一家成功企业的运营需要许多不同的团队，但一位领导者首先需要组建的最重要的团队，应该是他（她）自己的支持系统——一支领导团队。强大的领导团队不仅仅是各部门负责人的联合体；其中还应该包括顾问和分析师，他们的任务是帮助领导者把握全局，发现公司内外的机会。

组建一支高效团队，首先要从极其诚实的自我评估和反思过程开始。领导者必须愿意对照成功所需要的品质、知识和经验，谦虚地评估自身的优点和缺点。许多顾问和评估工具可以协助完成这一过程，但我所认识的最高效的领导者，会根据直觉理解团队建设这个过程，自然而然地选择“能弥补不足”的合伙人和顾问。这些团队成员可以轻而易举地获得大量人才和信息，为领导者树立起无所不能的“超人”形象。

领导团队应该由你能够吸引到的最优秀的人才组成；在公司这条大船上，他们不仅是划桨手，还要帮助你掌舵。领导者对每一位团队成员都应该以诚相待，这是保持团队平衡的关键。总体而言，在这样的团队当中，成员之间不太容易出现竞争，并且有极强的凝聚力，因为每一位成员都可以给团队带来独特且重要的技能，并得到明确认可。由具有不同技能和观点的人组成的团队，也不太可能屈从于“群体思维”，他们会与团队领导者进行开诚布公的对话。随着时间的推移，这种坦率的意见交换可以在团队中形成一种信任的环境，让团队成员更愿意及时披露令人不安的担忧。

团队领导者可以提供明确的团队价值观与行为准则，以鼓励这种开放且相互信任的互动。2003年，我第一次出席内阁会议时，当时的马萨诸塞州新任州长米特·罗姆尼拿出一份个人撰写的指导准则清单，他希望我们的行政机构尤其是内阁领导者能够遵照这个清单行事。尽管这份清单参照了罗姆尼在私营部门和奥运会上采用的政策，但对我们也很有针对性。

提前向所有成员说明，团队不能容忍个人的日程安排、两败俱伤的争斗、私下的讨论或半夜用电子邮件相互责骂；一旦出现这些行为时，要及时叫停。这样就可以有效控制这些破坏团队的行为。2012年美国总统大选期间，作为罗姆尼的外交政策协调员，我曾经负责为大选组建多支由外交政策顾问组成的团队。我借鉴他的方法，制定了积极的团队规范。明确的行为标准形成了高效的、有凝聚力的团队。在大选结束后，许多人决定组建新的智库，继续开展合作。

组建团队并非最终目标：有效的核心集团可以将积极的影响辐射到整个公司。领导者核心集团成员的身份，有助于增强管理者和顾问的权威，引领公司发展，保证领导者的愿景与管理层的政策之间始终有明确的联系。一支高效领导团队的成员既是领导者愿景的传播者，也是守护者。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

审校：任文科

A variety of teams are necessary to operate a successful enterprise, but the first and most important team every leader must build is his or her own support system — a leadership team. A strong leadership team is more than a coalition of division heads; it should include advisors and analysts who help the leader to keep perspective and to see opportunities not only across the organization, but well beyond.

Building an effective team begins with a brutally honest process of self-evaluation and reflection. The leader must be open to a humble assessment of his or her own strengths and weaknesses mapped against the qualities, knowledge and experience necessary to succeed. There are numerous consultants and assessment tools available to assist in this process, but the most effective leaders I have known grasp this aspect of team building intuitively, naturally gravitating to partners and advisers who “make them whole” and who make the team-leader appear almost super-human by placing a vast array of talents and information at their fingertips.

Leadership teams should be comprised of the most talented people you can attract; they are not merely there to row, but also to help you steer. The sincere respect that the leader shows for each team member is critical to maintaining equilibrium within the group. In general, members of the this kind of team are less prone to competition and have superior cohesion because each member is explicitly recognized for bringing a unique and essential skill to the table. A team comprised of people with distinct talents and perspectives is also less likely to succumb to ‘group think’ and will engage in honest and open dialogue with the team leader. Over time, this frank give-and-take builds an atmosphere of trust within the team, which increases the members’ willingness to surface uncomfortable concerns in a timely manner.

The team leader can promote this open and trusting dynamic by providing explicit standards concerning team values and behavior. At my first Cabinet meeting in 2003, then new Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney brought a personally-typed list of the guiding principles by which he wanted our administration — and the Cabinet leadership, in particular — to operate. Although the list drew on policies Romney had employed in the private sector and at the Olympics, the list was specific to us.

Let it be known up front that there will be no tolerance for personal agendas, internecine battles, off-line discussions or midnight email rants — and calling these behaviors out when they do occur — will go a long way toward curbing these team-destroying behaviors. As foreign policy coordinator for the Romney 2012 presidential run, I modeled his approach for establishing positive team norms when pulling together more than a dozen teams of foreign policy advisors for the campaign. The clear behavioral parameters resulted in highly-functioning, cohesive teams, many of which decided to continue their association after the election by forming a new think tank.

Teams are not ends in themselves: an effective inner circle radiates positive impact throughout an organization. Membership in the leader’s inner-circle enhances the authority of these managers and advisors to guide the organization and ensures that there is always a clear connection between the leader’s vision and the policies embraced by management. Members of an effective leadership team act as both ambassadors and stewards for the leader’s vision.