突破職場天花板的五點建議

I have watched many talented people struggle to advance beyond middle management and through the glass ceiling. Women have particular trouble making the leap: while women hold over half of the professional jobs in the U.S., they only make up 34% of middle managers, 14% of executive officers, and a mere 4% of CEOs.
曾看到很多優秀人才很難做到中層以上、突破那層玻璃天花板。女性實現這一飛躍尤其困難：女性佔美國專業崗位的一半以上，但她們只佔中層管理人員的34%、高層管理人員的14%，在CEO中的比例更是隻有4%。

Here are five key things to do if you want to break through the glass ceiling and go to the next level:
如果你想突破玻璃天花板上升到新的級別，做到以下五件事情非常關鍵：

1) Learn to See the Big Picture
學會深思 In middle management and below, the job is all about execution: delivering on the ideas and strategies that others have created. In the C-Suite, the job is about determining what work needs to be done, and then leading a team to make that work happen.
中層及以下級別的崗位只關係到執行，即兌現別人制定的創意和策略。高級管理崗位的工作則是確定哪些事情要做，然後率領一支團隊把事情完成。

These require very different skill sets. Doing well at execution requires specialization and focus. Doing well at the executive level requires a global understanding of the business environment and the tasks at hand.
這些工作要求的技能是非常不同的。做好執行需要專門化、需要專注。做好高管級別的工作，就需要對商業環境和手頭任務有一個全局的瞭解。

So if you want to make the transition to the executive level, you have to first start thinking beyond specialization and your immediate workload. Be open to developmental opportunities that may be unrelated to your current job, but that will give you wider knowledge and insights. Develop great relationships with individuals outside your department and company. Read books, blogs, and newspapers to stay current on what's happening not only in your industry, but in the business community at large. That way, when leadership opportunities arise, you'll already have an informed, strategic view of what needs to happen. Then you can...
所以如果你想上升到高管級別，那麼首先就得讓你的思維超越專門化和手頭的任務。要留意可能跟你目前崗位無關、但會讓你獲得更廣知識與見解的鍛鍊機會。要與部門、公司之外的人員建立良好的關係。讀書、讀博客、讀報紙，瞭解本行業以及整個業界的動態。這樣，當有領導崗位的工作機會出現的時候，你就已經對需要做什麼有了一套見多識廣、高屋建瓴的看法。然後你就可以……

2) Take the Initiative
2）主動出擊 To show you have what it takes to be in charge, you have to be willing to take charge. Too many times I've seen people sit back and wait for someone to tell them what to do. If you want to be in the top jobs, don't wait to be asked. Figure out what needs to be done and then make it happen.
要證明你擁有管事的能力，你就得擁有管事的意願。一些人坐等別人告訴他們做什麼事，這樣的情形我見得太多了。如果你想進入高層，那就不要等別人來問。想清楚進入高層需要做什麼，然後付諸實際行動。

3) Find Mentors and Sponsors - and Know the Difference Between the Two
3）找到導師和舉薦人，並理解兩者的不同 Mentors are people who can coach you in areas where you don't have deep knowledge. They provide professional and personal support as you develop your career (and you, in turn, should seek to provide similar support to them and others). They can be, but usually aren't, people in senior levels of management, as those individuals may not have the time or specific knowledge to mentor you effectively.
導師是在你瞭解不深的領域能夠教你的人，他們在你的職業成長過程中親身提供專業支持（你也應該爲他們和其他人提供類似的支持）。他們可以是（但通常不是）高級管理層的人，因爲那些人多半沒有時間和專門知識來把你教好。

That's why sponsors are different from mentors, and in some ways even more critical to moving up the ladder. A sponsor is a senior-level leader, that is, someone who sits at the decision-making table, who is willing to advocate on your behalf. This is vital, since most of the decisions about the top jobs are made by a senior team. If you do not have at least one cheerleader among this group, you are not going to get the top jobs.
所以舉薦人不同於導師，從某些意義上講對於你的晉升還要更加關鍵。舉薦人是一位高級別的領導人，是一位願意推薦你的決策者。這是至關重要的，因爲大部分有關高級管理崗位的決定都由某個元老團隊做出。如果你在這個集體中沒有至少一個人支持你，那麼你就進不了高級管理層。4) Be Willing to Risk, and Risk Often
4）願意冒險，經常冒險 We all love to stay in our comfort zone. Stepping outside that zone brings the risk of failure. But it is new experiences that provide the most opportunity for personal and professional growth, and those looking to reach the next level must push themselves to take risks and be uncomfortable on a regular basis.
我們都喜歡呆在自己的舒適區不動，走出舒適區會帶來失敗的風險。但個人和職業成長道路上的大多數機會都是新的經歷帶來的，希望升到下一個級別的人必須經常性地強迫自己冒險，讓自己處於不安定的狀態。

To make risk-taking easier, you have to adjust your attitude towards failure. Failure happens all the time and it should not scare us. It teaches us what doesn't work so we can be more successful on the next try. We can gain a certain amount of knowledge from books, but nothing replaces on the job experience for getting you ready for the next career stage. And yet too many people, myself included, have avoided wonderful opportunities because the fear of failure was too great.
要讓冒險變得容易一些，你需要調整自己面對失敗的態度。勝敗乃兵家常事，我們不應因爲失敗而懼怕。失敗讓我們知道什麼方法行不通，這樣下次嘗試的時候我們就會更加成功。我們可以從書本上獲得一定量的知識，但在工作中要爲下一職業臺階做好準備，什麼都取代不了經驗。然而包括我自己在內，太多人都因爲過於害怕失敗而錯失了大好機會。

To counteract the fear of failure, continuously nurture your abilities and self-confidence. The more confidence and expertise you have, the more you become like a bird that 'trusts not the branch, but its own wings.' Also be sure to take the time to develop your personal networks, so that if you do stumble, you'll have plenty of backers to help you get back up on your feet.
要遏制對失敗的恐懼，就要持續不斷地培養你的能力和自信。自信心和專業能力越強，你就越會成爲一隻“不靠樹枝、只靠翅膀”的鳥兒。另外一定要拿出時間開發人脈，這樣即便是跌倒了，也會有很多支持者幫助你站起來。

Finally, if you want to lead, you must have strong emotional intelligence. That's because the higher up the corporate ladder you climb, the less the job is about you, and the more it is about who you surround yourself with and your ability to lead and motivate others. No one can know it all, so having others who think differently and possess skills you may not have become critical to being successful in senior management.
最後，如果你想領導別人，那就必須擁有強大的情商。這是因爲你在職場梯子上爬得越高，工作涉及到的就越不是你自己，而是你在自己周圍安排的人員，以及你能不能領導並激勵他人。沒有誰什麼都知道，所以依靠其他想法不同、掌握你可能不具備的技能的人員，對於在高級管理層裏面成功與否就變得至關重要。

Executive-level leaders must have self-awareness and an ability to keep their emotions in check. They must listen before reacting. As Stephen Covey recommends, 'seek first to understand and then to be understood.' Above all, executives must be ethical and behave in a way that inspires trust and respect in those who work with them. People want to work for someone with integrity, who cares about and invests in others.
高管級別的領導人必須有自知之明，能夠控制自己的情感。他們必須先傾聽再做反應。正如史蒂芬·柯維(Stephen Covey)建議的，“先去理解別人，然後再去讓別人理解”。最重要的一點是，高管必須謹守道德，在同事當中贏得信任與尊重。大家都想跟一位正直的、關心他人並捨得爲他人付出的人共事。