????你剛剛走上經(jīng)理人的職位，自然值得慶祝。但是從酒杯里的香檳酒氣泡散去的那一刻起，你就必須開始思考一個(gè)問題：目前的職位將會(huì)帶來哪些挑戰(zhàn)？

????雖然你很可能會(huì)按捺不住想花時(shí)間仔細(xì)考慮新的業(yè)務(wù)戰(zhàn)略，但千萬別忽視你即將面臨的第一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)，同時(shí)也可能是最關(guān)鍵的一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)：贏得下屬的信任和配合。

????瑞安?拉什當(dāng)初上任伊始就遭遇了這樣的考驗(yàn)。當(dāng)時(shí)，他剛剛就任位于美國圣克魯茲市的歐尼爾服裝公司（O'Neill Clothing）副總裁，負(fù)責(zé)銷售和設(shè)計(jì)業(yè)務(wù)。他接手管理的老員工有21人。這個(gè)部門之前表現(xiàn)不力，公司期待拉什能夠扭轉(zhuǎn)局面。然而就在他準(zhǔn)備放手大干一場的時(shí)候卻遇到了巨大阻力，一位明星員工甚至越級，直接去找首席執(zhí)行官反映意見分歧和不滿。

????對新任經(jīng)理人來說，拉什遇到的情況并不鮮見。那么面對這種幾乎不可避免的問題，應(yīng)該如何應(yīng)對？

????《管理者新解》（Manager Redefined）一書的作者、咨詢師湯姆?達(dá)文波特稱，要清楚員工對公司抱有何種期待。“每位員工為公司付出了什么，他們又希望從公司獲得什么回報(bào)，我們對此會(huì)有一種默契。”達(dá)文波特認(rèn)為，只要員工認(rèn)為公司盡責(zé)守信，他們就會(huì)一如既往地努力工作。

????對于剛剛走馬上任的人來說，必須要讓手下員工確信，他們與公司之間不成文的契約依然有效。經(jīng)理人在這種契約關(guān)系中是公司方的代表，如果經(jīng)理人出現(xiàn)變動(dòng)，員工自然會(huì)感覺他們與公司間的默契關(guān)系面臨風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。因此，達(dá)文波特建議經(jīng)理人征詢員工如下問題，包括“你來公司工作的目的是什么？為什么留在這里？你希望未來職業(yè)生涯想什么方向發(fā)展？”這些問題有助于厘清員工對這種契約關(guān)系的具體想法，同時(shí)給你一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，告訴員工你會(huì)繼續(xù)尊重雙方之間的約定。

????查林格、格雷及克里斯馬斯公司（Challenger, Gray & Christmas）是一家管理者新職介紹服務(wù)公司。該公司首席執(zhí)行官約翰?查林格稱，還應(yīng)該努力跟團(tuán)隊(duì)中的關(guān)鍵人物建立良好關(guān)系，不僅包括處于公司組織結(jié)構(gòu)上層的員工，還包括團(tuán)隊(duì)中的非正式領(lǐng)袖。“弄清楚誰向誰匯報(bào)很重要，但組織的非正式結(jié)構(gòu)同樣也很重要。要找出這個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)里能左右輿論導(dǎo)向的非正式領(lǐng)袖，并把他們爭取到自己這邊。”查林格表示，建立關(guān)系有助于發(fā)掘團(tuán)隊(duì)真正的優(yōu)勢所在，同時(shí)避免前任管理者犯下的錯(cuò)誤。

????還可以運(yùn)用一個(gè)更偏向技術(shù)層面的技巧。如果無法自主決定團(tuán)隊(duì)的具體人選，應(yīng)該重點(diǎn)進(jìn)行職位設(shè)計(jì)，向每個(gè)職位分配相應(yīng)的任務(wù)。哈佛商學(xué)院（Harvard Business School）教授弗朗西斯?弗雷稱：“如果不能自主選擇人手，職位設(shè)計(jì)在絕大多數(shù)情況下都能起到非常關(guān)鍵的作用。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者當(dāng)然都希望能挑選能力最強(qiáng)、悟性最高的員工輔佐自己，但這種想法不切實(shí)際。經(jīng)理人最終往往需要為自己希望擁有的、而不是手頭現(xiàn)有的員工設(shè)計(jì)職位。”弗雷表示，如果不能掌握員工的選擇權(quán)，就必須搭建適當(dāng)?shù)穆毼唤Y(jié)構(gòu)，使之與現(xiàn)有員工的能力相匹配。

????對拉什來說，他開始盡可能多地了解公司的情況，并與手下的團(tuán)隊(duì)培養(yǎng)默契感。他召集了全體下屬，征求他們對如下問題的看法：目前我們的業(yè)務(wù)有哪些好的做法？哪些做法有問題？你們希望我做些什么？你們擔(dān)心我會(huì)采取的行動(dòng)又是什么？假設(shè)你們和我換個(gè)位置，你們會(huì)怎么做？這種討論讓拉什對業(yè)務(wù)有了更深的理解，并與手下團(tuán)隊(duì)建立了情感紐帶。

????拉什的努力的確帶來了一些變革。向首席執(zhí)行官告狀的那位員工最終選擇了離職。兩個(gè)月后，部門業(yè)務(wù)走上了穩(wěn)定的發(fā)展軌道，接下來的四年里，部門運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)相當(dāng)順利。去年夏天，拉什從歐尼爾公司離職并開創(chuàng)了自己的服裝企業(yè)。這一次，他可以完全從頭組建自己的新團(tuán)隊(duì)了。

????譯者：李玫曉/汪皓

????So you've just become a manager. As the fizz settles in that celebratory glass of champagne, the newly hired (or promoted) will need to start thinking about the challenges of their recently won positions.

????And while you might have an urge to muse about your grand business strategy, you best not disregard what is likely your most critical first challenge: earning the confidence and cooperation of the staff you just inherited.

????Ryan Rush ran headlong into this trial as he started his role as a vice president of merchandising and design at Santa Cruz-based O'Neill Clothing. Rush inherited 21 employees in an underperforming men's division and was asked to turn it around. As he set out to accomplish this goal, Rush faced resistance, including open dissension from a star employee who went straight to the CEO to voice his disagreements.

????For new managers, Rush's situation is no strange happening; it should almost be expected. So what do you do?

????Start by finding out what each employee expects from the company, says Tom Davenport, who is a consultant and author of Manager Redefined. "There is an unwritten understanding of what each employee puts into the company and what they expect to get in return." As long as an employee feels their company is living up to its side of the deal, says Davenport, they will likely continue to invest in their work.

????As a new manager, you must assure your staffers that those deals are still intact. The manager is the keeper of the company's side of the bargain and, when a manager is replaced, it is only natural for employees to feel their deals are at risk. Davenport suggests asking employees questions like "Why did you join the company, why do you stay, and where do you want your career to go from here?" These questions will help you understand what your employees think their deals are, and it will give you a chance to show that you are committed to upholding them.

????You should also try to establish relationships with the team's critical leaders, says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement services firm, referring not just to the staffers at the top of the org chart, but the covert leaders too. "It's important to learn not just who reports to whom, but the underlying structure of the organization as well. Look for the ringleaders, those who drive the conversation, and win them over." These relationships, says Challenger, will help you find out what your team does really well and help you avoid what plagued the team under the previous manager.

????On a more technical note, when you are not able to decide who exactly is part of your team, you should concentrate on job design, meaning the way you allocate tasks to each position. "In the vast majority of cases where you don't get to pick your people, job design is critical," says Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei. "One of the consistent fantasies of leadership is that you pick your best and brightest and go to war. Managers often end up designing roles for people they wish they had, as opposed to those they really do have." When you don't have control of employee selection, Frei says, you must structure jobs to match the capabilities of your employees.

????In Rush's case, he set out to learn as much as possible about the company and to build rapport with his new team. He sat down with all 21 of his staffers and asked the following questions: What's right with our business? What's wrong with our business? What do you hope I might do? What are you afraid I might do? What would you do if you were me? The discussions helped him understand the business and form a bond with his team.

????Rush did make some changes, and the employee who complained to the CEO ended up leaving, but things settled into place after about two months and worked smoothly for another four years. Last summer, Rush left O'Neill to start his own clothing company. This time, he'll be able to build his team from scratch.