COO告訴你 爲什麼謙虛在職場是一種重要的美德

The Leadership Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question “How do you stay humble at work?” is written by Sanjay Sanghoee, COO of Delos Capital.

領導力內部網絡是一個在線社區，最有思想、最具影響力的商界人士將在此回答關於職業與領導力的問題。今天我們的問題是：“如何在工作中保持謙遜？”以下是德洛斯資本首席運營官桑傑o桑吉的回答。

In today’s demanding business environment, confidence is a key attribute for success. However, there is a difference between confidence and certainty, and the best professionals are humble enough to know that.

在當今要求日益苛刻的商業環境當中，自信是成功的關鍵。但自信與自以爲是之間存在區別，最出色的職場人士都足夠謙虛，能夠辨清兩者的不同之處。

Contrary to popular belief, being humble is not about lacking assertiveness but about having the intellectual honesty to admit what you don’t know, having the courage to ask questions even if you feel “dumb” or vulnerable, and having the willingness to learn from others. That can engender real confidence, the kind that isn’t just based on style but on the certainty of your newfound knowledge and skill.

與普遍觀點相反，謙遜並不意味着缺乏自信，而是一種心智上的成熟，願意承認自己不知道的事情，即便感覺自己“很傻”或處於弱勢時依舊有勇氣提問，並且願意向其他人學習。謙遜能夠形成真正的自信，這種自信並非基於行事風格，而是基於新知識和技能所帶來的篤定狀態。

I first learned this lesson in investment banking, a high-octane profession with large egos and assertive personalities and in which humility can be a weakness. Desperately wanting to be taken seriously, I made it a point to walk around with enough swagger to makeThe Wolf of Wall Street blush and offer as many opinions to my bosses with as much authority as I possibly could, whether I knew what I was talking about or not. This worked for a while, but then my unwarranted confidence started to trip me up in the form of careless mistakes and lack of attention to detail, which was noticed by my superiors as well as clients.

我最初是在投資銀行業學到這個教訓。這是一個令人興奮的職業，從業者都極其自負和獨斷，謙遜被視爲軟弱的表現。我渴望得到重視，於是開始到處虛張聲勢，讓那些“華爾街之狼”都感到慚愧，我還竭力擺出一副非常權威的樣子，向老闆們提出儘可能多的建議，儘管我有時候也不知道自己在說什麼。這種做法在一段時間內確實有效。但後來，這種猶如無根浮萍的自信，開始給我帶來麻煩。我的上司和客戶逐漸注意到我犯下的一些粗心錯誤，以及對細節不夠關注的缺點。

While it was tough to realize that I was not the financial genius I imagined myself to be and that my unfounded bravado had not fooled anyone, it also taught me to be humble and recognize that I had a lot more work to do to become proficient in my field. As a result, I focused first on honing my craft and only then on walking the walk, which, ironically, became easier as I improved my actual skills. My fake confidence became genuine and that evolution has helped me throughout my career.

我並非自己想象的那種金融天才，我那些毫無根據的虛張聲勢沒有騙到任何人，要承認這個事實並不容易。但它使我懂得了謙卑的重要性，讓我意識到要想在金融領域達到專業水準，我還有許多工作要做。因此，我首先從鍛鍊自己的能力開始。也是從那時候開始，我學會了表裏如一，而具有諷刺意味的是，隨着能力的提高，做到表裏如一反而變得更容易。我之前那些虛假的信心變得真實，而且這種變化讓我的整個職業生涯都受益無窮。

There are, of course, limits to humility and being a doormat is certainly not going to enhance your career. People respect those who are not afraid to communicate their thoughts, their ideas, and even feelings, to the world, and to fight for their convictions. That is also a critical component of effective leadership. But if that confidence prevents you from actively seeking new avenues of learning and self-improvement, it will only carry you part of the way on your professional journey.

當然，謙遜也有限度，做“受氣包”肯定不會對你的職業發展有所幫助。人們尊重那些不懼怕向外界表達自己的思想、觀點甚至感受的人，以及那些願意爲自己的信念而戰的人。這也是有效領導力的一個關鍵組成部分。但如果你的自信無法讓你主動尋找新的學習與自我提高途徑，這種自信不可能讓你在職業道路上走得太遠。

So what does being humble at work really mean in practice? These four rules can help you incorporate humility into your roster of professional skills without compromising your career:

那麼，在工作中保持謙遜到底意味着什麼？下面四條規則可以幫助你在不影響職業發展的前提下，將謙遜融入到你的職業技能當中：

oThink twice before acting.Never make an executive decision that you are not really empowered to, or that is not backed up with sufficient knowledge, just to impress your boss. If you really want to make an impression on your superiors, or if you are a leader and want to impress your team, do your homework first. A bad decision made in the heat of eagerness will hurt your credibility in the long run.

o三思而後行。不要爲了取悅上司而做出自己沒有權力做出的決定，或沒有充足知識支持的決定。如果你確實想給上司留下深刻印象，或希望打動團隊的領導者，你首先要做好自己的功課。頭腦一熱做出的糟糕決定，從長遠來看，將傷害你的信譽。

oAsk plenty of questions.Obviously, not every question belongs on your boss’ desk and sometimes it’s better to ask your peers or even your juniors first. While we all want to avoid exposing our weaknesses to our colleagues, the reverse also holds true. Your colleagues will respect you for having the guts to admit your lack of knowledge about something. No one is omniscient so don’t waste time trying to always look smart. It’s much better to be smart.

o問大量問題。很顯然，不能將每個問題都擺到老闆桌面上，有時候，詢問一下你的同事甚至下屬纔是更好的選擇。雖然人人都希望避免向同事暴露自己的弱點，但反過來也是正確的。你的同事會因爲你有勇氣承認自己在某方面的知識不足，而對你心生敬意。沒有人是無所不知的，所以不要把時間浪費在讓自己始終看上去很聰明。真正聰明才更重要。

oAdmit your mistakes and avoid being defensive.I’m not suggesting that you spend weeks apologizing for every oversight, but there is nothing more unimpressive than someone who makes a mistake but refuses to own up to it. It exhibits insecurity and a lack of professionalism. It’s time to abandon outdated precepts like “never complain, never explain.” That’s called being stubborn, not confident.

o承認自己的錯誤，避免防備心理。我並非建議你爲每一次疏忽花幾周時間來道歉，但職場中最糟糕的情況就是犯了錯卻拒絕承認，因爲這種行爲表明犯錯的人不可靠且缺乏專業精神。現在是時候拋棄那些過時的觀念了，比如“不抱怨，不解釋”等。這不叫自信，這叫固執己見。

oCreate your own professional goals.Setting expectations for yourself and exceeding them is even more gratifying than surpassing someone else’s standards, and in the eyes of an observant superior, a surefire sign that you deserve career advancement.

o制定自己的職業目標。確定對自己的預期並且超出預期，會比超越其他人的標準更令人滿足，而且在善於觀察的上司眼中，這表明你應該得到晉升機會。（財富中文網）