“同理心”(或曰“移情”)這個(gè)詞在很多時(shí)候承載著某種負(fù)面涵義,。它太多愁善感、婆婆媽媽了,,不配與“激勵(lì)”,、“可行性”、“回報(bào)率”這種雞血滿滿的詞匯在商業(yè)詞典中并排出現(xiàn)。不過研究表明,,現(xiàn)在我們有必要重新思考同理心在企業(yè)扮演的重要角色,。 《哈佛商業(yè)評(píng)論》最近發(fā)表的一篇研究評(píng)估了企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的同理心與企業(yè)績(jī)效之間的關(guān)系。研究人員采用“同情”和“原諒”作為主要指標(biāo),,訪問了84家美國公司的員工,,旨在調(diào)查這些企業(yè)CEO的性格。研究人員將企業(yè)的財(cái)務(wù)績(jī)效與員工對(duì)CEO性格的評(píng)價(jià)進(jìn)行對(duì)比后發(fā)現(xiàn),,擁有較強(qiáng)同理心的CEO的績(jī)效表現(xiàn),,超過得分較低的CEO五倍。進(jìn)一步的研究還表明,,企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的同理心與產(chǎn)品開發(fā),、市場(chǎng)營銷和管理績(jī)效水平的提升都有一定聯(lián)系。 顧名思義,,“同理心”是指在人力所能及的范圍內(nèi),,盡量理解或分擔(dān)另一個(gè)人的感覺和情緒的能力。像任何其它技能一樣,,同理心也是需要鍛煉的,。為了更好地理解如何培養(yǎng)同理心,我采訪了麻省理工學(xué)院領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力中心的幾位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,,以期了解他們是怎樣與各自的團(tuán)隊(duì)和客戶建立聯(lián)系的,。在培養(yǎng)同理心文化的過程中,這些領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者也獲得了很多高價(jià)值的回報(bào),。 為顧客騰出時(shí)間 你是否問過自己,,你有多大比例的時(shí)間花在了公司一線上,也就是顧客直接體驗(yàn)?zāi)愕漠a(chǎn)品和服務(wù)的地方,?如果答案是少于25%,,那么你就有可能被更關(guān)心顧客喜好的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手打敗——這是我在過去3年采訪完200余名全球最佳商業(yè)領(lǐng)袖之后獲取的心得。人際互動(dòng)對(duì)于開發(fā)創(chuàng)新思路是非常重要的,。不過奇怪的是,,一個(gè)人在企業(yè)中的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位越高,他就越傾向于放棄與消費(fèi)者交流——有的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)把這項(xiàng)任務(wù)委托給別人,,有的甚至完全放棄了親自與消費(fèi)者交流的機(jī)會(huì),。而最有效的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)則會(huì)優(yōu)先騰出與顧客進(jìn)行私人交流的時(shí)間,因?yàn)檫@樣做對(duì)于創(chuàng)新來說非常重要,。 凱拉什·斯瓦爾納曾任制藥公司高管,,現(xiàn)任麻省理工學(xué)院斯隆管理學(xué)院研究員。他回憶起一個(gè)前老板在職務(wù)升遷后,,是怎樣繼續(xù)保持他跟患者的關(guān)系的,。作為一名執(zhí)業(yè)醫(yī)師,,這位前老板仍然會(huì)在每周五坐診,然后在周一的會(huì)議上將他和患者交流的心得分享給斯瓦爾納和其他團(tuán)隊(duì)成員,。這種形式的個(gè)人交流不僅增加了團(tuán)隊(duì)研發(fā)救命新藥的決心,,也使他們更深入地了解到病人的感受??傊还苣愕墓臼亲鲠t(yī)療的,,做貿(mào)易的,,還是做零售的,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者必須要騰出時(shí)間去了解自己的顧客,。 主動(dòng)提問 在過去30年研究領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的過程中,,我發(fā)現(xiàn)最高效和最有同理心的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,往往是最會(huì)提問的人,。他們會(huì)問許多關(guān)于顧客,、供應(yīng)商、下級(jí),、競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手和同事的問題,,而且這些問題往往具有催化劑作用。好的問題不僅能夠催生創(chuàng)新的解決方案,,同時(shí)也是讓同理心在人群中傳遞的渠道,。通過提問,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)可以深入了解究竟怎樣能讓團(tuán)隊(duì)正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn),,甚至能夠克服他們個(gè)人在領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力方面的不足,。比如前駐阿富汗美軍司令斯坦利·麥克里斯特爾就曾對(duì)我表示,正是提問幫助他規(guī)避了性格內(nèi)向的缺點(diǎn),,使他能夠更好地與他的團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行溝通,。 對(duì)一名領(lǐng)導(dǎo)來說,要想打造同理心文化和問題型文化,,最簡(jiǎn)單的方式就是率先垂范,。比如你可以問你的團(tuán)隊(duì),怎樣做是有效的,,怎樣做是無效的,,以及為什么。你可以問他們這一天過得怎么樣,,他們最喜歡什么樣的任務(wù),,他們最大的挑戰(zhàn)是什么。記得要在他們信任你,、而不是害怕你的基礎(chǔ)上問問題,,盡量真誠地了解他們的世界,不要妄加批評(píng),也不要指手劃腳,。盡量?jī)A聽他們?cè)谡f什么,,留心他們?cè)谧鍪裁矗阒辽贂?huì)從中得到一些令人驚訝或意外的見解,。 鼓勵(lì)提問 上面所說的提問并不是單向的(如果是的話,,那最終將是一條死路)。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者必須鼓勵(lì)其他人也經(jīng)常提問題,。比如有一次,,斯瓦爾納領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的團(tuán)隊(duì)打算搬遷工作場(chǎng)所,在這個(gè)過程中,,他打算暫時(shí)關(guān)掉公司的實(shí)驗(yàn)室,,并暫停所有試驗(yàn)。為此,,斯瓦爾納充分聽取了實(shí)驗(yàn)室研究人員的意見,。一名公司新招聘進(jìn)來的員工質(zhì)疑了這個(gè)決定,問他知不知道暫停他的試驗(yàn)會(huì)導(dǎo)致什么后果,。因此,,斯瓦爾納重新進(jìn)行了安排,使試驗(yàn)可以不受打擾地進(jìn)行,。如果他事先沒有鼓勵(lì)團(tuán)隊(duì)成員踴躍發(fā)表意見,,他可能就無法發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的錯(cuò)誤,而這個(gè)錯(cuò)誤可能導(dǎo)致企業(yè)損失大量資金,,甚至可能會(huì)令他失去整個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)的信任,。 高高在上的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)們很容易陷入一種虛假的安全感。如果企業(yè)不鼓勵(lì)員工提尖銳的問題,,那么他們就會(huì)習(xí)慣于報(bào)喜不報(bào)憂,,使高層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)看不見基層真相。只有鼓勵(lì)員工多提一些重要問題,,像催化劑一樣消彌那些不切實(shí)際的假設(shè)并促進(jìn)變革,,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者才能更加情形地認(rèn)識(shí)到企業(yè)面臨的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)與機(jī)遇。因此,,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者需要營造一個(gè)安全的環(huán)境,,讓員工能夠敢于大膽發(fā)問,不必?fù)?dān)心被“穿小鞋”或“秋后算賬”,。另外,,你自己也要積極去回答員工的問題。你既可以在上班時(shí)設(shè)置固定的答問時(shí)間,,也可以組織非正式的聚會(huì)來回答員工的疑問,。充分回答員工的問題也表明了你具有同理心,,從而會(huì)使員工對(duì)你產(chǎn)生信任感,而這也是極為重要的,。 美國作家,、短篇小說家安德魯·杜伯斯三世曾寫過一句名言:“寫作就是持續(xù)的移情行為?!毕嗨频?,我認(rèn)為有效的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)也是持續(xù)的移情行為。企業(yè)只有通過精心培養(yǎng)重要的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)技能,,才能建立更加創(chuàng)新,、高產(chǎn)和敬業(yè)的文化。現(xiàn)在是我們把“同理心”帶回企業(yè),,并讓它發(fā)揮作用的時(shí)候了。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 本文作者Hal Gregersen是麻省理工學(xué)院領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力中心的常務(wù)理事,,也是麻省理工學(xué)院斯隆管理學(xué)院領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力與創(chuàng)新學(xué)的講師,,曾登上全球首個(gè)管理學(xué)思想家排行榜Thinkers50。他是《創(chuàng)新DNA:掌握顛覆性創(chuàng)新的五大技能》一書的作者,,也是“4-24項(xiàng)目”的發(fā)起人,。為了制作麻省理工學(xué)院領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力中心的系列節(jié)目,他采訪了許多創(chuàng)新型商業(yè)領(lǐng)袖,,探索他們是如何解決全球最具挑戰(zhàn)性的問題的,。 譯者:樸成奎 審校:任文科 |
Empathy. To many, the word carries a negative connotation. It is too emotional and “touchy-feely” to take a rightful place in business vernacular alongside strong testosterone-laden words like incentivize, actionable, and ROI. But research suggests it’s time to rethink empathy’s critical role in business. A recent study published in Harvard Business Review assessed the link between empathic leaders and performance. Researchers surveyed employees from 84 U.S. companies about the character of their CEOs, using compassion and forgiveness as key indicators. Comparing the company’s financial performance against the employee’s judgment of the CEOs character, the researchers found that CEOs with a strong character outperformed their poorly-ranked peers by nearly 500%. Further researchconnects empathy with improved product development, marketing, and manager performance. By definition, empathy is the ability to understand or share another person’s experiences and emotions – as much as humanly possible. Like any skill, it requires practice. To better understand how to develop and cultivate empathy, I interviewed several leaders at the MIT Leadership Center about how they build connections with their teams and customers. Not surprisingly, what these leaders do to maintain an empathetic culture yields many high-value benefits. Make time for your customers Have you ever asked yourself how much of your time is spent on the edge of your organization where customers directly experience your products and services? If the answer is less than 25%, you are at risk to be blindsided by competitors who pay better attention to what customers really care about – at least that’s what I’ve learned interviewing 200 of the world’s best leaders during the past three years. Personal interaction is crucial to developing innovative ideas. Oddly though, the higher leaders rise in an organization, the easier it becomes to lose this critical consumer connection – either by delegating the task or just simply abandoning it. The most effective leaders prioritize personal customer connection time because it’s crucial to the innovation process. Kailash Swarna, a former pharmaceutical executive and now an MIT Sloan fellow, recently reflected on how one of his bosses maintained his connection to patients as his job responsibilities pulled him further away from the frontlines. A practicing physician, he would see patients in the clinic every Friday and then share the experiences with Swarna and his team in their Monday meetings. This type of personal connection not only strengthened the team’s resolve to create lifesaving medicines, but made them part of the patient experience. Whether in a doctor’s room, a tradeshow, a retail location, or other settings, leaders must carve out the time to get to know their customers. Ask questions During the past three decades of studying leadership, I’ve found that the most effective – and empathetic – leaders are the best questioners. They ask many catalytic questions of their customers, suppliers, direct reports, peers, and colleagues. Questions not only yield innovative solutions, but they are also the conduit through which empathy flows. Through questions, leaders can build a strong understanding of what makes their teams tick and even overcome their own personal leadership challenges. For instance, General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, told me questions are what help him cope with his introversion and connect with his team. The simplest way for a leader to build an empathetic and question-centric culture is to lead by example; ask your teams about what’s working, what’s not, and why. Ask about their day, their favorite tasks, their biggest challenges. Probe from a foundation of trust, not fear, seeking to honestly understand their world, not to blame or criticize. Work hard to pay attention to what they say and do so you can surface at least one surprising or unexpected insight from the encounter. Encourage questions Inquiry is not a one way street (and if it is, it’s ultimately a dead end). Leaders must encourage others to do the same. In one of his first leadership positions, Swarna led a team through a facility move expected to temporarily shut down the company’s labs and all ongoing experiments. During this time of change, Swarna made himself available to the researchers in the lab. One of the newest hires in the company challenged him about the consequences of shutting down his experiment. As a result, Swarna rearranged the move so the experiment could continue without interruption. If he hadn’t encouraged his team members to come forward, he may not have discovered the error until it cost the business money and maybe even the entire team’s trust. At the top of an organization, it’s easy for leaders to get lulled into a false sense of security. Employees who are discouraged from asking tough questionswill only report what is comfortable and positive, effectively blinding senior leaders to the unvarnished truth. Only by being open to catalytic questions (ones that dissolve false assumptions and accelerate change) can leaders gain an accurate perspective of the risks and opportunities lying ahead. Encourage employees to ask questions in a safe environment without fear of judgment or consequence. Make yourself available for questions. Maybe it’s by holding set office hours or hosting informal gatherings. Simply being fully present signals empathy and, in the end, builds mission critical trust. Andre Dubus III, an American author and short story writer, famously penned, “Writing is a sustained act of empathy.” Similarly, I believe that effective leadership is a sustained act of empathy. It is only through the close cultivation of this critical leadership skill that organizations can create a more innovative, more productive, and more engaged culture. It’s about time we bring “empathy” back into business and keep it there. Hal Gregersen is executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, a senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a Thinkers50 globally ranked management thinker. He is the author of The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators and founder of The 4-24 Project. As part of the MIT Leadership Center Video Series, he sits down with innovative leaders to explore how they are solving the world’s most challenging problems. |