條條大路通羅馬，小人物也可以晉升公司高層
Margaret Keane
2016-11-14
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透視MPW是一個在線社區(qū)，美國商界內(nèi)外的一些大咖會在這里及時分享與職業(yè)和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力有關(guān)的問題。今天的問題是：對希望成為公司高管的女性有什么建議？以下為金融服務(wù)公司Synchrony Financial首席執(zhí)行官瑪格麗特·基恩的回答?；髟凇敦敻弧?016年美國最具影響力商界女性排行榜中排在第29位。 我來自非常重視傳統(tǒng)的家庭。成長過程中，按照家人預(yù)期我會念基督教會中學(xué)，走上和他們一樣的職業(yè)道路。當(dāng)我獲得第一份工作，在花旗銀行做兼職債務(wù)催收員時，我就知道自己走上了一條新路。雖然沒指望會升到公司高層，但我很清楚，有遠(yuǎn)大的理想很重要。 常有女性問我，如何在一個男性主掌的行業(yè)做首席執(zhí)行官。有些答案很簡單：努力工作、提升價值、積極參與新項目。不過，我告訴她們最重要的一點是，早早設(shè)定目標(biāo)固然重要，實現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的過程卻是靈活的。世事無常，隨著事業(yè)與家庭出現(xiàn)需求沖突，“原本的”職業(yè)規(guī)劃往往要調(diào)整。 我回想了怎樣調(diào)節(jié)存在沖突的需求，以下是一些我的觀察。 眼光放長遠(yuǎn) 現(xiàn)代社會，人類的壽命和工作時間都延長了，職業(yè)生涯足有40到50年，因此必須在事業(yè)與生活之間尋求平衡。但也要承認(rèn)這兩者很難同時平衡。有時事業(yè)會優(yōu)先，有時工作要讓位給照顧孩子、老人或是患病的伴侶。到底事業(yè)與生活能不能達(dá)到真正的平衡，還是說生活本就是魚與熊掌不能兼得？ 子女十來歲的時候，正好趕上我的工作繁忙無比。工作幾乎占據(jù)了睡覺以外全部時間，但孩子們永遠(yuǎn)不能接受媽媽把工作排在第一位。于是，我決定每天開車送他們上學(xué)。這樣一來，我們至少有20分鐘不受打擾的親子時光。 但也會出現(xiàn)問題。我常常早上7點就接到公務(wù)電話，我和孩子還在車上。有段時間工作格外多，只要電話一響，女兒就會說：“肯定又是他（打來的）?！钡幢阌H密相處時間受到干擾，孩子們還是能理解我還在努力多陪他們，關(guān)系也因此更親密。 那些年的經(jīng)歷讓我學(xué)會處理日常生活中事業(yè)與生活的挑戰(zhàn)，學(xué)會自我減壓，不要逼自己立刻完成各項任務(wù)。有時慢慢來反而比較快。 懂得小人物也可以成大事 正如Facebook首席運營官雪莉·桑德伯格所說，如今職場階梯已然不存在。職場如同孩子玩的攀登架。平級調(diào)動甚至是降級都可能獲得新技能和經(jīng)驗，最終幫助升職。 某些特殊情況下，我會為了積累經(jīng)驗接受較低的職務(wù)。第一次休產(chǎn)假復(fù)工時，我就決定嘗試一下。本來我在做企業(yè)營銷，但又想體驗一下銷售的工作。所以，我申請平級調(diào)動。大部分同事都不能理解，可我知道，要想以后承擔(dān)更大的責(zé)任，我需要學(xué)會管理自己的損益表、建立銷售和客戶目標(biāo)。 沒到一年，我升到了領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位。 幾年后，我又換了次工作。這次是個人原因。當(dāng)時我的孩子一個五歲一個兩歲，而我每天要工作15個小時，一周七天隨時得接電話。這種工作對家庭的影響很大，我很快意識到，要是家庭關(guān)系不睦，工作也不會順暢。 換工作是艱難的決定，我離開了深受器重而且升職在望的運營要職，加入了通用電氣子公司通用電氣資本負(fù)責(zé)新領(lǐng)域的工作。這次變動后，我終于有機(jī)會調(diào)整生活，也開拓了視野。事實證明，這次換工作是很正確的決定，我才能走到今天這一步。 這些年我在家庭和事業(yè)上做過上百次選擇。身為母親、女兒和妻子，細(xì)想之前的選擇，每一次都令我受益匪淺，我學(xué)會了培養(yǎng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)能力，接受不完美，也更了解人們奮斗的動力。 我是說過天下沒有完美之事。然而，回過頭看，生活中很多事又自有道理。（財富中文網(wǎng)） 譯者：Pessy 審校：夏林 |
The MPW Insiders Network is an online community where the biggest names in business and beyond answer timely career and leadership questions. Today’s answer for: “What advice would you give to women who hope to make to the C-suite?” is written by Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony Financial and no. 29 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list for 2016. I come from a family where tradition matters. Growing up, it was assumed I would go to a Catholic high school and follow the same career path as my family. When I instead took my first job as a part-time debt collector at Citibank, I knew I was charting a new path. I didn’t expect it would lead to the C-suite, but I did know it was important to think big. Women often ask me what it takes to become CEO in a male-dominated industry. Some of the answers are obvious: hard work, adding value and enthusiastically taking on new projects. But the most important thing I tell women is that while it’s critical to set goals early, keep an open mind about how those goals are achieved. Life happens, and the conflicting demands of work and home often change the “original” path. As I reflect on how I’ve negotiated my own conflicting demands, a few observations stand out. Take the long view Today we are living and working longer, with careers that span 40 to 50 years, so work-life balance is a must. But it’s important to recognize that they are rarely in balance simultaneously. Sometimes work will take priority; other times it will take a backseat to caring for children, aging parents or a sick spouse. Is there really such a thing as work-life balance, or is it all just life? When my children were teenagers, I had a demanding and visible job. I knew work would take over my waking hours, but I also knew my kids could never feel like they came second. So, I decided that I would drive them to school every day. That way, we had at least 20 minutes, just for us. It wasn’t perfect. Often, I would get work calls at 7 a.m. while we were in the car. During one particularly busy period, whenever the phone rang, my daughter would say, “That must be him, again.” But even when our time was interrupted, my kids appreciated that I was there, and it brought us closer together. Those years taught me to take each work-life challenge day-by-day and put less pressure on myself to accomplish everything at once. Time is on our side. Know that smaller roles can lead to bigger things. As Sheryl Sandberg says, there is no career ladder anymore. It’s a career jungle gym. Lateral movement, or even movement to smaller positions, can differentiate your skills and experience in ways that eventually lead to bigger roles. On a few occasions, I accepted smaller positions to gain needed experience. When I was returning from my first maternity leave, I decided to make such a switch. I had been in corporate marketing, but wanted to experience the sales side. So, I made a lateral move. Most colleagues didn’t understand, but I knew that to be considered for a bigger role in the future, I needed to be responsible for my own P&L, sales and customer goals. In one year, I moved up to my boss’s job. Several years later, I made another move, this time for personal reasons. My kids were five and two. At the time, I was working 15-hour days and on call seven days a week. The impact on my family was very challenging, and I soon realized that if things aren’t working at home, they won’t work on the job. It was a difficult decision, but I left a significant operating role where I was well-liked and on the right promotional list to join GE Capital in a new role. The change allowed me to recalibrate my life and refresh my thinking. It turned out to be a great career move and eventually led me to where I am today. Over the years, I’ve made hundreds of choices about home and work. As I look back at the ones I’ve made in my career, as a mother, daughter and wife, each taught me a great deal about growing into leadership, accepting imperfection and understanding what drives people. I’m the first to say that nothing is perfect. But life has a funny way of making perfect sense in retrospect. |
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