亲爱的安妮：我在一家大型跨国公司工作，希望能晋升到一个管理岗位。我该如何让上司知道我的升迁愿望？我不希望让他以为我想抢他的饭碗（我确实不想）。而且，我也希望解释清楚，我并不想离开这家公司，除非我别无选择。

    另外一个问题：公司其他部门或许会有管理机会，但这些部门与我们相距甚远，我根本没有机会让他们了解我，对于那里的政治动态我也一无所知。您有什么建议吗？——L.A.

亲爱的L.A.：在理想情况下，向上司表示自己希望得到升职，是一件很容易的事情。你只需要把对我说的话，再对他说一遍就可以了。毕竟，许多公司至少在口头上都是支持这种观点的，即管理者的任务，很大一部分是培养人才，辅导未来的领导者。

    但即便如此，约翰•比森说：“很少有大公司会特别关注帮助员工规划一条清晰的职业发展路线，这很令人震惊”。虽然有数不清的研究都已经表明，这样做是留住明星员工最保险的方式。纽约市比森咨询公司（Beeson Consulting）的负责人比森曾写过一本书《潜规则：升值六大必杀技》（The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level），值得一读。

    比森说：“许多老板认为，‘野心’是一个非常令人讨厌的词汇。不论你的上司是不是这样想，要跟他进行这样的谈话都需要讲究些技巧。”如果你是上司实现自己目标所倚重的人，更要讲究策略。比森在书中经常提到一种现象，他称之为“人才囤积”。“能够培养出未来的领导者，获得‘伯乐’的声誉，对于管理者的职业发展自然有所裨益。但有时候，失去人才的负面影响要远远超过将他们培养成人才所带来的好处。”

    那么，应该如何开始这种棘手的谈话呢？比森建议：“首先，不要表现出任何失去耐心的迹象。相反，要明确自己是在考虑长期发展，希望能与上司持续讨论自己的职业。重点是要强调你决心留在公司，同时欢迎上司帮助你确认自己需要提高哪方面的技能，让自己能为公司做出更大的贡献。”

    然后，请求上司帮助联系其他管理者，包括与他平级和更高级别的管理者。比森建议：“可以这样说：‘如果他们能就我的职业规划提供建议，我将不胜感激，尤其是我需要发展哪些技能，以及我的能力在公司哪些地方能够发挥最大的作用。’你工作圈子之外的管理者或许能对公司其他部门施加影响，为你敞开大门。他们会向你推荐一些不为人所知的职位空缺。所以你肯定希望在机会来临时，他们能想起你来。”   

Dear Annie: I work for a large multinational firm, and I'd like to be considered for a promotion to a management position. How should I let my boss know about my desire to move up? I do not want to give the impression that I want his job (which I really don't want). I'd also like to make it clear that I'm not looking to leave the company, unless I have no choice.

    Another question: There are other groups within the firm where there might be management opportunities for me, but they are so remote geographically that I don't have a chance to make myself visible to them, or to get a sense of the political dynamics there. What do you suggest? -- Looking Ahead

Dear Looking: In an ideal world, mentioning to your boss that you'd like to be promoted would be easy. You could simply tell him what you just told me. After all, plenty of companies pay lip service to the idea that a big part of managers' mission is developing the talent under them and mentoring tomorrow's leaders.

    Even so, says John Beeson, "It's shocking how few big companies make it a point to help people develop a coherent career path" -- despite the fact that countless studies have shown that doing so is one of the surest ways to keep star employees from quitting. Beeson, who is head of New York City-based Beeson Consulting, wrote a book you might want to check out called The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level.

    "To some bosses, 'ambition' is a dirty word. Whether or not yours is one of them, this conversation is going to take some finesse," Beeson notes. That's especially true if you are someone your manager relies upon to meet his own goals. In his consulting work, Beeson often comes across a phenomenon he calls "talent hoarding." "Gaining a reputation as a 'star spotter', someone who develops future leaders, can be good for a manager's career -- but sometimes the downside of losing you outweighs that benefit."

    So how do you start this tricky conversation? "First, avoid any indication that you're impatient. Instead, make it clear that you're thinking about the long term, and you'd like to have an ongoing discussion about your career," Beeson suggests. "Emphasize that you're committed to staying with the company, and you'd welcome your boss's help in identifying which skills you need to work on, to prepare you for making a bigger contribution."

    Then, ask for your boss's help in reaching out to other managers, both at his level and one rank higher. "Say something like, 'I'd appreciate having their input into my career planning, especially what skills I need to develop and where in the company those might be most useful,'" says Beeson. "Managers outside your immediate sphere can be influential in opening doors for you in other parts of the company. They can recommend you for openings that are never posted anywhere, so you want to get on their radar screen for when the timing is right."