Americans seem to like to put " leadership " on their lips, and "everyone can show leadership" at every turn. In high school, the most popular person is the party queen, the backbone of the club. In the publishing industry, leadership is an important category of bestsellers.
Ball games are even more obvious. In rugby, the core of the team is called the quarterback. This person not only needs to have good skills and high IQ, but also to be good at stabilizing people's hearts and let his teammates listen to him. In basketball, the "locker room leader" is an important part of the team. This person may not be top-notch, but he must be experienced. He mediates when his teammates have conflicts, and cheers for everyone when the team faces setbacks.
There are historical reasons behind these phenomena. After the independence of the United States, the United States was able to maintain general stability. It did not fall into frequent turmoil and internal friction as in the same period in Europe. One of the important reasons is that there has been a long-standing openable frontier in the west of the United States , which has acted as a pressure relief valve . From Louisiana, Texas to California, the "Westward Movement" that has lasted for a century has shaped the pioneering spirit of Americans- adventurism, enterprising spirit , and great emphasis on teamwork . The self-cultivating farmers in the grain-producing areas of the central and western regions, the slave owners in the cotton plantations in the south, and the gold prospectors in California. People migrated to the west for different purposes, creating employment opportunities, expanding the domestic market, and easing internal conflicts among the bourgeoisie.
In contrast, if the main theme of Chinese history is that long-term integration is necessary, the United States is to expand its territory. China is a fight between man and man, while the United States is a fight between man and heaven. We boast that he is mature and stable, while Americans boast that he is a "born leader."
Star Trek is an old-school American-style story, with a team, a leader, and a new frontier waiting to be explored. We can observe many details, such as certain qualities that team leaders have by default in American culture.
Offensive
Freud said that sex and aggressiveness are important driving forces for the development of the human mind. In the process of growing up, a person needs to find a space that fully accepts oneself and allows oneself to be independent, where one can freely express one's mind, release aggression, and explore the boundaries of life. In other words, the natural outflow of aggressiveness means the full development of the mind . This kind of revelation is not aggressive, but easy and easy to retract.
Offensive free expression will increase a person's charm . Life is oppressive. People admire those free-spirited guys and think they are particularly brave and cool. In Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man danced around after being darkened, gaining a number of fans inexplicably. In the unbearable lightness of life, Sabina loves the bad boy Thomas, because the latter likes to give orders to her in bed. Powerful figures in history, whether it is Caesar, Napoleon, or Hitler, are all worshipped by the people of their own country. Mussolini said that the masses are all women, and they love strong men.
As a martial nation, Americans are naturally willing to show their offensiveness. From all kinds of competitive sports that the whole people participate in to tit-for-tat presidential election debates, Americans like to be hard-headed, and are particularly dissatisfied with the authority of their bosses.
In contrast, Eastern civilization has a much more negative view of aggressiveness. Influenced by Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, the three East Asian countries advocated tolerance, moderation, and self-denial , and regarded the release of aggression as an expression of immaturity. Although the Wei and Jin Dynasties were also in history, and the Lu Wang Xinxue, they were not considered mainstream. In fact, on this issue, ethnic groups with a longer history are almost the same. For example, the British royal family pays attention to decency, the Italian godfather is indifferent in joy and anger, and the French are more liberal, but that is after the modern revolution.
empathy
Team leaders are not lone wolves, they must take the mass line to be effective. Everything is for the masses, everything depends on the masses, comes from the masses, goes to the masses, and integrates with the masses. This requires the leaders to have empathy and know what the masses are thinking, which is much harder than issuing orders from above.
There is a best-selling book called "Excellent Sheep". It says that in the United States, many Ivy League students have received elite education, but they are silly, do not understand society, and separate from the masses. The author himself also reflected that a plumber came at home, and he didn't know how to chat with others at all. In American politics, this phenomenon is particularly common. Many presidential candidates graduated from prestigious schools with bright resumes, but they were unable to communicate effectively with the lower-level voters. But added Trump, George W. Bush this unconventional players, although it looks a little retarded, but did not lose " common-sense smart " (street smart), but more mingle with voters. Trump never speaks with partial or difficult words, he knows what the white people at the bottom like to listen to. ①
Americans' tendency to value the empathy of leaders is particularly evident in Hollywood movies. In Hollywood movies, the male protagonist may not be the best player, but he must be the best able to unite his teammates. Although the villain's combat effectiveness is high, he must not be good at team building. So the decent forces are twisted together, and the villains engage in internal struggles every day. Think about it carefully, Captain Kirk VS Khan, Optimus Prime VS Megatron, are actually this routine.
In Mass Effect, Miranda has a feeling, which can especially represent the helplessness of the villain leaders: "Father gave me the strongest gene, but I still don't have what you have... the ability to make others willingly go through fire and water for you. 』
Of course, this is all pediatrics in the eyes of the Chinese. The Chinese people's greatest hobby is being an official, and they have been thinking about how to engage with people for two thousand years. What kind of combination of grace and power, imperialism, courtesy corporal, leading soldiers... The Chinese seem to have the most empathy.
Rigid and soft
As mentioned earlier, the two major functions of team leaders-killing and decisive, inspiring people's hearts. So aggression and empathy are closely integrated, and the two are indispensable.
In the original season S1E5, Captain Kirk split into two personalities due to a machine malfunction. One inherited Kirk's aggressiveness, acted vigorously, but also cold and selfish. The other inherited Kirk's empathy, with a gentle and warm personality, but also weak. Two people have their own shortcomings, and only when they are integrated can they be considered a perfect leader.
This is very similar to Fromm's view. He said that personality is the inner projection of the image of parents. For example , the image of the father represents self-discipline and order, and the image of the mother represents unconditional love . Without the influence of the father, the child will be weak and lack self-control. Without the influence of the mother, the child will be harsh and unkind.
Behind self-discipline is coldness, and behind gentleness is cowardice. Any personality has its two sides. They are not simple advantages and disadvantages, but personality traits that are balanced and complementary to each other.
Interestingly, the views of the East and the West on this point coincide, and both pay special attention to the comprehensiveness of the team leader's ability. In Chinese history, the appointment of officials emphasized the combination of both civil and military skills. The status of "civilian" symbolizes its obedience to the court, and the status of "military officer" makes it better to participate in local practical work. It is best to combine the two, red and dedicated, so that the central government can better control the local army and maintain political order.
Action force
In the original season S1E11, First Mate Spock showed amazing mobility. In order to save the paralyzed and aphasia old leader, Spock took the risk of being sent to a military court, abducted the spacecraft alone, calmly dealt with various emergencies, and just completed the impossible task.
In the absence of absolute certainty, resisting all opinions, making decisive decisions, and resolute implementation are the qualities that a team leader must possess. This quality is very rare among ordinary people. Most people wait and talk, or only if they have the conditions to do it. But when I finally started to implement the action, I realized that I had lost the opportunity, or I had no enthusiasm to do it.
If you see things too bright, you lose your courage, and those who don't know are fearless. Crossing the river by feeling the stones, adjusting your posture while running , there is no one-size-fits-all solution in the world.
Shepard has a famous line: "When you want to kill a problem with a gun, find a Turian. When you want to talk about a problem, go to the Asari. When you want to get a new question, go to the Sierra Rian. When you want to solve a problem, find an earthling. "At first glance, it's an activist.
Keen on taking risks
As the source of the American spirit, Europeans in history have always been keen to take risks. In medieval Europe, there was an important system called the eldest son inheritance system . A large number of well-educated young people had no inheritance of property and had to go out and venture into the world. So the seeds of European business culture are also under this way. This partly explains why Zheng He's voyages to the West could not stop, but the great sailing movement has become so popular. People's dream is originally the sea of stars and the end of the sunset.
The business culture of Europe, especially the United Kingdom , has greatly influenced the national character and institutional trends of the United States. Tocqueville predicted:
I think that the country, like people, shows the main characteristics of its future destiny almost in the youth. When I saw the British-Americans' enthusiasm for doing business, the convenience of doing business, and the achievements in doing business , I couldn't help but believe that they would one day become the world's largest maritime power. Just as the Romans were born to rule the world, they were born to rule the ocean... If all the business states in the North American Federation form a single country, commerce will become their main national interest. They will pay a huge price to protect shipping, and nothing can stop them from fulfilling their aspirations. -On American Democracy
In contrast, adventurous spirit is not popular in Eastern culture . Because in the life that Orientals yearn for, there are no distant countries or underground treasures. In the eyes of the Easterners, life is a kind of compromise, a kind of compromise, and the responsibility of supporting the family. Every day is so simple and passed away.
sacrifice spirit
Simon Sinek said that a good team is like a Paleolithic tribe. Some people stand guard while others feel safe. When team leaders sacrifice themselves, team members also sacrifice themselves. The team atmosphere is determined by the team leader.
The leader of the Enterprise has never lacked the spirit of sacrifice, and often even took his life into it. In "Khan's Fury", Spock was burned alive by radiation in order to repair the spacecraft engine. In "Darkness Unbounded", Kirk bravely died for the same reason. The starship captain is a dangerous profession, he will die at every turn, "Spock, if I never return this time, I hope you will be the one commanding the bridge. 』
Wilde said that Jesus Christ conquered the world with a shocking aesthetic of self-sacrifice . The Americans have established their country by Protestantism, and naturally they also value the spirit of sacrifice. The result is that the life of American-style leaders is generally difficult. What Optimus Prime, Superman, Iron Man, accidentally sacrificed themselves. Of course, if the plot requires it, it can usually be resurrected later.
In the eyes of Americans, a capable but self-centered person cannot be the protagonist. Look at the NBA interviews, the people interviewed always repeatedly emphasized: my personal score is actually not important, everything is the credit of my teammate... I heard that you are not willing to fight for them, will they still be willing to fight for you?
In contrast, the spirit of self-sacrifice of Eastern leaders is more limited, and the sacrifice of others is almost the same. The better ones will be cut off, and the worse ones will be borrowed from your head. The spirit of sacrifice in the East is more reflected in subordinates or ordinary people. Especially before the Qin and Han dynasties, the mainstream social values were morality, loyalty and integrity. Most of the righteous and heroic heroes are not afraid of death. Seeing that the time has come to talk about loyalty, they come and come and take their lives.
This has to mention the unique suicide culture of East Asian countries. In Christian countries, suicide is not encouraged and not pleasing to God. This is not the case in East Asian countries. Suicide is a legitimate means of defending honor. As early as the pre-Qin period in China, "Suicide Suicide" has become a common practice. If you are insulted, you will commit suicide (Wei Qi), if you are suspected of committing suicide (Tian Guang), you blame others for committing suicide (Mengchang Junmenke), you will commit suicide if you are wronged (Prince Shensheng).
The profession with the highest suicide rate is undoubtedly the assassin. Obviously I am going to kill people. If the assassination is successful, I will commit suicide (to leave), if the assassination fails, I will commit suicide (Yorang). If the assassination is successful, I will commit suicide as a relative of the assassin (Sister Nie Zheng). I am not satisfied with committing suicide, and I have to form a gang and engage in collective activities. Goujian killed himself in a row, and the opposing army's heart collapsed. Tian Heng did not eat Han millet, but Mu Yi followed him with five hundred heroes. There are also two peaches killing three men, Zuo Botao and Yangjiaowei, you die and I die, you can't accept it.
It is undoubtedly Japan that has carried forward the trend of suicide. During the Kamakura Shogunate, the samurai class emerged. The samurai lost the battle and were ashamed of being captured, so they committed suicide before the battle. Not only committed suicide, but also cut open his belly, dig out his internal organs and throw them to the enemy to prove his "loyal and unyielding" soul.
However, after the restructuring of the Qin and Han Dynasties, China's own values have changed. The original "aristocratic spirit" of the six kingdoms became the empire's "imperial power supremacy", "junzi's acquaintance" became "the righteousness of the emperor and ministers", "the righteousness and integrity" became "loyalty and filial piety overwhelming everything", "the scholar is the confidant" "Die" became "The king called the minister and the minister had to die." Everyone doesn't even have the opportunity to choose, so naturally there is no way to talk about it. So Fan Sui succeeded in retiring, Wang Jian Mingzhe defended himself, the founding fathers of the Western Han Dynasty, all hesitating to live like gold.
speech ability
I used to have this feeling when I watched Hollywood movies. Whether it is Troy, Lord of the Rings, or Kingdom of Heaven, before the two sides start fighting, you must give an impromptu speech to pave the way for emotions. Talking hands dancing and dancing, obedient group sentiment is indignation, really a group of speech fans.
The same goes for Star Trek. Whenever the Enterprise faces a crisis, Captain Kirk always turns on the bridge broadcast first, uttering brave words, not making everyone gear up, breathing again and again, and vows not to stop.
Americans have attached importance to the cultivation of speech skills since they were young. Since school, there have been group discussions, final speeches, graduation speeches, and weekend sermons, wedding speeches, and fundraising speeches after graduation. This is especially true for political activities. Before a bill is passed, a speech must be used to inform others. Members who are not eloquent would be embarrassed to greet others. Speaking can be called American racial talent, but there is no American who can't speak.
This also has a lot to do with the American Protestant culture. The most influential sect in American history is Methodist. It likes to travel sermons and lectures and has set off the "Great Awakening Movement." Look at the older American language textbooks. The "Sinner in the Hand of Wrath God" is the famous article of the year. Therefore, American speeches often have a missionary color, "God bless America".
A martial nation with religious sentiments and a strong ability to speak out has caused the Americans to enter a state of verbal excitement as soon as they fight a war. The Lincoln Gettysburg speech, the Roosevelt Congress speech, and General Patton's Third Army speech are all known for their impassioned and passionate speech. Sun Yat-sen also learned this skill in the United States, so he was able to persuade overseas Chinese to pay for his life abroad and become president when he returned to China.
Having said that, European civilization has a historical tradition of being good at speaking. In the classical era, Pericles and Cicero made their way to the political stage by speaking. In the Middle Ages, Urban II set off the Crusade by speaking. In modern times, George VI "The King's Speech" and Churchill "Never Give Up" have all made movies. This also shows the democratic genes of European and American countries. There is no way, the big guys all have to come on stage to speak, it won't work if you don't engage in a parliamentary system.
Chinese history lacks similar records. Those who can speak well are counselors, and the lord only needs to follow good things. Probably because the site is too big, the people are too many to talk, and it is more difficult to get the situation done by persuading others. Chinese leaders prefer to play with mystery and create a sense of distance. They seldom speak in public, or even show up in public. They mainly rely on letters or imperial decree to express their opinions.
Idealism
All leaders have some motivation to detach themselves. On this point, both China and the West are the same. Le Yi said, "I observed that King Yanzhao had higher ideals than the world, so he came to Yan as a guest to serve him. "Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream, that is to live in a just world. Regardless of their cultural background and field, the behavior of leaders follows a similar pattern-from the inside to the outside, from ideal to action.
The same is true for leading organizations. For example, Yang Yongtai commented on the Red Army, saying that the Red Army is an "anist peasant armed force." Several important political movements in the history of the party were aimed at unifying thinking and figuring out why they fought. Only then did they explode astonishing combat effectiveness. After the Kuomintang cleared the party in April 12, it lacked a unified ideological program and goal. The army was not uniform, fighting each other, so it was scattered.
Human idealism is based on neuroscience. Neuroscientist Paul Maclean has a famous "triple brain" theory. The human brain is divided into three parts: reptile brain, mammalian brain, and Homo sapiens brain, corresponding to three brain structures from the inside to the outside: brain stem and Cerebellum, limbic brain, cerebral cortex. They are formed successively by humans in the course of evolution. Among them, the reptile brain is the first to form and is responsible for basic physiological functions. The mammalian brain is responsible for emotions and decision-making , while the Homo sapiens brain is responsible for language and abstract thinking.
Therefore, the part of the brain that processes language and logic does not drive decision-making. "I know what you said makes sense, but I just don't feel right. 』You can tell me a lot of established facts, data lists and logical analysis, but I am indifferent. The human brain cannot be persuaded, it can only be moved.
For this reason, for team leaders, figuring out "why" is often more important than figuring out "what" or "how to do". "Why do you do it" is a direct dialogue with the decision-making layer of the brain, and a dialogue with the emotional brain itself. Only when people have clear motives can they attract those with the same motives.
Paul Sinek said that when your colleagues agree with your values and your motives, then they are no longer your colleagues, but your comrades, your fans, and your believers. The reason for their work is no longer salary, but their beliefs. What they pay is no longer labor, but tears and blood and sweat.
It's like Whitman's poem to commemorate Lincoln.
Oh, captain, my captain! The sinister journey has reached the end. Our ship has passed through the stormy waves. The crew members who entered the port safely were full of joy, holding the reward they deserved, but on the deck, where lay my captain whose body was cold, which made people feel sad. , Captain, my captain! Get up, please listen to the bells and horns ringing for you, and the flags flying for you. We have realized your dream and completed your voyage!
Americans love leaders, whether they are serving or following. This is not the same as the so-called way of being an official, and it is more idealistic. This obsession to influence and be influenced by others is a very interesting and intriguing part of American culture.
① In many American universities today, leadership has almost become a cliché. It is nothing more than getting to the top of the social class and becoming CEOs, partners, senators, and so on. As long as you hold the power and become a wealthy alma mater donor, the university will be proud of you and publicize you.
The other side of the ocean has always had a tradition of reflecting on utilitarian cynicism. "Smell the fragrance to know a woman" and "Death Poetry Society" have inspired the growth of a generation. I think that those things that were once cherished by everyone will not fade because of age.
Reference source:
Simon Sinek, how great leaders inspire action
Wu Zhihong, aggressiveness, the source of man's charm
Fromm, the art of love
William Dresiewicz, excellent sheep
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