亲爱的安妮：我最近又错过了一次升职的机会，这已经是五年内第三次了，虽然我一直在全身心地投入工作，我的业绩评估也始终优秀。这让我很沮丧，也许并不奇怪，因为我是亚裔美国人（第三代华人），公司高层里也没有一个是亚洲人出身。我讨厌“打出种族牌”，但是鉴于现在这种形势，我忍不住怀疑美国职场是不是存在微妙的种族歧视。你怎么看？——隐形男

    亲爱的隐形男：你不是一个人在质疑。非盈利机构工作-生活政策中心（Center for Work-Life Policy）今年7月发布的研究结果表明，大约5%的美国居民认同自己是亚裔，但在财富500强公司中承担管理层的职位亚裔美国人仅占2%。

    这种差距显然不是教育水平低下造成的，因为16%的常青藤院校毕业生是亚裔（为亚裔占总人口比重的3倍以上），而在像麻省理工学院（M.I.T.）和斯坦福大学（Stanford）等顶尖学府，超过三分之一的毕业生（35%）为亚裔。

    当然，偶尔也会有亚裔走上企业高管的位置，比如雅芳公司（Avon Products）首席执行官钟彬娴，还有花旗集团（Citigroup）首席执行官潘伟迪。目前，共有8位财富500强公司的首席执行官是亚裔。

    部分出于这个原因，工作-生活政策中心（CWLP）调查的亚裔人群中，四分之一的受访者相信种族歧视让他们在职场上止步不前。有趣的是，仅有4%受调查的高加索裔人群觉察到对亚裔人群存在偏见的证据。

    说明什么问题呢？

    人力资源顾问简•海云称，一些亚洲国家的文化提倡埋头苦干就能得到回报，不必追求大家的认可。“但是仅仅埋头苦干是远远不够的，”海云称。海云经营着Hyun & Associates管理辅导公司。她还著有《打破竹子天花板：亚裔人的职业生涯策略》（Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians）一书。“亚洲文化有一种说法叫‘枪打出头鸟’，”海云指出，“与西方的理念如‘会叫的轮子先上油’等截然相反而且格格不入。”

    新书《选择权》（The Power of Choice）的作者麦克尔•海特尔也表示赞同。他是位于波士顿的咨询企业全球约务更替公司（Global Novations）的负责人，他在与美国和亚洲客户共事的过程中感觉到“确实存在文化不兼容的情况。

    “美国人从小就教育后代要展现领导潜质，要热衷交际、外向、直言不讳以及信心十足；而亚洲的理念则教育人努力工作，保持谦卑并且合群。表达个人的观点，或者倡导变革[在亚洲]通常被认为是失礼的表现。”

    工作-生活政策中心的调查人群中，将近一半（48%）的受访者表示，亚裔面临的最大障碍是“全盘接受主流的领导模式。”

    海特尔称：“认真研究公司里面谁在不断得到提拔。除了埋头苦干之外，他们还做了什么。这些都很重要。要了解公司怎么去定义领导才能。”

    他认为，技能水平是最容易识别和衡量的，因此“我们倾向于用这些技能来评估自己的表现。不过，85%的提拔看重的是其他技能，比如说服他人以及构建战略关系的能力，虽然没人挑明。”

    当然，你不必凭一己之力来解决这个问题。海特尔是代顿-哈德森（Dayton Hudson，如今更名为塔吉特（Target）,为仅次于沃尔玛的全美第二大零售巨头——译注）公司的前首席执行官。他本身就是非洲裔美国人。海特尔称他的父母从小就灌输他类似的理念。“考出好成绩、做得比别人出色就能获得成功，”他回顾道：“后来我发现仅仅这些还不够。幸运的是，我找到了一位导师，帮助我理解了那些不成文的游戏规则。”

    你或许也需要一位这样的导师。“这样的人在机构内部至少比你高两级，”海特尔称，“向这些人请教，应该在哪些方面着力。”

    与此同时，海云和海特尔都敦促亚裔扩大社交圈子，通过“抓住机会领导项目影响其他人”来提高自己的能见度。海特尔说，“这么做只需要伸展一下拳脚，但是别做太过分以至于忘乎所以。”

    译者：Winter

    Dear Annie:I just got passed over for yet another promotion, the third one in five years, even though I've been working flat-out and all my performance evaluations have been great. This is upsetting, but perhaps not surprising, considering that I am Asian American (third-generation Chinese) and there is no one of Asian extraction in any high position at this company. I hate to "play the race card," but given the circumstances, I can't help wondering if there is some subtle race discrimination at work here. What are your thoughts? —Invisible Man

    Dear I.M.:You aren't the only one wondering. About 5% of U.S. residents identify themselves as Asian, but Asian Americans hold fewer than 2% of executive jobs at Fortune 500 companies, according to a study published in July by the nonprofit Center for Work-Life Policy.

    The gap clearly isn't due to a lack of education: 16% of all Ivy League college grads identify as Asian or Asian American (over three times the group's representation in the population overall), and more than one-third (35%) of students at top schools like M.I.T. and Stanford identify as Asian or Asian American.

    Granted, every now and then someone who identifies as Asian or Asian American scales the corporate heights, like Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon Products (AVP), and Citigroup (C) chief Vikram Pandit. Altogether, eight Fortune 500 CEOs identify themselves as Asian.

    Partly for that reason, about one-quarter of Asian people surveyed for the CWLP study said they believe that race discrimination is holding them back at work. Interestingly, a scant 4% of Caucasians saw any evidence of bias against Asian people.

    So what gives?

    Human resources consultant Jane Hyun says that some Asian cultures encourage an ethic that rewards hard work without seeking public recognition. "'But hard work alone isn't enough," says Hyun, who runs an executive coaching firm called Hyun & Associates and is the author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians. "Asian cultures have sayings like 'The loudest duck gets shot,'" Hyun observes. "This is totally opposite from, and incompatible with, Western notions like 'The squeaky wheel gets the grease.'"

    Michael Hyter, author of a new book called The Power of Choice, agrees. As head of Boston-based consulting firm Global Novations, he has noticed in his work with American and Asian clients that "there is a real cultural disconnect.

    "Americans are taught to show leadership potential by being gregarious, outgoing, outspoken, and confident, but the Asian ideal is to work very hard, be humble and deferential, and blend in with the group. Expressing opinions or proposing changes is often seen [in Asia] as disrespectful."

    About half (48%) of respondents to the CWLP survey said the biggest hurdle Asian Americans face is "conformity to prevailing leadership models."

    Says Hyter, "It's important to take a close look at who is getting promoted at your company and analyze what they're doing, besides working hard. You need to understand how your company defines leadership qualities."

    He notes that technical skills are the easiest kind to identify and measure, so "they tend to be how we evaluate our own performance. But, although no one talks about it, promotions are 85% based on other skills, like the ability to influence others and form strategic relationships."

    You don't have to go it alone. Hyter, a former executive at Dayton Hudson (now Target) who happens to be African-American, says his own parents instilled in him the idea that "getting good grades and out-working everyone else would make me successful," he recalls. "Then I noticed that alone was not doing it. Luckily, I had a mentor who helped me figure out the unwritten rules."

    You need one too. "It should be someone at least two levels above you in the organization," Hyter says. "Ask for feedback about what you need to work on."

    At the same time, both Hyun and Hyter urge you to expand your network and boost your visibility by seeking out "opportunities to lead projects and influence people," Hyter says. "It requires you to stretch a little -- without losing sight of who you are."