领导力内幕网络是美国的一个在线社区，美国商界最睿智和最有影响力的一些大咖会在这里及时回答与职业和领导力有关的问题。今天为大家分享的是ZL Tech公司CEO康隆在“如何促进职场平等？”这一问题下的答案。

每个公司都有一些默默无闻的英雄。他们跨跃了很多阻碍，解决了很多问题，他们是指引公司前进的导师、出现问题时的救火员，激励士气的打气筒，他们推动着公司的发展和前进。然而和公司里那些人见人爱的未来之星不同，这些人都是幕后工作者。当你想为公司寻找后备干部时，他们的名字往往不会立刻进入你的脑海。但如果你意识不到他们的重要性，那么遭受损失最大的并不是他们，而是作为企业老板的你。

在企业里，最容易获得涨薪或晋升的人，往往是那些最急于展现自己工作成绩的人。他们坚信自己属于应该被提拔的少数人，并且想方设法地说服我们提拔他们。在这个过程中，我们又进一步地固化了职场的不平等，因为很多领导提拔的员工不论从作风、说话还是行为上来看，都与公司里的其他高层毫无二致。

幸运的是，一些聪明的企业领导已经意识到，我们低估了一些在今天的职场上所急需的品质——比如情商、好奇心、倾听能力、理解他人理念的能力，以及迫切地想帮助他人成功的欲望等等。

作为企业的领导者，你真正需要提拔的人，应该是那些既能建立卓越功勋，但更希望拉着大家一起跑过终点的人。以下建议有助于你发现和重用这种人才，同时也助于提高你的公司的多元性。

审视你的成功标准

首先，你应该重新审视一下你的公司的晋升和涨薪标准。被提拔到领导岗位上的人首先应该是能带领所在部门实现绩效目标的人。这可能需要一些练习。但是在这个过程中，最重要的是要关注那些既实现了目标、又没有引起任何矛盾的人——因为这需要很高的情商。而且情商是会传染的。

其次，你要提拔的员工应该是一个很好的倾听者。能说会道的人虽然平时很受关注，但是真正在企业里有着最积极的影响力、最能让人对其产生信心的，却是那些最擅于倾听的人。

以前我在一家银行工作时，有一位上级给我留下了很深的印象。他平时话不多，但经常有人找他就一些艰难的问题寻求他的建议。正因为如此，他在公司的实际权力要比他的头衔大得多。而在倾听和消费这些信息的过程中，我的这位上级也成了这家公司在解决复杂的银行系统问题方面知识最渊博的人。

第三，寻找那些能够有效沟通的人。一名强大的员工应该能够根据其他人的语境来提供想法，而不是根据他们自己的语境。最擅长有效沟通的员工正是那些擅于倾听的人，因为他们能够了解其他人的语境。

我们的公司的一位董事会顾问非常擅于沟通，他的沟通方式不仅清晰，而且简洁有效，这也是一个往往被人忽视了的技能。有一次他被派去管理一个拥有1万多名员工的亏损部门。在听员工谈了一个多月的问题后，他意识到，部门里的信息和目标其实是太多了。于是他把它们浓缩成了一个简单的目标——在六个月里拿下两个核心客户，否则这个部门就要被关掉或出售。在接到这个清晰的信息后，员工们当年不仅实现了这个目标，而且还实现了扭亏为盈。

第四，要寻找那些人们经常向他们寻求建议、反馈和支持的员工。企业的未来是要靠他们来打造的。他们要远远强过那些喜欢颐指气使、告诉别人该做什么的员工。

最后一点可能也是最重要的：你想要提拔的员工应该具有与生俱来的好奇心。他就算不能马上知道一个问题的答案，也不会感到恐慌，而且愿意积极地寻找解决方案。他们也应该知道，即便有了答案，未来也会出现更多的问题——并且他们也从心底喜欢这种未知的挑战。

看看员工的电子邮件

一旦你将这些品质纳入到提拔和涨薪的标准之后，我就可以选择合适的人选了。你的公司可能已经对员工的所有往来邮件进行了存档。你可以利用这些信息鉴别出真正合适的人才，并且对他们给予奖励。

只要有适当的分析能力，你立刻就能从公司的电子邮件中提取出有用的见解。比如你能够得知人们经常向哪些人寻求反馈和建议。你可以分析电子邮件的语言模式，重点搜索与寻求帮助有关的内容，如搜索“你的帮助”或“你的建议”这种关键词。同理，你也能够发现谁在电子邮件里获得了最多的感谢，谁又是哪些项目方面的专家。

作为企业的领导者，你应该始终在员工中关注以上这些品质，而不论他们的种族、年龄和性别。如果你在这个过程中能做到公平公正，那么你的公司也必然会变得更加多元化。真正的人才也自然会显露出来，不管他们平时花了多大力气用于推销自己。这正是职场平等的意义所在。（财富中文网）

作者：Kon Leong

译者：朴成奎

The Leadership Insiders 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 can you play a role in advancing workplace equality?” is written by Kon Leong, CEO of ZL Tech.

There are unsung heroes in your business. They jump hurdles, solve problems, mentor, mediate, motivate, and drive your business forward—but unlike your company’s attention-loving superstars, these folks operate behind the scenes. They may not fit the profile you normally look to when searching for your company’s future leaders. But if you don’t find and recognize them, they’re not the ones losing out the most. You are.

As it stands, the employees who usually get a raise or promotion are the ones anxious to make their achievements known. Fueled by their belief that they belong in the elevated position, they often convince us to move them ahead. In doing so, we are perpetuating inequality, since the employees many leaders are promoting are the same employees that look, sound, and act like others higher up on the organization chart.

Fortunately, smart business leaders are catching on that we've undervalued certain traits that are sorely needed in today’s workplace: emotional intelligence, curiosity, the ability to listen and understand others’ frame of reference, and eagerness to help others succeed.

Leaders must learn to identify those who accomplish great feats, but are more interested in pulling others across the finish line. Here is some advice for finding and empowering these employees, and increasing your company’s diversity in the process:

Review your success criteria

You should begin this process by reviewing your company’s criteria for promotions and raises. First, you want leaders who deliver results without drama. It takes some practice, but look for those who can get the job done without any conflict—therein lies emotional intelligence. And here’s a secret: It spreads.

Second, make sure the employee is a good listener. Loudmouths get attention. But those who have the most positive influence—and inspire confidence in those around them—are those who listen best.

When I was working a previous job at a bank, I remember being impressed by a supervisor who didn’t say a whole lot, but always had people coming to him for advice on tough problems. Because of that, he occupied a position of power that far exceeded his title. In the process of listening and retaining all of that information, the supervisor became possibly the most knowledgeable person in resolving complex banking systems issues at the company.

Third, identify someone who communicates effectively. A strong employee should be able to present ideas in other people’s contexts, not their own. The ones who do this best are strong listeners, since they understand others’ backgrounds.

One of my board advisors is particularly adept at communicating not just clearly but also succinctly, a skill that is often overlooked. He was once charged with turning around a loss-making division of over 10,000 employees. After listening to employees for a month about the issues, he realized that there were too many messages and objectives. He condensed them to a simple edict of winning two key accounts in six months, or the division would be shut down or sold. After receiving such a clear message, the employees not only achieved that objective, but the division also broke into the black that year.

Fourth, find employees whose peers naturally gravitate toward them for advice, feedback, and support. That’s who you want building the future of your company. They make for much better workers than those who naturally gravitate toward telling other people what to do.

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, you also want leaders who are innately curious. Look for someone who’s comfortable in not knowing an answer instantly, but also shows a willingness to find a solution. They should also know—and love—that even when one answer comes, many more questions will arise.

Read your employees’ emails

Once these traits are embedded in your criteria for promotions and raises, let the search begin. Your company is probably already required to archive all of its emails. Use that in the service of identifying and awarding credit where it’s due.

With the right analytics capabilities, you can extract instant insights from your company’s emails. You could learn, for instance, who people go to for feedback and advice. Analyze email content for language patterns that indicate requests for help, and search for keywords such as “your help” and “your advice.” You could also find out who receives the most expressions of appreciation and gratitude, or who are the experts on certain subjects.

Learn to always be on the lookout for leadership traits among your employees—no matter their race, age, or gender. Most likely, you’ll find that if you do this in a fair manner, your company will become more diverse as a result. True stars should stand out regardless of how much they promote themselves. That’s what workplace equality is all about.