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Dullness and its discontents: Unshowy competence brings benefits as well as drawbacks
沉闷者及其不满：低头做事既有好处也有坏处
The charismatic corporate climber is a common target for resentment in office life. He—and research suggests men are particularly given to such narcissism—hogs the spotlight in meetings, is adept at grabbing undeserved glory, and is a pro at self-promotion
在办公室里，魅力四射且拼命往上爬的人常常招来怨恨。研究表明，男性尤其容易自恋，男性在开会时喜欢博取关注，擅长抢夺本不属于自己的荣誉，还是自我推销的行家。
More often than not, he is the boss’s pet. But he rises on the back of another, unsung, corporate archetype: the competent, diligent but unexciting achiever.
很多时候，他是老板的宠儿。但他是靠着另一类默默无闻的公司员工努力工作才得以晋升的：这类人能干、勤奋，但平淡无奇。
Studies find that plenty of confident egomaniacs, unsuited to the subtleties of management, get a leg-up for being, well, confident egomaniacs. Companies disproportionately promote narcissists.
研究发现，虽然许多自信的自大狂因心思不够细腻而不适合做管理工作，但他们恰恰会因为自信自大而被往上拉一把。公司会提拔相当多的自恋者。
Perhaps a fifth of chief executives fit the description, researchers have found, a far higher proportion than within the wider population. Self-absorbed CEOs can sap morale and, evidence suggests, produce poor financial results.
研究人员发现，首席执行官之中，符合自恋描述的人占五分之一，这一比例远远高于广大人群中自恋者所占的比例。以自我为中心的首席执行官可能会挫伤士气，而且有证据表明，他们也会造成财务业绩不佳。
A strong case for the dull striver was made by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a psychologist at University College London, in an article for the Harvard Business Review in 2015 entitled “The best managers are boring managers”.
伦敦大学学院的心理学家托马斯·查莫罗-普雷穆季奇在2015年为《哈佛商业评论》撰写了一篇文章，题为《最好的经理人是无趣的经理人》，文章为支持沉闷但努力的人进行了有力论证。
Understated competence does not intuitively scream leadership. Many totemic bosses of the age, from bankers to tech founders, come with big egos, showy antics and volatile tempers.
低调的才干不会直观地表现为领导力。现今时代的许多图腾式老板，从银行家到科技公司创始人，都极其自负，爱哗众取宠，且脾气反复无常。
Elon Musk may be accused of many things. Dullness is not one of them. Even so, Mr Chamorro-Premuzic argued, conscientious but unprepossessing characters tend to have little-noticed but precious advantages.
埃隆·马斯克可能会受到许多批评。但沉闷并非其中之一。即便如此，查莫罗-普雷穆季奇认为，勤勉认真但平平无奇的人往往具有不易被察觉，但非常宝贵的优势。
They can be depended on to make decisions calmly, manage teams deftly and be emotionally mature. They deserve promotion ahead of co-workers with “flash and vision, and bold displays of confidence”.
人们可以信任他们会冷静地做出决定，巧妙地管理团队，并保持情感成熟。他们比那些“闪闪发光、有远见、大胆展示自信”的同事值得更早地得到晋升。
A seminal meta-analysis of research on leadership characteristics, published in 2002 by Timothy Judge, then at the University of Florida, and colleagues, indeed found a link between managerial effectiveness and personality traits such as being stable, agreeable and dependable.
2002年，当时在佛罗里达大学工作的蒂莫西·贾奇及其同事发表了一项关于领导力特征研究的影响重大的元分析。该分析确实发现，管理效率与稳定、随和、可靠等人格特质之间存在联系。
One explanation is that level-headedness makes it easier to deal coolly with the many subtle problems thrown up by human beings (who may all too easily infuriate a more volatile manager).
一种解释是，冷静的头脑更容易冷静地处理人类引发的许多微妙问题(人类要激怒一个更反复无常的经理可太容易了)。
Emotional maturity is also an indicator of trustworthiness. Studies have found that managers with dysfunctional traits such as narcissism are likelier to get up to no good. Conscientious bosses, by contrast, score highly for integrity.
情绪成熟也是值得信赖的一个标志。研究发现，具有自恋等功能障碍特征的管理者更有可能做出不好的事情。相比之下，勤勉认真的老板在为人正直方面得分很高。
