女性领导力：不盲从，做自己，时间会带你抵达适合的位置

01

对下一代亚洲的女性高管，会有哪些挑战？

What are the main challenges that the next generation of female leaders need to be cognizant of?  

Connie：从我的个人经历来讲，我觉得可能是一种“随大流”的压力。很多情况下，女性较少会担任高阶职位，很多人对女性会有自己的想法，比如她们应该是什么样的，应该做什么，会不会太要强，等等。这些看法可能会来自家庭、同事甚至是好心的上司。所以我觉得最大的挑战来自于如何正确看待这些看法。我自己的办法是多听，学着适应，以及按自己的方式做事。对于你选择的道路，可能没有完全一样的楷模，所以用开放的心态去聆听，同时试着理解人们的偏见。如果你觉得一个公司不适合你，完全可以换不同的地方，每个人都应该有不同的尝试。

I think it is the pressure to conform. Many people are not used to having women in senior roles, and they have a lot of opinions on who you are, who you should be, how you should behave, if you are too aggressive, things like that. And these opinions could come from the family, colleagues or even well-meaning managers. So I think the main challenge is how to navigate that. The way I went through this myself was to listen, learn to adapt and do things your own way, because you may not have too many exact role models out there. So listen with an open mind, but understand people have biases of their own.  

02

哪位女性给过你影响？

Which female figure has inspired you the most?

Connie：最近的一位是新西兰总理Jacinda Ardern，她让我印象深刻。她很坚定且富有同理心，同时很真实。刚才我提到要做自己，她完全做到了。更重要的是，她表现出了这种个性。

The most recent one would be Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. I have been really impressed by her. She’s firm and compassionate, and just so authentic. What I just said, about doing things your way and making it work for you, she’s totally done that. More importantly, she delivers herself.  

（源自网络）

03

成为管理者是你的目标吗？

Was it always always your career plan to have a leadership role?  

Connie：完全没有！恰恰相反，我一直很确定我不想成为管理者。因为我发现我身边所有让我尊敬的管理者都老得很快（笑）。这让我觉得不是特别值得成为一个管理者。我更愿意专注于工作中“有趣”的部分，比如市场的相关工作。但有了经历后，我意识到担当管理岗其实是一个自然而然，合乎逻辑的发展。

Not at all! In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was actually very clear and adamant about not becoming a business leader, because I noticed that, among the managers and leaders that I admire, they grew old quickly after getting the job! [laughs] It didn’t come across as being worth it, you know? I would rather focus more on the ‘fun’ part of business, like marketing. But overtime, I came to realise that it’s more logical to take on a general management role.  

04

为何职场同理心很重要？

Why is empathy so important at the workplace?  

Connie：我觉得工作环境其实能反映出世界的发展，就是日新月异的变化。我们的组织架构越来越多元化，所以你会和很多截然不同的人相处共事。放在从前，你可能和很多价值观相似的人一起工作，大家对同理心的需求很少。另外，现在工作和生活之间的界限越来越模糊。在我刚工作的时候，工作和生活有比较清晰的区分，你需要调整好自己的心态。工作的时候，大家希望你是能够有快速执行交付的，要有明确的结果导向。很少有对人的同理心，比如意识到员工的压力以及动力等等。不过我们现在已经有了很明显的改善。当你有同理心的时候，它能帮助你更好地去做决策，领导力也更加高效。我觉得这反映了职场的一个动态变化，对技能和理解也会提出不同需求。

I think the workplace is a reflection of the world, which is changing rapidly now. There’s more diversity, so you are working around people who are different from you. If it was back in the old days, you can work with people who are very homogenous in terms of values, and there was perhaps less need for empathy because everybody acted in the same manner. Also, there’s been a blur in terms of working life. When I started working, there was a clearer distinction between work and life and, to a certain extent, you had to park your emotions aside. At work, you were expected to deliver and execute, focus on the results and everything. There was less emphasis on the humane side of people. There was less acknowledgement that people had fears and motivations — but we have a much better understanding now. The reason is that, when you have empathy, it does help you make better business decisions, and leadership becomes more effective. I think it’s a reflection of the changing dynamics of the workplace, and you need different needs of skill set and understanding.  

05

工作中承担过的风险？

What’s the greatest risk you have taken from a career perspective?  

Connie：我在美国工作时，当时我得到一份全新的工作并且要去芝加哥，整个工作生活都要重新开始，但我的家里突然有些突发状况，然后我不得不停下手头的一切回家。这件事对于职业发展而言是一个不小的影响和风险，但如果从个人角度看，这显然又是你不得不去做的事情。回过头看，如果我当时没有回来，我也就不可能在之后加入GE，也不可能有我如今的职业路径。

I would say that’s working in the US. I had just moved to a different job and relocated to Chicago. My life was going to start anew, but then suddenly there was a family crisis, and I had to unplug everything and move back. It was a real career risk from that standpoint, but obviously from a personal point of view it was a no-brainer. I just had to do what I did. In hindsight, if I didn’t go there, I wouldn’t have joined General Electric, and I wouldn't have started this career path that I am on.  

06

如何放松自己？

How do you unplug from work?  

Connie：我在平衡工作和生活方面还挺拿手的。坦白说我很喜欢做SPA，能让我在一个很好的环境里什么都不做，完全放松。另外我也很喜欢旅行，去过很多地方，我比较喜欢诸如秘鲁，古巴之类的更具异国特色的国家。

I’ve always maintained a very good work-life balance. In the spirit of honesty, I indulge in really nice spa retreats, where I just do nothing in a nice place, and I also enjoy general travel because I’ve gone to so many places by now, and my preferred destinations are usually fairly exotic like, you know, Machu Picchu in Peru, Cuba, those kinds of places are my favourite.