职场提升秘笈：寻找靠山

    芭芭拉•安达工作一直很努力。她在德勤咨询公司（Deloitte Consulting）工作了11年之久，一直负责旧金山人力资源部，不过，真正到了晋升的关键时刻，她的最大优势并非这些“苦劳”，而是其他高管所不具备的一项：一位完全信任她、具有影响力的支持者。

    迈克尔•福茨是公司合伙人，负责美国东部地区业务。6年前，他就曾审查过芭芭拉的候选资格。为了让她晋升一个全新的重要职位，福茨曾为她游说，但芭芭拉认为自己没有做好准备，福茨表示他会帮助她，直到她取得成功，并成功说服了芭芭拉。十年之后，芭芭拉成为德勤咨询公司全美人力资源业务的负责人，并且在公司高层领导团队中有一个人们梦寐以求的席位。安达表示：“他能给我这个机会，并替我推荐，实际上是用自己的信誉作为担保。我们仍保持密切的联系。我知道他会一直支持我，而他也知道我对他100%的忠诚。”

    当今职场，能有一位可以给予你指导的良师益友当然是好事。但要想攀上职场巅峰，则需要一位“靠山”，也就是担保人。师父与“靠山”有何区别呢？师父可以对你进行指导，提供建议，帮助你为下一个职位做好准备。而担保人则会为你承担风险，打开通往下一个职位的大门，把你推荐给适当的人，并在事关你职场命运的高层对话中，为你辩护。Catalyst研究部资深总监希瑟•福斯特-卡明斯表示：“师父会与你进行交流，而‘靠山’则把你推荐给其他人。”

    近期，许多公司希望在领导层中增加女性的比例，因此担保人理念也被越来越多的公司所采纳。2010年《哈佛商业评论》（Harvard Business Review）对4000名高层员工进行了调查，结果显示19%的男性员工有一名担保人，而女性的比例仅为13%。而有推荐人支持的女性，更愿意提出加薪，也有更多机会获得升职、加薪和更高的职场满意度，甚至进入公司高层。《哈佛商业评论》的合著者、人才创新中心（Center for Talent Innovation）主任西尔维娅•安•休利特表示：“推荐是获得高层职位的唯一途径。”

    担保机制在各个方面都得到了推广。研究显示，绝大多数拥有“靠山”的男性和女性员工，对自己的晋升几率更加满意。

    Barbara Adachi was always a hard worker. But even after 11 years running the San Francisco human capital division for Deloitte Consulting, when it came to a key promotion she had something many senior executives lacked: an influential backer who believed in her.

    Mike Fucci, a partner running the company's Eastern practice, had reviewed her candidacy for partner six years earlier. When he lobbied for her promotion into a new major role, she didn't feel ready, but Fucci convinced Adachi that he would teach her what she needed to know to be successful. Ten years later she now runs Deloitte's national human capital practice and has a coveted seat on the company's senior leadership team. "By giving me that chance and recommending me for that role, he put his reputation on the line," Adachi says. "We still are hand in glove, and I know he's got my back. He knows I'm 100% loyal to him."

    In today's career maneuvering, having a mentor is nice. But having a sponsor is what will get you to the top. What's the difference? A mentor can coach you, give advice, and help prepare you for your next position. A sponsor will go out on a limb for you, open the door to your next job, introduce you to the right people, and make the case for you in those top-level conversations that could make or break your career. "A mentor will talk with you, but a sponsor will talk about you," says Heather Foust-Cummings, senior director of research at Catalyst, which has conducted research on sponsorships.

    The idea of sponsorship has gained momentum lately as companies aim to move more women into corporate leadership. A 2010 Harvard Business Review study of 4,000 high-level employees reported that 19% of men say they have a sponsor, compared with 13% of women. Yet women who have a sponsor in their corner are far more willing to negotiate raises and more likely to see more promotions, higher salaries, and more career satisfaction -- and get to the top. "Sponsorship is the only way to get those top appointments," says Sylvia Ann Hewlett, president of the Center for Talent Innovation and co-author of the Harvard Business Review study.

    Sponsorship is gaining ground across the board. Research shows that the vast majority of both men and women feel more satisfied with their rate of advancement when they have sponsors.

    近期的研究，促使多家公司启动了新的“担保人”计划。近期，联合利华（Unilever）开始提供延长的交流会议时间，以便促成担保机会，而德勤、百事公司（PepsiCo）、英特尔（Intel）和美国运通（American Express）均启动了相关项目，旨在帮助女性高管找到担保人。

    The latest research has prompted several companies to launch new sponsorship programs. Unilever recently began hosting extended networking sessions to develop sponsorship opportunities, while Deloitte, PepsiCo (PEP), Intel (INTC), and American Express (AXP) have started programs aimed at helping their women executives find sponsors.