这是从平装版本的新章节中摘录的第一篇文章Good Boss, Bad Boss， A纽约时报bestseller byRobert Sutton.
Good Boss, Bad Bosspresents evidence that we humans are often blind to our weaknesses and giving people power amplifies this tendency: We become more focused on our own needs and wants, less focused on others, and act like the rules apply to others and not to us. Alas, recent developments suggest that staying in tune with the people you oversee is even more difficult than this book suggests. And the other disturbing effects of wielding power over others are even worse than I thought.
这一不幸的结论是通过研究表明，当人们仅对他人施加一点力量时，他们很容易受到人性化 - 以更遥远，寒冷和理性的方式对其进行处理，这意味着要结束，而不是那么敏感和敏感的人类生物。在一项研究中，假装是高级外科医生（与假装是护士或初级外科医生相比）的研究对象建议对假设的56岁患者进行更痛苦的手术，并将其评为敏感性和被动性较低。另一项研究发现，与遭受创伤的人交谈时，感觉强大的人会变得不那么沮丧和不同情（例如，一个被诊断出患有绝症的密友）。其他研究表明，力量将人们变成伪君子。一个人发现（与无能为力的人相比，强大的谴责他人的作弊行为，但自己欺骗了。
我可以继续下去。虽然Good Boss, Bad Bosswas published less than two years ago, there is even stronger evidence now that if you wield authority over others, it dulls your ability to be in tune with their needs, feelings, and actions and what it’s like to work for you.Good Boss, Bad Boss提出了许多解毒剂。最有效的是，允许您允许和责任告诉您何时与您保持联系或充满自己的责任，并培养导师和朋友，他们也会告诉您丑陋的真理。在这种情况下，我的斯坦福大学同事Hayagreeva Rao（最有创造力的研究人员）却可以说，仍然与他们的第一批配偶结婚的老板（而不是“奖杯”的丈夫或妻子），并且有十几岁的孩子不太容易受到此类妄想，因为没有matter how much their underlings kiss up to them, the people at home don’t hesitate to bring them down a notch when required.
My conclusions that clueless and power-poisoned bosses do more damage than I thought are further fueled by the antics of CEOs and politicians. Donald Trump is one of my least favorite bosses. He seems to take pride in grabbing all the goodies and attention for himself, in humiliating others, and by twisting or ignoring inconvenient facts, all while believing he is widely beloved and admired. Former New York congressman Anthony Weiner handily demonstrated the lack of inhibition and impulse control that plague powerful people by texting pictures of his penis to a stranger. According to纽约时报，Weiner还遭受了其他更平凡的电力中毒迹象：要求员工始终进行电子邮件联系，对他们大喊大叫，并时不时地滥用办公家具。在一个18个月的时间里，他的员工流失率最高，这是三名员工的燃烧率之一。
Most readers will have their own favorite examples of clueless and insensitive leadership. For me, one of the most troubling and revealing was the complaint uttered by then BP CEO Tony Hayward that “I’d like my life back” after the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. Although Hayward was heavily coached to be sensitive, was trying to placate the public, and by some accounts was a competent and caring boss, his slip shows how power can still obliterate self-control and empathy.
最后，我的结论是通过观看强大的人的行为像混蛋一样加强的，或者只是在我向他们提供有关电力中毒和有毒串联的证据。近年来，我至少经历了10起此类事件。考虑一下：我为一家大型盈利公司的前50名高管举办了一个研讨会。他们的能力“仿佛是正确的，好像是错误的，”在最初的30分钟左右的时间里，直到首席执行官才走进来（其他所有人都按时都按时）。当我解释“有毒串联”的效果时，他这样做了：如果您是老板，关注者正在看着您的近距离观看。
I then showed how being powerful can trigger selfishness, lack of inhibition, and loss of impulse control. The CEO laughed loudly at the studies and stories I told. Then, over the next 90 minutes, he interrupted colleagues (and me) repeatedly in midsentence, dismissed points he disagreed with as “naïve” and “idiotic,” openly questioned the competence of several members of his team, made nasty comments about their personal appearance (telling one she was too short and another he needed to lose weight), and when he wasn’t talking, he focused on his BlackBerry. He answered phone calls perhaps three times during the workshop and engaged in one loudly whispered three-minute call as I tried to present. When the workshop ended, the boss thanked me and bragged about how lucky his people were because he had listened so well, encouraged them to argue with him, and treated them with respect! That guy was living in a fool’s paradise, and everyone in the room knew it–except him.
Yes, this is an extreme case. But this CEO’s lack of self-awareness is something I’ve witnessed repeatedly. And that growing pile of research implies that such delusions become even more pronounced when events unfold that make bosses feel even more powerful.
If you are a boss, you are especially at risk if you are getting increased attention and praise, enjoying a hefty pay increase or lavish new trappings, or if your people have been performing especially well lately. There are advantages to feeling powerful; there is evidence that it prompts people to be more action oriented.
But if you are so clueless that you don’t know what motivates your followers and don’t know the nuances of their skills, if you’re such a jerk that your people keep calling in sick and your best people keep leaving, just being action oriented won’t do you or your organization much good.
[图片：Flickr用户Gage Skidmore]