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Being fit matters.





New research suggests that a few extra pounds or a slightly larger waistline affects an executive's perceived leadershipability as well as stamina on the job.


持身材相当重要。



While marathon training and predawn workouts aren't explicitly part of a senior manager's job description, leadership experts and executive recruiters say that staying trim is now virtually required for anyone on track for the corner office.


最新研究表明,一位高管如果体重超标或者腰围略粗,那么他人对其领导能力的看法及其在工作中的精力都会受到影响。



'Because the demands of leadership can be quite strenuous, the physical aspects are just as important as everything else,' says Sharon McDowell-Larsen, an exercise physiologist who runs an executive-fitness program for the nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership.


虽然马拉松训练和晨练并没有明确写在哪个资深经理职位的职位描述中,但是领导力专家和高管猎头们称,如今对于想搬进角窗办公室的人来说,保持体型实际上是一个必要条件。



Executives with larger waistlines and higher body-mass-index readings tend to be perceived as less effective in the workplace, both in performance and interpersonal relationships, according to data compiled by CCL. BMI, a common measure of body fat, is based on height and weight.


运动生理学家麦克道威尔-拉森(Sharon McDowell-Larsen)表示,由于领导者面临的各方面要求可能会非常严苛,因此身体素质和其他素质一样重要。麦克道威尔-拉森运营着非盈利组织创新领导力中心(Center for Creative Leadership)旗下的一个高管健身项目。



While weight remains a taboo conversation topic in the workplace, it's hard to overlook. A heavy executive is judged to be less capable because of assumptions about how weight affects health and stamina, says Barry Posner, a leadershipprofessor at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. He says he can't name a single overweight Fortune 500 CEO. 'We have stereotypes about fat,' he adds, 'so when we see a seniorexecutive who's overweight, our initialreaction isn't positive.'


创新领导力中心整理的数据显示,那些腰围较粗以及体质指数(body-mass-index, 简称BMI)较高的高管比较容易被视为工作的效率比较低,在业绩表现和人际关系两方面都是如此。BMI的计算基于身高和体重,是一项衡量身体脂肪率的通用指标。



CCL staff detected the correlation after collecting hundreds of peer-performance reviews and health-screening results from the CEOs and other senior-level managers who participate in its weeklong leadership workshops in Colorado Springs. A pair of university researchers, using data from 757 executives measured between 2006 and 2010, found that weight may indeed influence perceptions of leaders among subordinates, peers and superiors.


虽然体重仍然是办公室聊天的禁忌话题,但是体重问题却很难忽视。圣塔克拉拉大学(Santa Clara University)利维商学院(Leavey School of Business)的领导学教授波斯纳(Barry Posner)表示,由于人们对体重影响健康和体能的假设深以为然,肥胖的高管会被视为能力欠佳。他说,他想不出哪位财富500强(Fortune 500)企业的CEO是超重的。他补充道,因为我们对肥胖怀有偏见,所以当我们看到超重的高管时,会产生不是那么正面的第一印象。



Tim McNair, a general manager at Nazareth, Pa.-based guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co., says he was inspired to make some changes after spotting his 'gut' on camera during a recent public-speaking exercise while attending the CCL workshop.


创新领导力中心的工作人员在收集了数百份成员表现互评和健康检查结果后,发现了体重和领导者形象的相关性。这些资料来自参与该中心在科罗拉多斯普林斯(Colorado Springs)举办的多次为期一周的领导力研讨会的CEO和其他高层管理人士。通过使用2006年至2010年间针对757名高管的测量数据,两位大学研究人员发现,体重或许确实会影响下属、平级以及上级对领导者的看法。



He wondered whether his colleagues had the same reaction to his appearance, he says, adding: 'Would they think, 'If he can't keep his hand out of the cookie jar, how can he do his job?''


麦克纳尔(Tim McNair)是总部位于宾夕法尼亚州拿撒勒(Nazareth)的吉他制造商C.F. Martin & Co.的总经理,他说,最近参加创新领导力中心举办的研讨会时,他在一个公开演讲练习上看到了自己在镜头里的"将军肚",这激励了他要做出改变。



So the 44-year-old, who says his peers' evaluations were somewhat harsh, recently rejoined the local gym, where he heads after work at least three days a week to run on the treadmill, cycle or stretch. He has also given up double cheeseburgers, steak, ice cream, Coca-Cola and Tastykakes, opting for a healthier diet of grains and vegetables. In four months, he has shed about 25 pounds.


麦克纳尔说,他想知道是否他的同事对他的外表也有同感。他补充道,同事们是不是会想,如果他连不碰饼干罐都做不到,他怎么能做好工作?



The fitnessimperative for executives is relatively new, says Ana Dutra, the CEO of Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting. Time was, a company chief spent every waking minute at work, sacrificing exercise, vacation and kids' soccer games in the service of the firm. Employees were expected to admire and emulate this devotion. Now, executives are expected to take time off to 'revitalize themselves,' Ms. Dutra says.


麦克纳尔表示,研讨会上的互评多少有点刺耳,所以44岁的他最近重返当地健身馆。他一周中至少有三天会在下班后直奔那里,在跑步机上跑步、骑单车或进行伸展运动。他还戒掉了双层吉士汉堡、牛排、冰淇淋、可口可乐和太思提糕点(Tastykakes),并选择了更健康的谷物和蔬菜膳食。四个月后,麦克纳尔甩掉了约25磅。



She pegs the shift to the sudden deaths of high-profile CEOs, including McDonald's Corp. chief Jim Cantalupo, who died of a heart attack in 2004, 16 months after taking the post. His successor, Charlie Bell, died less than a year later of cancer at the age of 44. In 1997, Coca-Cola Co. Chairman Roberto Goizueta, a smoker, died weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer.


Korn/Ferry领导力及人才咨询公司(Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting.)的CEO杜特拉(Ana Dutra)称,高管必须健身这一理念相对较新。曾几何时,公司领导们把睡觉以外的时间都用在工作上,他们为服务公司牺牲掉锻炼、假期以及助阵小孩足球比赛的机会。员工们则理应敬佩并效仿这种奉献精神。杜特拉称,现在,高管们被认为应当抽出时间来"恢复活力"。



The CEOs of today are also more visible than their forebears and must be camera-ready at a moment's notice, composed while courting investors and ready to respond in a company emergency. Excess weight can conveyweakness or a 'lack of control,' says Amanda Sanders, a New York-based image consultant who has worked with senior executives at Fortune 500 firms.


她将上述变化归因于多位著名CEO的突然离世,其中包括麦当劳集团(McDonald's Corp.) CEO坎塔卢普(Jim Cantalupo),他在担任该职位16个月后,于2004年因心脏病去世。他的继任者贝尔(Charlie Bell)因罹患癌症在随后不到一年内去世,年仅44岁。1997年,可口可乐公司(Coca-Cola Co.)总裁戈伊苏埃塔(Roberto Goizueta)在肺癌确诊后数周内去世,他曾是一名吸烟者。



'It's the leadership image you project,' says Mark Donnison, 47, a seniorexecutivedirector at Canadian Blood Services who has lost 25 pounds since starting an early-morning workout rotation of cardio, weights and yoga last summer. 'Folks do see how you live.'


当今的CEO们比他们的前辈更多地出现在大众视野中,他们必须在短时间内满足上镜要求,以沉着应对法庭调查人员,以及准备应对公司突发事件。纽约形象顾问桑德尔斯(Amanda Sanders)说,体态肥胖能传递出软弱或失控的信号。桑德尔斯曾为多位财富500强企业的高层管理人士效力。



Companies seek leaders with physical endurance, the better to manage global businesses and solve complex problems, says Mr. Posner, who advised Dow Chemical Co. on training high-potential global leaders in 2010 and 2011. Those leaders were instructed to build in regular time for exercise to help them withstand the constant travel and the demands of an overseas role. The training even incorporated such classes as Zumba, Pilates, tai chi and yoga, says Dawn Baker, Dow's global director of talent management.


47岁的多尼森(Mark Donnison)是加拿大血液服务局(Canadian Blood Services)的资深执行董事,自从去年夏天开始有氧运动、举重和瑜伽交替进行的晨练后,他已经甩掉了25磅的体重。他说,那是你所展现的领导形象,大伙儿的确关注你的生活方式。



Panera Bread Co. founder and co-CEO Ron Shaich says he began working with a trainer about five years ago, in part to stay energized while running a growing company. Two to three times a week, he gets up for a 5:30 a.m. appointment with his trainer, and on Sundays he opts for a 90-minute run. The workouts have boosted his energy levels and helped him focus, he says.


波斯纳称,公司要找的是具备体能耐力的领导者,这样的领导者才能更好地管理全球事务并解决复杂问题。他于2010年及2011年向陶氏化学公司(Dow Chemical Co.)提出了针对高潜力全球领导者进行体能培训的建议。陶氏化学优才管理全球主管贝克(Dawn Baker)说,高潜力领导者被要求定期运动,以帮助他们应对频繁的差旅以及海外工作的要求。相关培训甚至包含了尊巴舞、普拉提、太极、瑜伽等课程。



In general, the executives in the Center for Creative Leadership study were healthier than the average American. They drank and smoked less and were more likely to exercise regularly. About half were considered overweight or obese, defined as having a BMI of more than 25. By contrast, more than 60% of Americans fit this description, according to a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index last year.


帕尼拉面包公司(Panera Bread Co.)创始人及联合CEO萨伊奇(Ron Shaich)称,他在大约五年前开始跟随一名私人教练训练,这在某种程度上是为了在他经营一家不断成长的公司期间保持精力充沛。每周有两三天,萨伊齐都会在清晨五点半起床,接受私人教练的指导,并在每个星期天选择进行90分钟长跑。他说,这些锻炼提高了他的体能水平并有助于保持专注。



The sample's leaner executives, defined as having a BMI under 25, were viewed more favorably by peers, averaging 3.92 for task performance on a five-point scale; heavier leaders averaged 3.85. Similarly, members of the leaner group rated higher on interpersonal skills.


总的来说,参与创新领导力中心研究的高管比一般的美国人更健康。他们更少饮酒、吸烟,并更可能定期锻炼。他们中曾约有半数人被视为超重或有肥胖症,即符合BMI高于25的界定条件。相比之下,去年的盖洛普健康福利调查指数(Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index)显示,60%以上的美国人都属于超重或肥胖症人群。



The study controlled for factors such as age, race, gender, job level and personality traits. Results were similar across industries, says Eden King, one of the study's researchers and an associate professor of psychology at George Mason University.


研究对象中比较苗条的高管,即BMI在25以下的人士,看来更受其他成员的欢迎,在五分制下,他们的任务表现平均得分为3.92;而BMI在25以上的高管该项平均得分为3.85。同样,比较苗条的高管在人际关系技巧上的得分也更高。



To be sure, the perception of competence isn't the same as measurable leadership success. Executives who were part of the study say it's difficult to say how much of the perceived bias stems from their physical weight and how much from their own projected insecurity.


该项研究未考虑年龄、种族、性别、职务级别及个性等因素的影响。该项研究的研究人员之一、乔治梅森大学(George Mason University)心理学助理教授金(Eden King)表示,针对不同行业的研究结果趋同。



Weight Watchers International Inc. CEO David Kirchhoff, 46, recalls feeling painfully self-conscious when his weight was at its peak a decade ago, around the time he first took up the post. At six-foot-two and 245 pounds, he tried to hide his girth with oversize sweaters and pleated pants.


诚然,对于一个人能力的看法并不等同于可衡量的成功的领导力。参与此项研究的高管们称,很难说在他们感受到的偏见中有多少是针对他们体重的,又有多少是他们自身的不安全感引发的。



'I sucked in my gut a lot,' says Mr. Kirchhoff, who has since lost 40 pounds. Now, he says, 'I probably carry myself with more confidence and authority.


慧俪轻体公司(Weight Watchers International Inc.) CEO、46岁的基尔霍夫(David Kirchhoff)回忆说,当10年前他的体重达到峰值时,他痛苦地感觉到不安,那时恰逢他初任CEO前后。身高6.2英尺、体重245磅(约1.89米、111公斤)的他,曾尝试用大号毛衣以及打摺裤子来掩盖腰身。



LESLIE KWOH

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