Name: 為何真實力勝出？Phoenix Group 的 Andy Briggs 分享無須偽裝的領導之道！ (Why Authenticity Wins: Phoenix Group’s Andy Briggs on Leading Without Pretending)
Uploaded: 2025-12-17T18:06:05.000Z
Duration: 32 min 6 s

情態助動詞 A2

We all have to make big decisions in our lives.

我們人生中都必須做出重大決定。

Decisions that define and influence our professional and personal journeys.

這些決定定義並影響了我們的職涯與人生旅程。

If you reflect on them, some are good and some I'm sure you definitely regret.

如果你回想一下，有些決定是好的，有些我確定你一定後悔。

In my nearly three decades as a financial journalist, I've interviewed literally thousands of CEOs, politicians and market voices, and

在我將近三十年的財經記者生涯中，我實際採訪過數千位執行長、政治人物和市場意見領袖，

they all had to make decisions to get where they are today.

他們都必須做出決定才能走到今天。

In this podcast, I hear about those choices, as well as the moments of doubt, risk and conviction that impacted our guests journeys and the people they lead.

在這個 podcast 中，我將聽取他們的故事，以及那些影響了嘉賓人生旅程和他們所帶領團隊的懷疑、風險和信念時刻。

This is Executive Decisions with me, Steve Sedgwick.

這是《Executive Decisions》，我是 Steve Sedgwick。

本集節目，我訪問了 Andy Briggs。

I think it's much easier to be yourself than be something you're not, first of all, so you're better at it.

我認為，首先，做真實的自己比假裝成別人容易得多，這樣你才能做得更好。

But also I think it works well from a leadership perspective just to be authentic, normal, down to earth.

而且我認為從領導者的角度來看，真實、隨和、腳踏實地，這樣效果也會很好。

Andy is the CEO of insurance company Phoenix Group.

Andy 是保險公司 Phoenix Group 的執行長。

Now, despite huge success, Andy has had career setbacks.

儘管取得了巨大的成功，Andy 卻經歷過職業生涯的挫折。

In 2019, he was overlooked for the top job at Aviva.

2019 年，他錯失了 Aviva 的最高職位。

I only kind of want the job if that's the direction the board wants to go in, and

我只在董事會希望朝那個方向發展時，才會想要這份工作，

the board didn't want to go in that direction.

而董事會並沒有打算朝那個方向發展。

Now, with over 30 years of experience in the industry, he places huge importance on balancing his professional and personal life.

現在，憑藉他在業界超過 30 年的經驗，他非常重視平衡他的職業和個人生活。

Different people have different approaches.

What I've learned over time is I'm more effective as a leader if I am balanced.

我隨著時間學到的是，如果我保持平衡，作為領導者會更有效率。

These are Andy Briggs executive decisions.

這些是 Andy Briggs 的 Executive Decisions。

I've had the pleasure of talking to you about the evolution of your company, Phoenix for a long time.

我很高興能和你聊了很久關於你們公司 Phoenix 的發展。

But I honestly can say I know next to nothing about you.

但我必須老實說，我對你本人幾乎一無所知。

And so the whole purpose of this show is to learn about the great business leaders and who they are.

所以這個節目的宗旨就是認識這些很棒的商業領導者，以及他們是誰。

My parents had a real focus on giving me a good education.

我的父母非常注重給我良好的教育。

So my dad Left school at 14 to look after his mum.

我爸爸 14 歲就離校照顧他媽媽了。

我的父母一無所有地開始，但是

he went to night school to work his way through and ultimately realized the importance of getting a good education.

他去上夜校，努力工作，最終意識到良好教育的重要性。

And I think the values that they instilled in me from a very young age have definitely held me in good stead for my career.

我認為他們從小就灌輸給我的價值觀，對我的職業生涯非常有幫助。

Tell me a little bit about your father, because the values he's instilled clearly come across.

可以稍微談談你的父親嗎？因為他灌輸的價值觀很明顯。

In fact, that that was your first answer.

事實上，這就是你的第一個答案。

He went to night school, he studied at college, and

他去上夜校，在大學讀書，然後

then actually went on to have a really strong career.

後來真的有了一份非常成功的事業。

Yeah, no, he did, with a very strong work ethic.

是的，沒錯，他確實有很強的職業道德。

But also a strong sense of family as well.

So definitely feel very fortunate to have had that upbringing.

所以真的很慶幸有這樣的成長背景。

It's really interesting when I've interviewed people for this show and funnily enough, some people have had a really tough background, some people have had a very privileged background, some people have had a very supportive family, some people have had to do it in spite of their family as well.

我在這節目上訪問過很多人，很有趣的是，有些人背景很艱辛，有些人背景很優渥，有些人有很支持的家人，但也有人是為了家人而奮鬥。

What do you think that they gave you, specifically, apart from, say, a strong work ethic, but

你覺得他們帶給你什麼，特別是，除了像是很強的職業道德之外，

has the love of family, has the big family connections from your parents and your sisters actually been an important part of your career?

家人的愛，來自父母和姊妹們的大力支持，對你的職涯來說，是不是也很重要的一環？

I mean, my parents, they worked and strived hard, but

I was the kid at school that still had flared trousers two years after flares had gone out of fashion because my parents couldn't afford another pair of trousers.

我就是那種學校裡，喇叭褲已經過時兩年了，我還在穿，因為我爸媽買不起另一條褲子。

But ultimately, the values of it all are important.

但歸根究柢，這些價值觀都很重要。

And I suppose one of the other things, Steve, for me as a leader is being kind of authentic.

我想，史帝夫，對我這個領導者來說，另一件很重要的事就是保持真實。

Being yourself, I think is really important as a leader.

我覺得作為一個領導者，做自己真的很重要。

So I don't try and be something I'm not, I just happily be myself.

所以我不會假裝成我不是的樣子，我就是開心地做我自己。

而且我覺得這樣大家比較容易接受。

So I've got four kids myself, they range from 16 to 34, but

我自己有四個小孩，年紀從 16 歲到 34 歲，

all still need their dad in different ways and I want to be.

但他們在不同方面都需要爸爸，而我想要當。

But I also know you went to one of the best schools in the region.

不過我知道你也是唸這個地區最好的學校之一。

And you went to King Edward VI Grammar School as well.

你也是唸 King Edward VI Grammar School，對吧？

How important was that in who you are, really?

I mean, my parents could never have afforded a private school, so Keggs is a state school, but

我爸媽負擔不起私立學校，所以 Keggs 是公立學校，但是

it was one of the old kind of grammar schools where it selected.

它是那種會選拔學生的傳統文法學校。

So all kids in Essex that wanted to went primary schools, did the kind of test to try and get in, and

所以艾塞克斯所有想進來的孩子，都會去小學，然後參加考試試著進來，

And I do think that a good education is just so, so important.

我真的覺得良好的教育非常非常重要。

Young people that don't necessarily always get the best opportunities in life, if they can get a good education, it gives them the opportunity to realize their potential.

年輕人如果沒有機會獲得人生中最好的機會，但如果他們能獲得良好的教育，這能讓他們有機會實現潛力。

One of the things I do outside of work is a lot of work with the nsbcc, the children's charity.

我工作之餘，也做了很多與 nsbcc，這個兒童慈善機構相關的工作。

And so you can see firsthand through that work just the importance of getting a good opportunity, a loving family background, a good education and how that kind of feeds through for young people to have an opportunity in life.

所以透過那份工作，你可以親眼看到，獲得良好機會、充滿愛的家庭背景、良好的教育有多重要，以及這些如何影響年輕人的人生機會。

So very, very fortunate to get that education is so important.

所以我很、很幸運能獲得那樣的教育，這真的非常重要。

But I do worry we don't know how to train them for Life thereafter, because it's such an incredible period of change.

但我確實擔心我們不知道如何為之後的人生訓練他們，因為這是一個令人難以置信的轉變時期。

You're seeing it professionally with AI and how that's changing people's roles and their productivity as well.

你正在專業領域看到 AI 如何改變人們的角色和生產力。

Do you worry that actually education now is in the dark about how to train kids for the 21st century?

你是否擔心現今的教育在如何培養孩子們迎接 21 世紀方面是處於黑暗中？

My sort of view on this is that a good education is not just about learning your maths and everything, it's actually about creating rounded human beings.

我對此的看法是，良好的教育不僅僅是學習數學和所有科目，更是要培養出健全的人。

Because although technology and so on changes, human nature doesn't.

因為雖然科技會改變，但人性不會。

We try and bring our kids up to be rounded human beings that can interact, that can argue a point, that can be sociable, engage, and

我們試圖將孩子們培養成健全的人，讓他們能夠互動、能夠爭論、能夠社交、參與，並且

whatever happens in the world of technology, those basic skills are important.

無論科技世界發生什麼，這些基本技能都很重要。

So I think education needs to be viewed more broadly than physics, chemistry and maths.

所以我認為教育的視野應該比物理、化學和數學更廣泛。

Now, talking of maths, not many people grow up thinking and dreaming of being an actuary.

現在，說到數學，很少有人從小就夢想成為一名精算師。

And I'll just remind our viewers math skills, stats and data analysis to manage risk forecast financial events and their impact as well.

而且我會提醒我們的觀眾，數學技能、統計和數據分析對於管理風險、預測金融事件及其影響也很重要。

Did you grow up wanting to be an actuary?

你小時候有夢想過成為一名精算師嗎？

Because it seems to me that you almost did.

因為在我看來，你幾乎就是這樣做的。

Yeah, so I used to enjoy maths and numbers.

對，我以前就很喜歡數學和數字。

It was maths with operational research with basically sort of maths with management economics type stuff at Southampton University.

我在南安普敦大學唸的是數學，加上營運研究，基本上就是數學加上管理經濟學之類的課程。

And it was through that university I then started looking at and thinking about careers.

就是透過那間大學，我開始研究並思考職涯。

I've always enjoyed team sports and often sort of captain in team sports, enjoyed the people leadership side.

我一直都很喜歡團隊運動，常常在團隊運動中擔任隊長，也很享受領導團隊的這部分。

So I sort of quite early on thought I'd like to get into general management and sort of run and lead and manage businesses did appeal to me from an early age.

所以很早就開始思考，我想要從事總體管理，領導和經營企業這件事，從年輕時就很吸引我。

And the reason I kind of went down the actuarial route is it built off the maths.

我之所以選擇精算這條路，是因為它建立在數學的基礎上。

But at the time, basically, pretty much anyone running an insurance company was an actuary.

但當時，基本上任何經營保險公司的人都是精算師。

That's not so much the case now, but it was at the time.

現在情況不太一樣了，但當時確實是這樣。

所以我認為這是一條進入管理階層的路。

I only actually did an actuarial role for about one year.

我實際上只擔任了約一年的精算師職位。

So although I qualified as an actuary, I moved into more general management roles very early in my career, so saw it as a means to an end, a route rather than the desire to be an actuary.

所以雖然我取得了精算師資格，但我很早就轉向了更廣泛的管理職位，把它視為達成目標的手段，是一條路徑，而不是想成為精算師的渴望。