在公司里看不清职业发展道路，你该这么做

We all know the old script: join a company, work hard, move up the ladder. But it’s been decades since that was a reliable path, and not just because of layoffs or outsourcing or robots.

我们都知道这样一句老话：加入一家公司，努力工作，向上爬。但这是一条可靠的道路已经走了好几十年了，不仅仅是因为裁员、外包或机器人的出现。

These days, the culprit preventing many professionals from identifying a clear career path at their company is simply that one no longer exists. Given that successful companies must often pivot to adapt to changes in the marketplace, and the half-life of many skills is now estimated to be five years or less, companies often have no idea what staffing needs they’ll have in a few years’ time or who would be qualified to fill them.

如今，妨碍许多专业人士在公司找到明确职业道路的罪魁祸首，已经不复存在了。考虑到成功的公司必须经常自我调整以适应市场的变化，现在许多技能的半衰期估计五年或更少，企业往往不知道员工需求他们会在几年后或将有资格胜任这些工作。

As Cathy Benko and Molly Anderson predicted in their 2010 book, we’ve gone from a corporate ladder to a Corporate Lattice, in which professionals’ career progress may only sometimes be linear — and often, may instead appear diagonal or horizontal. Guidance from companies on how to move forward in this environment is often minimal, because they just aren’t sure.

正如凯茜•本科和莫莉•安德森在他们2010年出版的书中所预言的那样，我们已经从一个企业阶梯发展到了一个企业格子，在这个格子里，专业人士的职业发展有时可能只是线性的——而且往往可能会出现对角线或水平的变化。公司对于如何在这种环境下前进的指导通常很少，因为他们只是不确定。

Increasingly, they’re relying on individual professionals to take more active control of their careers — a topic I’m frequently called in to speak about for corporate audiences. Here are four strategies professionals can follow to successfully navigate the new terrain.

他们越来越多地依赖个人专业人士来更积极地掌控自己的职业——我经常被叫来为企业听众演讲这个话题。这里有四种策略，专业人士可以遵循，以成功导航新领域。

First, it’s essential to make yourself aware of the possibilities. One appeal of the traditional linear career path was that it didn’t take much research: while not everyone achieved the end goal (such as a promotion), it was very clear what it was. In the new workplace reality, individual professionals almost have to take a detective-like approach, investigating and vetting opportunities. That may not be hard in smaller companies, but in large global enterprises, information becomes key.

首先，让自己意识到各种可能性是很重要的。传统的直线职业道路的一个吸引力在于，它不需要做太多的研究：虽然不是每个人都达到了最终目标（比如晋升），但很明显它是什么。在新的职场现实生活中，独立的专业人士几乎必须采取一种类似侦探的方法，调查和审查机会。对于小公司来说，这并不难，但对于大型全球企业来说，信息就是关键。

I recently participated in an Aspen Institute roundtable on the future of work, and one C-suite executive noted that in her sprawling multinational, it would be almost impossible — without proactive research and conversations with leaders — to even be aware of the possibilities. That’s why it’s essential to cultivate a broad network, both inside and outside your company, so you have visibility into areas of the business that may otherwise be opaque to you.

最近，我参加了阿斯彭研究所关于未来工作的圆桌会议。一位高管指出，在她庞大的跨国公司中，如果没有积极的研究和与领导者的对话，几乎不可能意识到这种可能性。这就是为什么在你的公司内外建立一个广泛的网络是很重要的，这样你就能了解到你不了解的业务领域。

Second, it’s important to seek out help. Even if your employer isn’t providing explicit guidance about your career path, they’re likely to recognize and appreciate the value of an engaged employee who is raising their hand and asking for support. If you go to HR with suggestions about professional development programs or conferences you’d like to attend, courses you want to take, or functional areas of the business you’d like to understand better, they will often be extremely receptive, as you’re modeling the ideal, proactive behavior that many of today’s talent leaders seek to cultivate.

第二，寻求帮助是很重要的。即使你的雇主没有就你的职业道路提供明确的指导，他们也可能会认可和欣赏一个敬业的员工的价值，他会举手寻求支持。如果你去人力资源部提出建议，提及你想参加一个专业发展项目或学术会议、课程、或你想更好地理解的功能区域的业务，他们往往会非常接受，因为你正在建模的理想，做出积极主动的行为，而这种行为也是许多今天的领导人寻求人才的特质。

Third, don’t wait to hear about open positions. Instead, identify your own ideal opportunities. In my book Reinventing You, I profiled a management consultant named Joanne Chang who reinvented herself into a successful career as a chef. Her secret was — instead of waiting to respond to job postings, where she’d be competing with scores of other better-qualified candidates — she wrote personal letters to a dozen high-profile chefs she admired and explained why she wanted to work with them. Her targeted approach set her apart and landed her a job within days, despite her lack of formal credentials.

第三，不要等着听空位的消息。反之，要确定自己的理想机会。在我的书《重塑你》中，我提到了一个名叫张婉怡的管理顾问，她是一个成功的厨师。她的秘诀是——她没有等着回复招聘启事，而是与其他几十名更有资格的候选人竞争——她给十几个她崇拜的知名厨师写了私人信件，并解释了自己为什么想与他们共事。她的目标明确的工作方式让她与众不同，尽管她缺乏正式的资历，但她在几天内就找到了一份工作。

In many ways, shifting to a new role inside your company can feel as dramatic a career change as moving from being a management consultant to being a chef. In many companies, departments and divisions may have parochial views about the transferability of skills and experience.

从很多方面来说，在你的公司里转换到一个新的角色就像从一个管理顾问转变成一个厨师一样，会给你的职业生涯带来巨大的变化。在许多公司，部门和部门可能对技能和经验的可转移性有狭隘的看法。

That’s why it’s your job to precisely target the opportunities that appeal to you most, and develop a strategy to connect with, befriend, and court those connections. Just as a random management consultant would have difficulty winning a position as a chef, a marketer may be viewed skeptically if he wants to transition into operations. But as Joanne Chang’s example shows, a particular marketer — armed with a thoughtful explanation of why he wants to shift functional roles and what he can bring to the table — may be warmly welcomed.

这就是为什么你的工作是精确地瞄准那些对你最具吸引力的机会，并制定一个策略来与这些人建立联系，与他们交朋友，并争取他们的支持。就像一个随机的管理顾问很难得到一个厨师的职位一样，如果一个市场营销人员想要转型到运营部门，他可能会被视为怀疑论者。但正如张婉怡的例子所示，一位特定的市场营销人员——他对自己为何要转换职能以及他能带来什么做出了深思熟虑的解释——可能会受到热烈欢迎。

Finally, work to cultivate influential allies. It’s always useful to have a mentor board of directors that can help advise you as you weigh possibilities — and a sponsor, a leader who is willing to exert political capital on your behalf, is even better. But once you’ve landed these key allies, your job isn’t done. As you progress at your company and in your career, it’s essential to keep your mentors and sponsors informed about your progress, so they’re aware of new skills you’ve developed and your current career aspirations. Otherwise, even if you keep in regular touch about other matters, they’re unlikely to question or update their initial impression of you.

最后，努力培养有影响力的盟友。在你权衡各种可能性的时候，若有一个指导你的智囊团可以给你提供建议总是很有用的。有一个赞助人，一个愿意为你投入政治资本的领导人，就更好了。但一旦你找到了这些关键盟友，你的工作就不会结束。随着你在公司和事业上的进步，让你的导师和赞助人知道你的进步是很重要的，这样他们就会知道你的新技能和你目前的职业抱负。否则，即使你经常和他们保持联系，他们也不太可能质疑或更新他们对你的最初印象。

One colleague of mine has had a warm relationship with her sponsor for well over a decade, but she discovered— when he made a gentle poke at her for not developing her brand sufficiently — that his view of her was out of date, and he wasn’t aware of several major projects she’d undertaken in the past several years. She requested a meeting to update him on what she’d been doing, and he gladly agreed — resulting in a far more nuanced understanding of her current skillset, allowing him to better advocate for her and steer the right opportunities her way.

我的一个同事有一个温暖的关系人资助了她超过十年，但她发现，当他温柔地表示支持她并不需要充分发展她的品牌时，他的观点是过时的。他不知道她在过去的几年中她承担了多少个重要项目的。她要求与他会面，向他汇报她一直在做什么，他很高兴地同意了——这让他对她目前的技能有了更微妙的理解，让他能够更好地拥护她，为她引导正确的机会。

It may feel disconcerting if your company hasn’t crafted a linear career progression for you. But it’s also a significant opportunity to build a career that’s uniquely tailored to your own needs, skills, and interests. By following these steps, you can proactively shape your professional future.

如果你的公司没有为你精心安排一个线性的职业发展，你可能会感到不安。但这也是一个重要的机会来建立一个独特的职业适合你自己的需要，技能和兴趣。通过遵循这些步骤，你可以主动塑造你的职业未来。