????身居要職的壓力可想而知，但如果比起在地球上空100公里處軌道中的航天飛機(jī)里發(fā)號施令，它就顯得小巫見大巫了。

????杰弗里?阿什比在身體不適和失重的狀態(tài)下，在千軍一發(fā)之際完成決策。他是2002年亞特蘭蒂斯號航天飛機(jī)（Atlantis）上的指揮官，任務(wù)是將設(shè)備送往國際空間站。他做出了艱難的選擇，決定將亞特蘭蒂斯號與空間站手動對接，這并不是常規(guī)操作，就連他自己也擔(dān)心任務(wù)可能會失敗。

????他說，盡管如此他還是充滿了信心，因?yàn)樗c自己的團(tuán)隊(duì)在發(fā)射前的九個月里就已經(jīng)建立了強(qiáng)大的團(tuán)隊(duì)精神。阿什比堅(jiān)持他的小隊(duì)必須完成國家戶外領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學(xué)校（National Outdoor Leadership School）提供的艱苦戶外課程，訓(xùn)練的地點(diǎn)在猶他州東南部的荒涼峽谷。

????阿什比的簡歷看起來完美得就像三年級小學(xué)生的夢想：成為宇航員之前，他在海軍開戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)，并指揮著一個戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)飛行員中隊(duì)。他曾三次從太空俯瞰我們的星球?，F(xiàn)在，58歲的阿什比的職業(yè)生涯又轉(zhuǎn)向了地面。阿什比是藍(lán)源公司（Blue Origin）的任務(wù)保障總監(jiān)（Chief of Mission Assurance），該公司的目標(biāo)是降低商業(yè)太空飛行的費(fèi)用門檻。

????在最近沃頓商學(xué)院（Wharton School）的一次會議上，阿什比向《財富》雜志（Fortune ）暢談了在太空——這塊最后未開拓疆土（Final Frontier）所需的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力。

《財富》：你似乎并不畏懼在危及生命的情況下?lián)晤I(lǐng)袖的角色。那么，有什么讓你害怕的東西嗎？

????杰弗里?阿什比：很多人問我在發(fā)射時害不害怕。我常常答道，我不怕死，因?yàn)榈搅四莻€時候，真有點(diǎn)兒聽天由命的感覺；但我怕犯錯，擔(dān)心因?yàn)槲业腻e誤而付出生命的代價，或者導(dǎo)致任務(wù)失敗。艾倫?謝潑德開啟了一個傳統(tǒng)：在前往發(fā)射臺的路上，宇航員們都會背誦他的祈禱詞：“上帝啊，請保佑我們不要搞砸?！?/p>

這是一種在危險情況下采用的以團(tuán)隊(duì)為導(dǎo)向的理念。

????我的意思是，如果你把自己擺在事業(yè)和團(tuán)隊(duì)之上，最終肯定會失敗。我看到過大喊大叫、緊張兮兮的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，他們都是以自我為中心的人。要想成為真正偉大的領(lǐng)袖，必須做到無私。這樣的領(lǐng)袖，人們才愿意追隨，即使他們有不同意見，也會執(zhí)行團(tuán)隊(duì)決策。

是不是可以說，那些安安穩(wěn)穩(wěn)坐在辦公室的商界領(lǐng)袖們所面對的問題不值一提？

????不是這樣的。每個人都有不同的才能。我恰巧擅長在航空母艦上開飛機(jī)，而且我喜歡在駕駛航天飛機(jī)時進(jìn)行思考。

????The corner office can be a high-pressure environment, but imagine calling the shots in a cramped shuttle in orbit 100 kilometers above the planet.

????Jeffrey Ashby made some split-second decisions while space-sick and weightless. He was commander of the shuttle Atlantis on its 2002 mission to bring equipment to the International Space Station. He made the tough choice to manually dock Atlantis to the Space Station, bucking protocol, when he feared the mission might fail.

????Yet he felt confident, he says, because of the chemistry he built with his team during the nine months prior to launch. Ashby insisted that his group complete a grueling outdoor course with National Outdoor Leadership School in southeastern Utah's desolate canyon country.

????Ashby's resume reads like the dreams of a third-grader: he flew jets in the Navy and commanded a squadron of fighter pilots before he became an astronaut. He's seen our planet from space three times. For now, the career of 58-year-old Ashby has taken a more terrestrial turn. Ashby is the Chief of Mission Assurance for Blue Origin, a company that aims to make commercial space flight affordable.

????Ashby talked to Fortune about leadership in the Final Frontier at a recent conference at the Wharton School.

Fortune: You don't seem to be afraid of leading in life-threatening situations. So, what scares you?

????Jeffrey Ashby: A lot of people ask if I'm afraid during a launch. My stock answer is, not of dying, because you've sort of accepted your destiny at that point, but I am afraid of making a mistake that will either cost lives or cost the mission. Alan Shepard started a tradition where, on the way up to the launch pad, the astronauts recite the astronaut prayer, which is, "Please God, don't let us screw this up."

That is a very team-oriented philosophy to apply in a scary situation.

????Oh. I mean, if you put yourself above the cause and your team, you will eventually fail. I see leaders who are screamers, who lead by fear, and that's all ego-driven. You have to be selfless to be a truly great leader. That kind of leader, people will follow, and even if they don't agree with decisions, they'll disagree and commit.

Don't the problems that business leaders face from the safety of their offices seem relatively minor?

????No. We all have different sets of talents. I happen to be pretty good at flying off of aircraft carriers and, I like to think, flying shuttles.