英语散文:The four marks of leadership

The four marks of leadership

领袖的四种品质

Address by John Engler, Governor of Michigan Delivered to Stephen F. Austin State University, Commencement Address, Nacogdoches, Texas, May 15, 1999.

密歇根州州长约翰.恩格勒1999年5月15日在得克萨斯州纳科多契斯市斯蒂芬.F.奥斯汀州立大学毕业典礼上的演说。

When I first received the invitation to speak at your commencement ceremony, I thought back to my own graduation many, many years ago and you know what? I can remember neither the speaker nor what he or she said. The only thing I remember is that we all wanted it to be short. So I will try to keep my message short, recalling from my own days at Michigan State University that the person who lectures is sometimes the one who talks in other people's sleep.

当我最初接到在贵校毕业典礼上讲话的邀请时，我回想起了许多年前自己毕业时的情景。你们知道吗？我既记不得是谁作的演讲，也记不得讲了些什么。我惟一能记起的是我们都希望听到简短的演讲。回想起我在密歇根州立大学的日子里，有时候演讲者的长篇大论竟成为许多人的催眠曲。因此我将尽量缩短我的讲话。

What I'd like to do this morning is say a few words about leadership. Here's why. Each one of you, by choosing to come to college and sticking it out and earning a degree, is saying something important to society. You are saying that you want to lead.

You want to be leaders in the workforce, in your profession, and in your communities.

今天上午，我想就领导才能说几句。为什么呢？你们中的每一个人，既然选择上大学而且坚持到底获得学位，你们其实是在向社会宣布某种重要的事--你们想成为领袖。

你们想成为雇员职工的领袖，想成为专业中的佼佼者，想成为自己社区中的领导人物。

An admirable goal. But how does one learn to lead? The Greek philosopher Aristotle told us that we learn to lead by leading, by practicing the skills that are required to move men and women in concert toward a common goal. The ancient historian Plutarch taught us that we also learn to lead by reading---reading about great leaders from the past, as he showed in his Parallel Lives.

这是令人钦佩的目标。但一个人如何学会领导艺术呢？古希腊大哲学家亚里士多德告诉我们应该通过领导学会领导，即在实践中培养自己具有让不同的人朝同一目标合作的才能。古历史学家普鲁塔克则教导我们通过阅读来学会领导，正如他在《比较列传》中描述的那样，去阅读历代伟大领袖的生平和领导才能。

As I was preparing these remarks and thinking about the topic, an obvious leader come to mind---the namesake of this school, a great American hero---Stephen Fuller Austin. To my delight, I discovered that Professor Gregg Cantrell at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene has just finished a superb biography of the Father of Texas. Titled Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas, it will be released this October by Yale University Press. I had the opportunity to see the page proofs.

当我在准备这些讲话酝酿主题时，我的脑海中立即浮现出一个大家公认的领袖。他就是与贵校同名的人，一个伟大的美国英雄--斯蒂芬·富勒·奥斯汀。让我高兴的是，我发现哈丁--西蒙斯大学阿比林分院的格雷格·坎特雷尔教授新近完成了一本这位得克萨斯之父的绝妙传记。这本传记的书名为《斯蒂芬·F·奥斯订：得克萨斯州的创业者》。这本书将于今年10月由耶鲁大学出版社出版。我有幸先睹了此书的校样。(作者：佚名)

Central to the author's thesis are Austin's great qualities as a leader. The Father of Texas had four qualities that enabled him to turn a bunch of rugged individualists on the frontier into a cohesive community. This morning, I want to share those qualities with you. I recommend them because they are in accord with what I've experienced in my three decades of public service. These qualities are timeless, and if you embrace them, you will become better leaders.

作者以奥斯汀的伟大领袖才能作为中心主题。这位得克萨斯之父具备了四种品质，使得他能把边缘上一群一盘散沙似的个体转变成一个有强大凝聚力的集体。今天上午，我想与你们一起谈谈这些品质。我之所以大力推荐这些品质，是因为它们与我30年公务生涯得出的经验是一致的。这些品质可以跨越时间的长河，是终生受用的精神资源。如果你们拥有它们，你们定能成为优秀的领袖。

First is vision. Have a vision. Austin certainly had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve. In a letter written in 1829, he said. "My ambition has been to succeed in redeeming Texas from its wilderness state by… spreading over it…enterprise and intelligence. In doing this I hope to make the fortune of thousands and my own amongst the rest." His vision was of a prosperous, progressive Texas, and he stayed absolutely true to that goal. He never wavered---and look at Texas today! You Texans are blessed more than ever with prosperity and progress.

第一种品质是要有前景目标。奥斯汀对他想要取得的成就有明确的前景目标。他在1829年的一封信中写道："我的目标是成功地改造荒芜的得克萨斯……让它到处充满进取精神和聪明才智。我希望以此来造福千万人民同时实现我的价值。"他的目标是一个繁荣进步的得克萨斯，而且，他始终不渝地坚信他的目标。他从不动摇--看看今天的得克萨斯州吧！你们得克萨斯人从未享有过像今天这样的繁荣与进步。

Second, know how to tell others about your vision. Austin is a great example of how to communicate vision with great force and clarity. He knew how to enlist others in his great mission in the wilderness. He wrote and spoke every chance he had---even learned Spanish so that he could communicate with the many Tejanos here, as well as with the government in Mexico City. By sharing his vision in powerful, compelling language, Austin helped unite rugged individualists into a colony where people from different backgrounds joined together for a greater cause. As we approach the 21st century, the idea of cooperating for the sake of a greater cause is surely as necessary today.

第二种品质是懂得如何让你的目标为人知晓。奥斯汀在这方面是个很好的典范，他明白如何以强有力的、清晰的方式把目标传达给他人。奥斯汀懂得怎样把他人召集起来投入到荒野中的伟大事业中去。他利用一切机会写作、发言，甚至去学西班牙语以便不但能同墨西哥城政府协商，而且能与许多当地的特吉诺人交流。奥斯汀用他强劲的、鼓舞人心的话语，使得他的目标成为大家共同的目标。他帮助这些人团结在一起，在这块土地上，不同背景的人齐心协力为一项伟大的事业而奋斗。在我们向21世纪迈进的今天，这种为伟大事业而合作的思想是万万不可缺少的。

The third leadership quality Austin had was an unshakable confidence in himself, and in the rightness of what he was doing. According to Professor Cantrell, he never even considered the possibility of failure. He learned to recognize his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Criticism bounced off. Austin viewed mistakes simply as an opportunity for learning.(作者：佚名)

奥斯汀具有的第三种品质是毫不动摇地坚信自己和自己所做事业的正义性。根据坎特雷尔教授的描述，奥斯汀从不认为自己会失败。他知道什么是自己的长项，并知道如何弥补自己的弱项。尽管会遭遇到批评意见，但奥斯汀却把任何错误都看作是学习的机会。

If you are held in leadership, accept that you will make mistakes. I can tell you from personal experience: Sometimes mistakes are excellent tutors. So learn from your mistakes, keep a clear conscience, and go forward---always forward---confident of achieving your dreams.

如果你们具备显著的领导才能，但同时要记住你们是会犯错的。从我个人的经历中我可以告诉你们：错误有时是极好的老师。因此要学会从错误中汲取教训，问心无愧地、满怀信心地朝着自己梦寐以求的目标前进，再前进。

Fourth, lead by example---be men and women of character. By his own character and integrity, Austin knew how to gain the people's trust. Texans knew from the way he lived his life that he was an honorable person, true to his word and to the people around him. He always put the interests of Texas above his own.

第四种品质是以身作则--做个有道德的人。奥斯汀懂得如何以个性魅力和诚实正直的品质去赢得众人的信任。从他的生活方式中，得克萨斯人看出他是值得尊敬的人。他信守诺言，对周围的人忠心耿耿。他总是把整个州的利益放在自己利益之上。

My friends, America in the 21st century will need that kind of leadership. Much of it may come from you, the Class of '99!

朋友们，21世纪的美国就需要这样的领导才能。99届的同学们，众多的领导人可能就将从你们中产生！

It is because of these four qualities of leadership---vision, the ability to communicate that vision, confidence, and integrity---that Stephen F. Austin accomplished so much in the seedtime of Texas history. He is justly called the Father of Texas. There are many valuable lessons to be drawn from his life and his example. That's why you can forever be proud to be a graduate of the fine university that bears his name.

正是因为这四种领袖的品质--有前景目标，让自己的目标为人知晓的能力，信心和诚实正直的品质--奥斯汀为得克萨斯的历史写下了创业的辉煌篇章。他被誉为得克萨斯之父是当之无愧的。从他的生活经历中，我们可以获取很多有价值的东西。你们毕业于以他的英名著称的大学，可以永远地为此而感到骄傲。

So to the last CLAsS of the 20th century, to the leaders of the 21st century, I offer congratulations, and wish you Godspeed.

最后，谨献上我对20世纪最后一届毕业生，对21世纪未来领袖们的衷心祝福，祝愿你们梦想成真、前程似锦。