却不能外包。

Similarly, U.S. Presidential elections have been criticized for emphasizing personality over substance. Social psychologists have turned likeability and competence into distinct variables, as though leaders can’t have both. In election season, the likeability factor is measured but simultaneously discredited by pundits who caricature it as a choice of beer-drinking companions. I come down on the other side: I think people should choose the more charismatic candidate, all other things being roughly equal, because a leader that can charm us and lead us into a movement reflecting our better selves is also the most likely to use that appeal to get things done in a contentious political environment. Both Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had charisma in abundance. Leaders can hire for spreadsheet skills, but they can’t outsource relationship skills.

有些人，比如克林顿总统或保罗，似乎天生就具备高度领袖魅力，不过领袖魅力中还是有一些要素是可以后天培养：对人的真诚兴趣；倾听人们的需求与关切，让他们知道你会帮助他们完成目标；把每一个人都当成特别的、值得关注的对象；记住每一个人的相关细节。

Some people, like President Clinton or my young friend Lee, seem naturally high in charisma, but there are ingredients that can be cultivated: A genuine interest in people. Listening to their needs and concerns, and showing that you will help them achieve their goals. Treating people as though each is special and deserves attention. Remembering details about them.

在今天这个多灾多难的世界，创业精神有时会被视为一种新的宗教，可以拯救经济、缔造世界和平。用宗教的类比很恰当，因为创新与创业永远都带有信仰的成分。正因如此，创业者的基本原则就是要将赌注下在领导人身上，而不是构想上。领袖魅力可以是决定性的要素。

In today’s troubled world, entrepreneurship is sometimes treated as the new religion that will save the economy and build world peace. The analogy to religion is appropriate, because there’s always an element of faith in innovation and entrepreneurship. That’s why venture capitalists’ rule of thumb is to bet on the leader, not the idea. Charisma can be a decisive factor.

罗莎贝斯·莫斯·坎特（Rosabeth Moss Kanter）|文

罗莎贝斯·莫斯·坎特是哈佛商学院教授，是《信心》（Confidence）和《超级公司》（SuperCorp）两书作者。