女性晋升捷径：给自己找个担保人

    希望克服这些不利因素的女性员工可以运用以下这五种方式，为自己找到一位担保人：

    1.建立师徒关系。“担保常常发轫自深厚且有力的指导关系，”布里吉特•范•克拉林根说。“我发现，如果你向高层提供反馈意见，同时分享你的看法，就可以给予这层关系互惠互利的效果，进而提高了指导你的那个人为你作保的几率。”

    2.锁定高层偶像。“你无法选择担保人。选择权总是在他们那一边，”克莱尔•法利说。“但你可以通过以下这种方式提高机会：首先问一下自己，在这个组织中，谁的工作履历让你印象深刻？你想效仿谁的领导风格？然后尝试着结识这个人，让他或她知道你的成就和目标——不要耍太多‘政治’手腕，因为这样做很快就会被人们识破。”

    3.抓住一切机会让让潜在的担保人亲眼目睹你的工作表现。范•克拉林根指出，密切留意与一位你试图留下深刻印象的高管并肩工作的机会，这一点很有好处。她说：“如果他或她非常了解你的工作，亲眼目睹了你的表现，那将显著提升他或她为你作保的可能性。”她补充说，陪伴销售团队拜访客户的经历促使她推举了几位业绩卓著的女员工出任更高的职位——就在上周还刚刚推荐了一位。

    4.大胆提出更能取得实效的建议。“许多组织都在寻找具有批判性思维的人，他们有可能成为变革的推动者。许多高级管理人员正是通过这种方式获得了目前的职位，”克莱尔•法利说。“所以，你得提出大量的问题，掌握一门艺术，用一种让别人不设防的方式挑战现状。”这样做或许可以让你获得一位以同样方式赢得晋升机会的担保人的注意。4. 大胆提出更能取得实效的建议。“许多组织都在寻找具有批判性思维的人，他们有可能成为变革的推动者。许多高级管理人员正是通过这种方式获得了目前的职位，”克莱尔•法利说。“所以，你得提出大量的问题，掌握一门艺术，用一种让别人不设防的方式挑战现状。”这样做或许可以让你获得一位以同样方式赢得晋升机会的担保人的注意。

    5.单刀直入，直接询问。范•克拉林根表示，如果你知道某位高管能够帮助你获得某项任命或晋升，最直接的方式有时是最有效的，但“询问的次数不要太多。在你询问之前，从战略的角度认真思考一下，根据情势的变化和闪现的不同机会，选择某位能够帮助你向若干个方向发展的高管。”担保人的势力范围越宽广，他或她帮助你获得一个可以让你尽展才华的职位的可能性就越大，这样你就可以持续获得晋升的机会。

    如果你觉得寻找他人担保似乎是在索求一种很大的恩惠，那就请你记住Catalyst公司的一项研究结论。该公司在研究了担保行为对担保人自身职业生涯的影响之后发现：培养和提升人才往往可以为这样做的高管自身带来更大的提升和加薪机会。

    这项研究显示，2008年到2010年之间，为下属担保的管理人员的平均薪酬要比不这样做的同僚高出25,075美元。“能够发现并培养人才的声誉是高级管理人员很大的一笔财富，”Catalyst公司的克里斯蒂娜•席尔瓦指出。“担保文化对大家都有利。”

    译者：任文科

    For women who want to beat those odds, here are five ways to find a sponsor:

    1.Build on a mentoring relationship. "Sponsorships often arise from deep and strong mentoring connections," says Bridget Van Kralingen. "One thing I've found is that if you give feedback to higher-ups and share ideas, so that there are reciprocal benefits to the relationship, it's more likely to lead to that person sponsoring you."

    2.Identify higher-ups who inspire you. "You don't really choose a sponsor. They have to choose you," says Claire Farley. "But you can improve your chances by first asking yourself who it is in the organization whose track record impresses you, and whose leadership style you'd like to emulate. Then try to stand out and get to know that person. Make your achievements, and your goals, known to him or her -- without being too 'political' about it, because people see through that very quickly."

    3.Whenever possible, let a potential sponsor see you in action. It helps, Van Kralingen says, to keep an eye out for opportunities to work closely with a senior executive you'd like to impress. "You're more likely to attract that person as a sponsor if he or she is very directly familiar with your work and has seen your performance firsthand," she says. Accompanying sales teams when they call on clients, she adds, has led her to recommend several female stars for promotion -- including one just last week.

    4.Suggest improvements in the way things get done. "Many organizations are looking for critical thinkers who have the potential to be change agents. It's how plenty of senior executives got where they are," observes Claire Farley. "So ask a lot of questions, and learn the art of challenging the status quo in a way that doesn't make people defensive." It just might get you noticed by a sponsor who got his or her big break the same way.

    5.Ask. The most direct approach sometimes works, says Van Kralingen, if there's an assignment or promotion that you know a particular higher-up could help you get, but "don't ask too many times. And before you ask, think strategically about it, and choose someone who might be able to help you move in any of several directions, depending on how circumstances change and different opportunities arise." The broader your sponsor's sphere of influence, the more likely it is that he or she can guide you into a niche where you'll shine, so you can continue to move up.

    If seeking out sponsorship feels like asking a mighty big favor, keep in mind the findings of a Catalyst study that examined the impact on the sponsors' own careers: Developing and promoting talent usually leads to bigger promotions and raises for the executives who do it.

    Between 2008 and 2010, the research shows, managers who sponsored protégés earned an average of $25,075 more than their peers who didn't. "A reputation for being able to spot talent and help nurture it is an asset to senior managers," notes Christine Silva at Catalyst. "A culture of sponsorship is good for everybody."