CEO们都该读一读桑德伯格的新书

    怀孕期间，桑德伯格在（之前）上班的地方寻找一个停车位。最后，她在离办公楼入口很远的地方找到了一个车位。

    为了准时开会，她不得不在路上笨拙地奔跑。她意识到，其他怀孕的职场女性肯定也会有同样痛苦的经历。于是，桑德伯格向公司CEO建议，应该为怀孕的员工预留停车位。CEO马上同意了，而且意识到，这么显而易见的事情，之前他竟然从未想到过。于是他认识到，多视角的领导团队更有利于发现和解决大大小小的问题。

    缺少及时信息并不是我们所面临的唯一的陷阱。我们有自己的工作日程，还有各种相互矛盾的主张需要我们关注。而另外一些沟通失败的情况非常顽固，即使最成功的公司（本来可以更加成功）也不能幸免。例如，有些沟通失败的情况会导致下属过于依赖字面意思来理解高层发出的信号。

    桑德伯格在书中和读者分享了一个例子。有一次，她针对内部工作提出了一项要求：幻灯片演示不能成为她与同事开会的主要形式。结果这一主张被推而广之（例如被推广到与客户和潜在客户的会议当中），但这并不是她的初衷。这又是一个案例，因为员工的大胆反馈，一项没有实效的举措最终得以终结。

    及时的反馈对于任何一家公司的活力和健康都至关重要。涉及员工很难开口的微妙问题时，尤其是只涉及少数人的情况下，及时反馈最为重要。

    作为管理者，我们都有义务保证沟通渠道畅通。我们还必须承认，仅仅靠开门政策和保证每个人在开会时都有发言的机会，还远远不够。（实际上，对于女性和不同文化背景的人为何对举手发言犹豫不决，尤其是在个别盎格鲁撒克逊式的公司当中，他们为什么很难通过大声叫喊来吸引注意力，《向前一步》和《盲点》两本书了都给出很好的理由。）

    通常情况下，越是最有价值的见解和反馈，就越难收集。因此，管理者应努力做到，始终如一地耐心征集不同的观点，确保更高效的双向互动，同时为这种互动提供适当的安全地带。

    桑德伯格正是要提醒我们，世界上不存在放之四海而皆准的法则。公司必须找到属于自己的切入点。这是一个渐进的过程。为了提供帮助，《向前一步》一书给出了许多有趣的例子和可行的建议。

    比如，目前对导师制的重视。导师制在如今的机构内已经成为一种时髦。

    这些计划通常被视为保护和增强公司文化的有效方式，尤其是那些迅速增长和大举招聘的公司。事实也确实如此。但这些计划也最有可能面临过度制度化的风险。

    导师计划需要经过周到细心的设计，同时根据需要进行调整。如何解决有意识和下意识感知到的真实障碍？桑德伯格在书中提供了大量的实例，其中包括高盛（Goldman Sachs）一名高管的真实案例。这位高管决定将男性和女性的指导会安排在早餐和午餐进行，而不是在酒会或晚餐时间。因为在酒会或晚餐时间，不同性别之间的会面被人误解的风险更高。

    有组织的辅导对于克服障碍，平等获得许多公司采用的、非正式的内部培训来说，至关重要，尤其是对女性来说更是如此。但这种辅导并非完全的替代品。实际上，无论是启用正式辅导，还是非正式的辅导，效果都比不上两者相结合的方式。

    Well into her pregnancy, Sandberg was searching for a parking place at her (former) workplace. The one she finally located was quite far from the entrance to the building.

    Forced to run awkwardly to make a meeting, she realized that this ordeal is shared by other pregnant women. So Sandberg went to her CEO and suggested that parking spaces be reserved for this purpose. The CEO instantly agreed, noting how this obvious decision had never occurred to him and recognizing that a multi-perspective leadership team is better at identifying and solving problems, large and small.

    Lack of timely information is not the only trap that faces many of us who have demanding schedules and competing claims on our attention. Other types of communication failurespersist even in the most successful companies (which could thus be even more successful), including those that result in too-literal interpretation of signals from the top.

    Sandberg shares an episode where one of her internal work requests -- that Powerpoint presentations no longer dominate meetings with her associates -- was applied in a generalized manner that she never intended (namely, to outside meetings with clients and prospects). Once again, it was courageous feedback that put a stop to an unfortunate and detrimental lapse.

    Timely feedback is critical to the vibrancy and well-being of any company. It is most important when it comes to the delicate issues that employees may find hard to bring up, particularly those in under-represented groups.

    As managers, we all have an obligation to ensure proper channels of communications, and we must recognize that it is not enough just to have an open-door policy and ensure that all have a proper opportunity to speak at meetings. (Indeed, both Lean In and Blindspot provide good reasons why women and people from certain cultures hesitate to raise their hands to get the floor or, particularly in some Anglo-Saxon companies, find it hard to shout loudly to command attention.)

    Often the most valuable insights and feedback are the hardest to collect. Thus, managers should work hard and consistently to thoughtfully solicit diverse views, ensure greater two-way interactions, and provide proper safe zones.

    Sandberg is right to remind us that there simply isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Companies have to find their individual sweet spots. It is an evolutionary process. And, to help it along, Lean In provides some interesting examples and actionable advice.

    Consider, for example, the current well-intentioned emphasis on mentoring. It is almost a modern-day institutional fad.

    These programs are often seen as a great way to preserve and enhance the culture of a company, and especially one that is growing rapidly and hiring robustly. They are. Yet they are all also among those facing the highest risk of being over-institutionalized.

    Mentoring programs need to be thoughtfully designed, and course-corrected as needed. Sandberg provides examples of how real and perceived hindrances, both conscious and subconscious, can be addressed -- including the case of an executive at Goldman Sachs (GS) who decided to have all his mentorship meetings, male and female, over breakfast and lunch rather than over drinks/dinner where gender mixed meetings have a higher risk of being misconstrued.

    Structured mentoring can play an important role in overcoming impediments, especially for women, to equal access to the informal mentoring approaches that many companies use. But they are not complete substitutes. Indeed, they are most effective in a mix than enables both formal and informal mentoring.