COO告诉你：为什么谦虚在职场是一种重要的美德

    领导力内部网络是一个在线社区，最有思想、最具影响力的商界人士将在此回答关于职业与领导力的问题。今天我们的问题是：“如何在工作中保持谦逊？”以下是德洛斯资本首席运营官桑杰•桑吉的回答。

    在当今要求日益苛刻的商业环境当中，自信是成功的关键。但自信与自以为是之间存在区别，最出色的职场人士都足够谦虚，能够辨清两者的不同之处。

    与普遍观点相反，谦逊并不意味着缺乏自信，而是一种心智上的成熟，愿意承认自己不知道的事情，即便感觉自己“很傻”或处于弱势时依旧有勇气提问，并且愿意向其他人学习。谦逊能够形成真正的自信，这种自信并非基于行事风格，而是基于新知识和技能所带来的笃定状态。

    我最初是在投资银行业学到这个教训。这是一个令人兴奋的职业，从业者都极其自负和独断，谦逊被视为软弱的表现。我渴望得到重视，于是开始到处虚张声势，让那些“华尔街之狼”都感到惭愧，我还竭力摆出一副非常权威的样子，向老板们提出尽可能多的建议，尽管我有时候也不知道自己在说什么。这种做法在一段时间内确实有效。但后来，这种犹如无根浮萍的自信，开始给我带来麻烦。我的上司和客户逐渐注意到我犯下的一些粗心错误，以及对细节不够关注的缺点。

    我并非自己想象的那种金融天才，我那些毫无根据的虚张声势没有骗到任何人，要承认这个事实并不容易。但它使我懂得了谦卑的重要性，让我意识到要想在金融领域达到专业水准，我还有许多工作要做。因此，我首先从锻炼自己的能力开始。也是从那时候开始，我学会了表里如一，而具有讽刺意味的是，随着能力的提高，做到表里如一反而变得更容易。我之前那些虚假的信心变得真实，而且这种变化让我的整个职业生涯都受益无穷。

    当然，谦逊也有限度，做“受气包”肯定不会对你的职业发展有所帮助。人们尊重那些不惧怕向外界表达自己的思想、观点甚至感受的人，以及那些愿意为自己的信念而战的人。这也是有效领导力的一个关键组成部分。但如果你的自信无法让你主动寻找新的学习与自我提高途径，这种自信不可能让你在职业道路上走得太远。

    那么，在工作中保持谦逊到底意味着什么？下面四条规则可以帮助你在不影响职业发展的前提下，将谦逊融入到你的职业技能当中：

    •三思而后行。不要为了取悦上司而做出自己没有权力做出的决定，或没有充足知识支持的决定。如果你确实想给上司留下深刻印象，或希望打动团队的领导者，你首先要做好自己的功课。头脑一热做出的糟糕决定，从长远来看，将伤害你的信誉。

    •问大量问题。很显然，不能将每个问题都摆到老板桌面上，有时候，询问一下你的同事甚至下属才是更好的选择。虽然人人都希望避免向同事暴露自己的弱点，但反过来也是正确的。你的同事会因为你有勇气承认自己在某方面的知识不足，而对你心生敬意。没有人是无所不知的，所以不要把时间浪费在让自己始终看上去很聪明。真正聪明才更重要。

    •承认自己的错误，避免防备心理。我并非建议你为每一次疏忽花几周时间来道歉，但职场中最糟糕的情况就是犯了错却拒绝承认，因为这种行为表明犯错的人不可靠且缺乏专业精神。现在是时候抛弃那些过时的观念了，比如“不抱怨，不解释”等。这不叫自信，这叫固执己见。

    •制定自己的职业目标。确定对自己的预期并且超出预期，会比超越其他人的标准更令人满足，而且在善于观察的上司眼中，这表明你应该得到晋升机会。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    审校：任文科

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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:

    •Think 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.

    •Ask 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.

    •Admit 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.

    •Create 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.