从流浪女到女将军

Q168

为了逃避性骚扰和虐待，她幼年离家。结果因为入不敷出，她被迫从高中辍学，流落街头。但她没有放弃，一直苦苦支撑，直到军旅生涯改变了她的人生轨迹。如今，她不仅是埃森哲的管理咨询师，而且是一名女将军。靠着勇气和坚持，琳达•辛格一步步攀上了成功的巅峰，实现了人生的涅槃。


琳达•辛格有两个非凡的职业。她是咨询业巨头埃森哲（Accenture）的执行董事，同时还是美国军方的一名准将。她的履历非常精彩：高中辍学，曾经离家出走，最终却领悟到了领导力的真谛。在阿富汗服役两年之后，今年六月，辛格从上校晋升为将军，成为马里兰州国民警卫队（Maryland Army National Guard ）最高长官。49岁的辛格与我们分享了她的故事和有关领导力的经验教训。
Linda Singh has an extraordinary dual career. She is a managing director at consulting giant Accenture (ACN) and a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. She also has a remarkable history: She's a high-school dropout and onetime runaway who found a path to leadership. Promoted from Colonel to General in June and newly in charge of the Maryland Army National Guard after two years of service in Afghanistan, Singh, 49, shares her story and lessons in leadership here.
去年我在阿富汗服役，有一天，我负责将一批国防部平民护送到难民营。我站在一个满地垃圾的地方，向孩子们分发衣物。当时的情景就像是在一座动物园里——孩子们争抢着T恤和裤子，根本不管衣服的尺寸。很显然，这些孩子肯定不会自己穿这些衣服。他们会把这些衣服卖掉，或者用它们来交换食物、燃料，或是他们更需要的物品。
One day last year during my service in Afghanistan, I accompanied a group of Department of Defense civilians to a refugee camp. I stood in the middle of a garbage-strewn lot, handing out clothes to children. It was a zoo—kids grabbing shirts and pants no matter the size. Clearly, the kids would never wear this clothing. They would sell or barter it for food or fuel or other things they needed more.

Q168

这些孩子就靠这点简单的东西生存下去，让我想起我的祖母。她会把老板的旧衣服拿回家给我穿。与难民营里的孩子一样，我也曾经无家可归。
These kids, wanting such simple things to survive, reminded me of my grandmother bringing home hand-me-downs from her employer. I wore those hand-me-downs. And like these kids in the refugee camp, I was once homeless too.
八岁之前，我一直与祖父母住在马里兰州，我从没意识到我们很贫穷。我们有的吃，也有的穿，虽然都是别人用过的或者手工缝制的。而且，我的祖父母给了我很多的爱。九岁的时候，我搬去和父母一起住，从那之后，我的生活彻底乱了套。我的童年经常遭到虐待。我甚至遭到过亲戚的性骚扰。15岁那年，再次遭到性骚扰之后，我离家出走。实其实是我跟母亲大吵了一架，然后她让我滚。
Living with my grandparents in Maryland for the first eight years of my life, I never realized we were poor. We had food and clothes, even if they were used or handmade, and my grandma and grandpa gave me plenty of love. I moved in with my parents on my ninth birthday, and that's when things turned turbulent. Abuse occurred at multiple points during my childhood. I was sexually molested by a couple of my relatives. After one of those incidents, when I was 15, I ran away from home. Actually, my mom and I had a really big fight and I was told to leave.

Q168

我在汉堡王（Burger King）工作过，后来在一个卖椒盐卷饼的柜台打工。等我赚到足够的钱后，我从马里兰州弗雷德里克的一对老夫妇那里租了一个房间。每个月的租金是65美元，但我很快就无力承担。于是我搬了出去，有时会睡在朋友家的门廊，或者在Francis Scott Key购物中心卷饼摊后面的操作台过夜。我竟然一直坚持了下来。
I got jobs at Burger King and later at a pretzel stand and made enough money to rent a room from an elderly couple in Frederick, Maryland. The room cost $65 a month, and soon enough I couldn't afford that. So I moved out. I slept on the porches of friends' homes or in the back office of the pretzel stand in the Francis Scott Key mall. I made it work.
同时我还得兼顾学业。我的学习成绩很好，还加入了校篮球队——司职大前锋，场均能得十几分。但最后，工作、学业和无家可归的压力让我不堪重负。我的成绩开始下滑。我没有足够的钱参加SAT考试。最终，我从高中辍学。
And I kept it together at school. I got good grades and played Varsity basketball—power forward, scoring a dozen or so points per game. But eventually, the stress of working, going to school and having no home did me in. My grades declined. I didn't have enough money to take the SAT test. So I dropped out of high school.

Q168

后来，有一天下班后，当我在卷饼摊后台休息的时候，我看到了美国国民警卫队在购物中心里设置的征兵处。我也不知道到底是什么让我迈出改变命运的那一步。总之，在1981年6月3日这一天，我成了一名军人。我不得不说服我的父母在文件上签字，因为我还不满18岁。这是他们为我做过的最好的一件事。我的命运从此被彻底改变。
Then one day, on my break from work at the pretzel stand, I spotted a U.S. Army National Guard recruiting booth in the mall. What possessed me to walk over and redirect my life, I'm not sure. But on June 3, 1981, at 17, I joined the Army. I had to persuade my parents to sign the papers because I wasn't yet 18. It was the best thing they ever did for me. It turned my life around.
所以，当我站在阿富汗那个满地污秽的地方，看着孩子们讨要捐助品时，我意识到，他们大多数人并没有我当年所享受到的微薄的支持。阿富汗的女孩不能借助参军这条路来逃离糟糕的家庭生活。当时，我决定，我要说出我生活的真相，以及如何成为一名领导者。如果我坦率地讲出自己的经历，或许可以帮助人们克服困难。那一天，我看到的那些孩子和他们的父母，或许永远都没有机会讲出他们自己的故事，但我可以。如果我的故事能帮助一个人从无助走向成功，那么，它也能解释我到那个尘土遮天的地方到底是为了什么。
So, as I stood on that filthy lot in Afghanistan and watched the kids scrounge for handouts, I realized that most of them don't have even the tenuous support I had when I was their age. Girls in Afghanistan can't escape bad home lives by joining the military. At that moment, I decided I needed to speak the truth about my life and what it takes to be a leader. If I can be transparent, maybe I can help people overcome their difficulties. The children and parents I saw that day will likely never tell their story publicly, but I can tell mine. If that helps one person go from hopelessness to success, then telling my story will explain why I ended up at that dusty lot..

Q168

去年的退伍军人节，我站在埃森哲的讲台上，讲述了我少年时的离家出走到放弃学业，从通过打工自给自足到参军，在军队中接受教育的经历。我还分享了关于领导力的真谛：在许多成功领导者光鲜的背后，是无数个辛酸的不眠之夜，是在逆境中重生。
Last Veteran's Day, I stood on an Accenture stage and told my story, from running away as a teen to quitting school, to working and supporting myself, to joining the military and getting my education there. I also told the truth about leadership: The back story of many successful leaders is heartbreak, sleepless nights, and overcoming adversity.
在阿富汗，以及在回到美国之后，我曾经无数次思考过我学到的东西和我的成功之路。以下是我总结的有关领导力的三条经验：
In Afghanistan and now back in the U.S., I've given a lot of thought about what I learned and paths to success. Here are three of my leadership lessons:

Q168

重视多样性。在阿富汗，我们与来自60个国家的人配合，懂得了不同背景的人相互协作的价值。我们在那里是要为阿富汗人民寻找解决方案，但我们首先必须将文化差异放在一边，理解彼此的观点。我认为，多样性能造就更出色的团队、更优秀的董事会和更伟大的公司。在阿富汗的每一天、甚至每一分钟都在验证着这种观点。
Value Diversity. In Afghanistan we worked with people from 60 countries and learned the value of diverse individuals collaborating. We were all there to roll out solutions for the Afghan people, but we had to understand each other's perspectives first and then put aside cultural differences. I've read that diversity makes for better teams, better boards, better companies. In Afghanistan, I saw this every minute of every day.

Q168

始终保持真实。这群人有着不同的背景，来自不同的时区和文化，但却通过合作取得了巨大的成就，所以我一直很好奇这背后的原因。它跟时间线或计划方案无关；即使那些失败的团队也一样有时间线或计划方案。身为美国人，我知道，在其他国家人的眼里，我们可能不友好，也不理解他们的文化，所以我有意识地避免陷入当地那种凄凉的氛围，或是工作的压力。我每天都尽量出现在工作现场，保持真诚、宽容和热情。人们告诉我他们对此非常感激，于是我意识到亲临现场的力量和真实的重要性。成功不仅仅在于你做到了什么，你完成的交易，你管理的利润和亏损。成功在于你是否真实。
Always be authentic. This group of people from incredibly different backgrounds, time zones and cultures made quite a bit of progress together, and I wondered what enabled us. It was not the timelines or the work plans; even groups that fail have those. As an American, I was aware that we can be seen as unfriendly and not understanding of other cultures, so I was very conscious to never get caught up in the dreariness of the place or the pressure of the job. I set out to be present and genuine, kind and cordial everyday. People told me they appreciated that, and I realized the power of presence and the importance of authenticity. Success is not just what you get done, the deals you close, the P&L you manage. It is your authenticity.

Q168

指导其他人。我曾指导过中层和高层管理者，但现在，我更关注处在初级岗位的埃森哲年轻员工，因为他们能够带来变革的力量。目前，我在为大约30名非洲裔和西班牙裔分析师提供指导。其中有些人为自己感到沮丧，因为在大学毕业后的一到两年，他们一直没能获得更大的成就。我告诉他们，领导力并不是他们在管理书籍中所读到的那样。领导力是改变的力量。看到他们解决问题的方式，以及通过新的更好的方式找出解决方案，我感到非常欣慰。


    我很高兴与我交流过的大多数人并没有经历我所经历过的糟糕生活。但同样令我高兴的是，我可以借助自身与众不同的生活体验，向他们传授领导力的真谛。处在那样的生活里，没有什么是理所当然的，只能从逆境中获得重生。
Mentor others. I used to mentor mid- to senior-level people, but now I focus on young people in Accenture's junior ranks because that's where transformation happens. Right now I'm mentoring about 30 African-American and Hispanic analysts. Some of them get down on themselves for not being more successful in the first year or two after college. I tell them that leadership is not necessarily what you read in a management book. Leadership is the ability to change. As I see them adapting the ways they approach problems and working to find solutions in new and better ways, I'm encouraged.


    Most of the people I speak to haven't seen what I've seen, and I'm glad. But I'm also glad I can bring them leadership lessons from a different life where nothing is taken for granted and value really does come from adversity.

standby

非常好，支持一下

DannyMa2012

很好的帖子，受益匪浅