With the other bureau chiefs, I initiated conversation by asking what I could do to help them achieve their goals.
后来和其他部门负责人联系时，我都会问问自己要做些什么才可以帮助他们完成工作目标。
It's no surprise that they reacted more positively and with far fewer expletives.
不出所料，他们的回应都比较积极，抱怨的话远比我想象的少了。
And after I employed my "What have I done for you lately?" approach, they were far more eager to return the favor.
我的方法就是问他们“最近我帮到你们了吗？”结果，他们都更愿意给我反馈。
As often as I try to persuade people to share their honest views, it is still a challenge to elicit them.
尽管我经常劝别人坦诚地分享自己的意见，但要让他们做到这一点还是比较困难的。
When I started building my team at Google, I interviewed every candidate before we made an offer.
当我开始组建谷歌的团队时，我面试了其中每一个候选人，
Even when the team had grown to about one hundred people, I still spoke with each finalist.
甚至在团队扩大到100人时，我也要与每一个进入最终面试的人交谈。
One day at a meeting of my direct reports, I offered to stop interviewing,
有一天，我在下属会议上提出不再参与面试，
fully expecting everyone to insist that my input was an essential part of the process.
并满心期待大家会一致认为我的意见对面试结果非常重要。
Instead, they applauded.
恰好相反，他们鼓起了掌，
They all jumped in to explain — in unison — that my insistence on speaking personally to every candidate had become a huge bottleneck.
并解释道，我坚持要与每个面试者单独谈话已经成为了招聘中的瓶颈问题。
I had no idea that I had been holding the team back and was upset that no one had told me.
我完全不知道自己拖了整个团队的后腿，而且之前竟没人敢说出这点，这让我很沮丧。
I spent a few hours quietly fuming, which, given that I have no poker face, was probably obvious to everyone.
鉴于做不到面无表情，我索性臭着脸沉默了几个小时，谁都看得出来。
Then I realized that if my colleagues had kept this to themselves, I was clearly not communicating that I was open to their input.
然后我意识到，如果同事们之前不敢对我说明这个情况，无疑是因为我没有向大家明确地表示出我愿意接受他们的意见。
Miscommunication is always a two-way street.
失败的交流往往是双向的。
If I wanted more suggestions, I would have to take responsibility for making that clear.
如果我想要听到更多建议，就有责任明确地表达出这个意愿。
And more important, I told them that I wanted their input early and often.
更重要的是，我希望能够及时地听到他们的意见。