“透視領導力”是一個在線社區，我們將邀請最有思想、最具影響力的商界人士在此回答關于職業與領導力的問題。今天，我們的問題是：要成優秀領導者，最困難的是什么？以下為好時公司北美區總裁米歇爾?巴克的回答。

首先我想說的是，我喜歡領導者這一身份。我與一些最聰明的商業精英共事，這支團隊每天都能給我帶來啟發。我們齊心協力取得的成績，讓我每天早上醒來時都精力充沛。作為好時公司北美區總裁，如果沒有團隊的支持，我不可能取得成功。因此，我認為作為領導者，最大的挑戰是處理好“截然對立的領導藝術”（polarity of leadership）。

作為領導者，要想實現自己的目標，你必須有能力成功平衡各種相互對立、看上去相互矛盾的力量。例如，你需要富有遠見，并專注于未來，但與此同時，你必須日復一日地實現卓越的運營績效。另外一種矛盾關系是，在鼓勵和激勵團隊的同時，也要用必須的“嚴厲的愛”來管理團隊。

作為領導者，你必須時刻“在狀態中”，同時你也要拿出時間自省，評估事情的發展情況，展望未來。

為了領導公司獲得有形的業績，你需要采取不同的方式激勵員工，給他們不同的支持，并充分考慮他們對領導策略的不同反應。

我相信“敏捷學習”（learning agile），并且堅信要時刻保持著進一步提升的強烈渴望。在我的職業生涯當中，最好的學習方式是觀察我所尊敬的領導者們，如何與同事、團隊和外部利益相關者互動。此時，你要面對的“矛盾關系”是，你既要承擔發展團隊的責任，又必須通過聯系外部同行，“借鑒他山之石”來拓寬自己的思路，比如向消費者、客戶或外部同行學習等。

領導者在制定愿景時也會遇到矛盾關系，你既需要設定一種樂觀的基調來激勵團隊實現卓越，同時還需要一定的偏執狂和懷疑精神，以保證你將執行合適的計劃，實現預期結果。

我喜歡這些矛盾關系所帶來的挑戰。問題在于：你如何掌握平衡？

我認為，每一位領導者都必須決定哪種方式最適合自己，在我的職業生涯當中，我發現了一些能夠實現恰當平衡的技巧，并形成了自己的風格。

首先，我會持續認真地思考，如何最有效地利用我的時間，我在哪些領域可以增加最多的價值。這需要認真評估自身的優勢，以及每一位團隊成員的優勢，才能確定最有效的切入點。我會問自己：“在當前這些選擇中，把我的時間花在哪些領域最有成效？”一天的時間是有限的，你必須信任自己組建的團隊，并清楚應該在什么時候介入、什么時候后退一步。這意味著你需要不斷拿出時間進行自省，評估自己在“蹺蹺板”上的位置，若有必要，修正自己的路線。

我還會向“值得信賴的人”積極尋求誠實的反饋。這些人可以是直接下屬、人力資源部的同事或與自己平級的人，通過他們的反饋來確定自己在“蹺蹺板”上的位置。利用這樣的機會，你可以密切關注人們提供的“線索”，確定你是否偏離了方向，打破了平衡。

最后，領導者處理的最重要的矛盾關系是，在擔負起重擔的同時，也必須享受挑戰帶來的每一個令人激動的時刻。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

審校：任文科

The leadership Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question: What’s the most difficult part of being a great leader? is written by Michele Buck, president of North America at The Hershey Company.

Let me start by saying I love being a leader. I work with some of the smartest people in the business and a team that inspires me every day. I wouldn’t be successful in my role as President of Hershey’s North America business without waking up every day energized by what my team and I can accomplish together. So when I think about the biggest challenge of leadership, I believe it’s the “polarity of leadership.”

As a leader, you must be able to successfully balance a number of opposing and seemly contradictory forces if you are going to achieve your objectives. For example, you need to be visionary and future-focused while at the same time delivering exceptional and consistent operating results day in and day out. Another polarity is encouraging and inspiring teams while also providing tough love when necessary.

As a leader, you need to always be “on” in the moment while making time for introspection to assess how things are going and to look in the future.

You are leading a business with tangible results as well as people who are motivated by vastly different things, need different levels of support, and respond differently to leadership tactics.

I believe in being “learning agile” and having a strong desire for continuous improvement. Some of the best learning throughout my career has been watching leaders I respect interact with their peers, teams and external stakeholders. Here, the polarity comes from your responsibility to develop your teams while also taking the responsibility to broaden your own thinking by connecting with external peers and “bringing the outside in,” whether it’s learning from consumers, your customers, or peers outside of your company.

There is even polarity in setting your vision. You need to motivate your teams to aspire to excellence by setting an optimistic tone. At the same time, you need a healthy degree of paranoia and skepticism to ensure you are putting the right plans in place to deliver results.

I actually love the challenge of these polarities. The question really is: how do you master the balance?

I think each leader has to decide what works best for them, but over the course of my career, I’ve found techniques and developed my own style to strike the right balance.

First, I constantly scrutinize exactly what is the best use of my time and where can I add the most value. This requires a careful assessment of my strengths and those of each of my team to determine where I can be most effective to “flex in.” I have to ask myself, “At this point in time and given the options, where can I best devote my time?” With only so many hours in a day, you have to trust the team you have built and know when to step in and when to step back. This means continuously taking time for introspection to assess where you are in the balance and course correcting as needed.

I also proactively seek honest feedback from “a trusted source.” This can be a direct report, a HR colleague, or a peer to see where I am in the balance. It’s an opportunity to carefully monitor the “cues” that tell you you’ve swung too far one way or the other.

In the end, one of the most import polarities is feeling the weight of your responsibilities on your shoulders while also enjoying every moment of the exciting challenges you face.