原作者：
来源Learn to Speak the Three Languages of Leadership
译者望江大赤兔
I know a senior executive at a large corporation who has a big problem. John is smart and knows the business backwards, but people don't believe in him. They don't say anything directly to him. Instead, they complain to each other. Some say he is controlling; others say he is not a "people person."
我认识一位大型企业的高管，他正被一个难题困扰着。约翰头脑灵活，谙熟业务，可就是不得人心。下属遇事从不直接跟他交流，只在私底下相互抱怨。有人说他控制欲太强，有人说他没有人情味。
John holds positional power, but he lacks the personal authority of a real leader. If you took away his title and his multimillion-dollar salary, nobody would follow him. He will probably end his career as a very wealthy man, but nobody will remember him as a leader who helped them grow.
约翰位高权重，但缺乏一个领导人应有的威信。如果拿走他的头衔和数百万美元的年薪，没人愿意追随他。也许他在退休时能赚得盆满钵满，但没人会把他作为一位曾经提携自己成长的领导铭记于心。
Let's be kind and assume that John wants to inspire people, but he doesn't know how to do it. How can he get people to believe in him?
我们善意地假设约翰的确想要激励下属，但他不知道从何下手。他要怎样才能得到下属的信赖？
In ancient Greece and Rome, they knew what we seem to have forgotten: your job as a leader is to persuade people to do great things in uncertain contexts, using only one tool: your words. Compelling leaders, as Aristotle might say, have three qualities that they express through three "languages":
我们似乎已经忘了那些早在古希腊罗马时期就为人所知的道理：领导的任务在于说服别人，从而在充满不确定性的环境中成就大业。语言，是他们唯一的手段。正如亚里士多德所说，善于鼓动人心的领导，能通过三种“语言”传达他们的三项特质。
Agility (or "Logos"). This language is about reading situations and getting things done. John is fluent in this language, but he needs to demonstrate that he is a learner. Words like this will work: "When we made this acquisition it seemed a good idea, but as I reflect on what has happened, three things are changing on us..."
委婉的话（亦即有“理性”的人）。在审时度势、解决问题时多用这种语言。约翰对此熟稔于心，但他需要证明自己仍在学习。这样说会有用：“这项收购计划看起来是不错，但考虑到之前发生的事，情况发生了3点变化……”
Authenticity (or "Ethos"). Followers need to know that you have deep values and dreams, and they need to hear you speak about hope. They also want to know that you are animated by some big beliefs. Authentic language comes from the heart. An authentic statement would be something like: "When I was a kid, a bully beat me up. I believe that bullies don't belong in our organization. Treating employees like 'resources' rather than people is a kind of bullying. Instead of laying people off, can't we find a way to unlock their creativity right now?"
真挚的话（亦即有“信仰”的人）。下属需要知道你的价值观和梦想，需要听你谈论未来，还需要看到你被信念激励着前进。真挚的话语是发自肺腑的。它应该是：“小时候，我被一个恶棍打得四脚朝天。我相信我们组织里没有这种恶人。把员工当成压榨的'资源'而不是当成人看待，就是一种恶行。除了炒鱿鱼，我们就不能找到激发创造力的其他方法吗？”
Empathy (or "Pathos"). Caring for people is a quality John seems to lack. Do you chat with people in the hallways and reveal your own weaknesses to them? Do you invite people lower in the org chart to have a cup of coffee with you? Do you listen carefully? Are you helpful?
同感的话（亦即有”同情心“的人）。不会关怀别人正是约翰的短处。你会在走廊与人闲聊，还把自己的弱点都暴露无遗吗？你会邀请下级与你一起喝杯咖啡吗？你是否认真倾听？你是否乐于助人？
It's also important to tell stories about your own lessons in empathy. For example, a leader of a large professional services firm told this story: "We employed a male receptionist for ten years. Every day he left work at 4:45 p.m. on the dot. When he retired, I asked him why he left so precisely every day. He explained that he was the conductor of our national opera orchestra, and he had to leave to go to practice. For ten years we never asked this guy what he did, and we had a genius under our noses. That was wrong. How many other people with great hidden gifts are there in our company?"
说出自己在关怀他人上学到的道理非常重要。一个大型职业服务公司的领导讲了他的故事：“我们有一位供职近10年的男接待员。每天下午4点45分他都毫不耽搁地离开公司。当他退休时，我问他为什么每天都这样准时下班。他解释道，他是国家歌剧管弦乐团的指挥，必须离开前去参加排练。十年来，我们从未问过他去干什么，我们就这样对一位眼皮底下的天才视而不见。这绝对是个失误。公司里究竟还有多少深藏不露的员工？”
In the end, John can become the kind of leader people will follow. But to do that, he'll have to work on sharpening his language skills.
约翰最终会成为一呼百应的领导。但要做到这点，他必须先磨练好自己的语言艺术。
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