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“\"Below one person, above ten thousand,\" life as the second-in-command must be quite pleasant. However, in reality, many deputy managers in the workplace find themselves in a dilemma of being suspected by their superiors and isolated by those beneath them. “Most commonly, the second-in-command in many companies is often pulled away when their career is at its peak. ”Yang Dong, an associate professor at the School of Psychology at Southwest University, gave such an example: Ke, who was the vice president of a certain company, began implementing reforms as soon as he took office, and overturned the president’s original plans. “The president didn’t comment on my actions; occasionally he would nod at me during meetings,” said Ke. “I felt that he gave me full autonomy, so I went ahead and took aggressive action.” ”One day, suddenly, the president called him to the office and said that his approach wasn’t impossible per se, but it would be difficult to implement. “The president smiled, his words were calm and gentle, yet they stirred waves within me. ”Ke said. “Ke committed the cardinal sin of being the second-in-command. Generally speaking, the role of the second-in-command should be that of a ‘right hand’ to the first-in-command. Such a role means that the deputy has no decision-making power; therefore, the deputy should not make decisions lightly, let alone decisions that go against those of the top leader. ”Yang Dong said. So, how should the second-in-command do their job well? Yang Dong pointed out that, \"The second-in-command should be the assistant, advisor, and confidant of the top leader, and both their words and actions should strive to reflect such characteristics of the role.\" ”Many people know Haier’s CEO Zhang Ruimin, but few are aware of President Yang Mianmian. For nearly two decades, Yang Mianmian has focused on one thing alone: spreading Zhang’s ideas and ensuring they are implemented in every corner of the company. She is well aware that Zhang is the spiritual leader of Haier, and all she needs to do is act as an executor. “That’s a very smart choice,” said Yang Dong. “The best way for a second-in-command to achieve success is by helping their boss succeed; once the boss’s dreams come true, your own dreams will not be far behind. Don’t forget to let others know that all the achievements were made under the guidance of your supervisor. ” In addition to managing relations with the top leader, the second-in-command also faces the challenge of establishing authority in the eyes of their subordinates. In response, Yang Dong suggested: \"If a deputy wants to establish credibility, they cannot rely on flattering their superiors or suppressing their subordinates; instead, they must do their job as an ‘expert’ or ‘pragmatist’ and convince others through their achievements.\" ”Finally, Yang Dong also gave some advice: \"Before you become the second-in-command, you need to have a clear understanding of yourself. If your resources and abilities combined are not sufficient to meet the demands of that position, then this opportunity is likely to be a seemingly attractive professional trap for you.\" ”