體格強壯是領導優勢嗎 The leadership advantage that a ripped upper body brings
Vanity might not be the only reason ambitious young males obsess about their physique. They may be taking a calculated step towards leadership.
虛榮心或許不是雄心勃勃的年輕男性在意自己體格的唯一原因。他們或許是朝着領導地位邁出了精心策劃的一步。
A recent study suggests that people equate physical strength in men with higher status and leadership qualities. Researchers showed participants photographs of young men and women dressed in undershirts to show off their shoulder, chest and arm muscles.
最近的一項研究表明，人們會將男性身體的強壯等同於更高的地位和種種領導品質。研究人員向參與者展示了穿着背心、露出肩膀、胸部和手臂肌肉的年輕男性和女性的照片。
Participants were told that the people were recruits at a consulting firm. They were asked to rate how much they admired them, held them in esteem and believed they would rise in status. “Do you think this person is a good leader?” was one of the questions.
研究人員告訴參與者，這些人是一家諮詢公司的新員工，並要求他們爲其打分，包括是否欣賞他們，是否敬重他們，是否相信他們的地位將會提高。其中一個問題是“你是否認爲這個人是個優秀的領導者？”
In an academic version of the children’s game Tops and Tails, the researchers Photoshopped the images, switching the bodies and heads and manipulating heights, to take account of the possibility that results could be skewed by how tall or attractive the subjects were. Participants consistently rated stronger men more highly for status and leadership qualities. When the pictures were of women, it made little difference whether the subjects were stronger or weaker.
在這個兒童遊戲“頭和尾”(Tops and Tails)的學術版本里，研究人員使用Photoshop處理圖片，調換身體和頭部，調整身高，以降低結果受到評判對象身高和外形吸引力影響的可能性。在地位和領導品質方面，參與者一致給更強壯的男性打了更高的分。當參與者看到的是女性的照片時，強壯或瘦弱與否對結果沒有多大影響。
The research, soon to be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, seems to endorse Vladimir Putin’s habit of flaunting his physique or Donald Trump’s publication of his doctor’s opinion of his “extraordinary” physical strength. It also adds to a rich vein of work on the physical characteristics of business executives.
這項很快將發表在《人格與社會心理學期刊》(Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)上的研究似乎支持了弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)炫耀自己體格的習慣，以及唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)公佈醫生對其身體素質“特別出色”的評價的做法。這還增加了有關企業高管外形特徵的論述，這些論述已經十分豐富。
A 2004 paper, for instance, looked at research on height and found that tall individuals have an advantage in their careers, with six-footers earning almost $166,000 more over 30 years than someone standing only 5 feet 5 inches. Warwick Business School research last year indicated that men who rise highest in business, the military and sport share common facial features.
比如，一份2004年的論文研究了身高，發現高個子在事業上擁有優勢，在30年的時間裏，身高6英尺的人會比身高僅5英尺5英寸的人多掙近16.6萬美元。華威商學院(Warwick Business School)去年的研究表明，在商界、軍隊和運動領域地位升到最高的男性擁有共同的面部特徵。
Other researchers have noted a link between upper-body strength and status in indigenous Bolivian people, but, happily, we do not get to see many chief executives undressed, so it is hard to assess whether the same applies in the boardroom.
還有研究人員注意到玻利維亞本地人上半身體形的強壯與其地位存在關聯，但幸運的是，我們不會看到有多少首席執行官袒露上身，因此很難評估這是否也適用於企業的董事會。
Those executives who admit to a serious workout regime, or who projected a public image of physical strength, have a mixed record. Carsten Kengeter, a broad-shouldered extreme skier who “likes nothing better than a weekend of marathon running in the Mont Blanc massif”, looks set to take his leadership of Deutsche Börse through the pain barrier with a merger with the London Stock Exchange. Gavin Patterson’s leonine appearance — regularly referenced by reporters — has not hindered his rise to the top of BT, the UK telecoms group.
那些坦言自己嚴格執行鍛鍊計劃，或者營造身體強壯的公衆形象的高管們的命運好壞參半。寬肩膀的極限滑雪者、德意志交易所(Deutsche Börse)首席執行官卡斯滕•肯格特(Carsten Kengeter)自稱“最喜歡在勃朗峯(Mont Blanc)跑馬拉松來度過週末”，看起來將熬過德交所與倫敦證交所(London Stock Exchange)合併的“痛障”，保持自己的領導地位。加文•帕特森(Gavin Patterson)常被記者提及的獅子般的外形並沒有阻礙他升至英國電信(BT)的最高職位。
On the other hand, in 2012, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg — then 87 — boasted to the Financial Times of his weightlifting prowess. It is doubtful if this would have saved AIG, the insurer he used to run, from bailout.
另一方面，2012年，時年87歲的莫里斯•“漢克”•格林伯格(Maurice “Hank” Greenberg)向英國《金融時報》的記者誇耀了他在舉重方面的造詣。很難相信這能將他過去執掌的保險集團美國國際集團(AIG)從紓困中拯救出來。
Thor Björgolfsson wears “sculpted suits” and works out regularly, according to a recent profile “because it teaches self-discipline and pushes one to the limit”. Fellow investors in Landsbanki, the collapsed Icelandic bank where he was the major shareholder, might have hoped for more self-discipline sooner in his career.
最近的一篇人物專訪稱，托爾•比約戈夫森(Thor Bjorgolfsson)穿着“有型的西裝”，並且定期鍛鍊，“因爲它教人自律，並把人推向極限”。破產的冰島國民銀行(Landsbanki)的其他投資者或許曾希望這位主要股東在事業方面早點展現出自律。
The paper is called “The role of physical formidability in human social status allocation”, a title that risks having sand kicked in its face by more muscular headlines.
這篇論文的標題爲“壯碩的體形在人類社會地位分配中的作用”，這個標題存在被更“強壯”的標題挑戰的風險。
Aaron Lukaszewski of Oklahoma State University, who carried out the study with co-authors from University of California Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and University of Portland, has a word of caution for any leader tempted to throw his weight around. “Self-interested aggressiveness decreased men’s projected status,” he says.
俄克拉荷馬州立大學(Oklahoma State University)的阿龍•盧卡謝夫斯基(Aaron Lukaszewski)與來自加州大學伯克利分校(University of California Berkeley)、加州大學聖塔芭芭拉分校(UC Santa Barbara)及波特蘭大學(University of Portland)的合著者進行了這項研究，他對那些忍不住炫耀自身強壯的領導者有一句警告。“出於自利目的的咄咄逼人會降低男性展現出來的地位，”他說。
Mr Putin and Mr Trump, take note.
普京和特朗普，當心了。
