Getting up early, wearing the same clothes every day, eating eggs for breakfast… there are various thing we’re told CEOs do that may hold the keys to their success.

早早起床，每天穿一样的衣服，早餐吃鸡蛋……我们得知首席执行官们做的这些五花八门的事情也许是他们成功的关键。

But what if the one thing the most successful have in common is in fact not something they do but the way they are?

但如果最成功的首席执行官的共同之处其实不是他们做了什么，而是他们做事的方式呢？

The results of a new study certainly suggest this is the case. And the shared attribute? Introversion¹.

一项新研究的结果告诉我们，的确是这样。而他们共有的特点是什么？那就是内向。

Researchers from ghSmart, a Chicago-based consultancy firm, spent ten years analysing the personalities² of 2,000 CEOs and reached the conclusion that the majority of the successful ones were introverts³.

总部位于芝加哥的咨询公司ghSmart的研究人员花费了10年时间分析了2000位首席执行官的性格，并得出结论说，大部分成功的首席执行官都是内向的人。

This flies in the face of the image most people have of a typical charismatic, confident, extroverted⁴ leader.

在大多数人的眼中，领导都是有魅力、有自信的外向者，而研究结果与此不同。

The study, called the CEO Genome Project, includes a test anyone can do to find out whether they have what it takes to be a CEO.

这项研究名为CEO基因组计划，其中包括一项任何人都可以参与的测试，来发现他们做一名首席执行官是否称职。

“When we flip⁵ on the news, or check our social media feeds, we are bombarded with images of well-groomed, Ivy⁶ league-educated icons⁷ of the Fortune 100,” the study authors write. “And we can’t help but think, I could never be them.

研究报告的作者写道：“当我们浏览新闻，或者查阅社交媒体信息时，我们看到的都是衣冠楚楚、常春藤盟校毕业、上榜财富100的偶像。我们不禁这样想，自己永远也成不了其中一员。”

“In fact, they come from surprisingly varied⁸ backgrounds. Of the six million CEOs of companies in America, only seven percent went to an elite⁹ school—and eight percent didn't graduate college at all. Some are immigrants; many worked their way up through the ranks from entry-level positions.”

“事实上，他们的背景非常多样，这令人惊讶。在美国600万名公司首席执行官中，仅有7%曾在名校就读，还有8%压根就不是大学毕业生。一些是移民，还有一些是从基层岗位升上去的。”

To reach their conclusions, the researchers made a database of assessments¹⁰, including comprehensive performance appraisals¹¹ and extensive biographical information, which documented everything from behavioural patterns and demographic information to career history and previous job performance.

为得出结论，研究人员制作了评估数据库，包括综合绩效考察和大量的个人简历信息，其中记录了行为类型、人口统计信息、职业经历和以前的工作表现等等。

From these findings, they were able to work out who amongst us are most likely to become a CEO.

从这些发现中，他们能找出我们当中的哪些人更可能成为首席执行官。

They found that the four most important traits for CEOs are:

他们发现，首席执行官四种最重要的特点是：

Reaching out to stakeholders

与股东沟通

Being highly adaptable¹² to change

对变化有高度适应性

Being reliable and predictable rather than showing exceptional, and perhaps not repeatable, performance

可靠，行为可预见，而不是展现出异常的，或许不可重复的表现

Making fast decisions with conviction, if not necessarily perfect ones.

有信念快速决断，不一定是完美决策

About half of the candidates had at least one of these characteristics.

大约半数被调查者至少有上述一种特点。