Annmarie Neal, the former Chief Talent Officer of Cisco Systems and author of the forthcoming Leading from the Edge (ASTD Press, 2013), has guided a lot of careers. In a rapidly changing corporate environment, with traditional career paths and entire industries dissolving overnight, it can be a challenge for younger leaders to figure out the right path forward. Here are her top three insights for under-30 executives who want to put themselves on an upward trajectory.
思科公司前任首席人才官及即将出版的新书《来自边缘的领导》（Leading from the Edge）作者安玛莉·尼尔（Annmarie Neal）为很多人提供了职业生涯引导。在快速变化的企业环境里，传统的职业生涯道路以及整个行业突然间发生了翻天覆地的变化。对于年轻的领导人，要找出合适的向前发展道路并不容易。以下是她向那些希望使自己处于上升通道的30岁以下高管提供的3点建议：
Don’t Let Your Goals Limit You. Set clear goals and then execute – everyone knows that’s the path to excellence. Right? Neal begs to differ. “I’ve done lots of coaching over the years and watched career patterns over time, ” she says. “One of the themes that’s emerged is when somebody sets a goal early in their life and then achieves it – let’s say to be head of marketing for a big company – the day they get that and feel they’ve arrived, within five years, they’ll fall off.” Something about that feeling of accomplishment triggers a sense of complacency, she says. The antidote? “Don’t give yourself goals you arrive at.” It’s fine to create smaller, incremental goals to keep yourself motivated; being the VP of marketing at a big company might help you accomplish a larger goal of, for instance, changing the way healthcare is delivered. But you always want to have a larger purpose you’re striving toward.
不要让你的目标限制你。 设定明确的目标然后执行——大家都知道，这是通向卓越的道路，对吧？尼尔却有不同的看法。“多年来，我进行了很多的指导工作，一直关注职业生涯模式的变化，”她说，“其中一项新兴的主题是，当某人在工作初期设定一个目标，之后将其实现——例如成为某家大公司的市场营销主管——一旦他们实现这点并感觉到达目的地，在5年内，他们将退步。”她指出，某些关于成就感的东西导致产生一种自满情绪。解药是什么？“不要给自己设定可以实现的目标”，设立较小、增量式目标从而激励自己，这是好的；成为大型企业负责市场营销的副总裁可能帮助你完成一个更大的目标，例如，改变提供医疗保健的方式。你应该设定一个更大的目标，从而让你一直努力奋进。
Build a Board of Advisors. Neal suggests tapping 4-5 people you respect to serve as advisors: “people who will hold up a mirror and be provocative and insightful about who you are, what you want, and how you’re going to get it, ” she says. Advisors don’t have to sign up for an intensive commitment; Neal views it as different than mentoring, “which tends to be much longer-term relationships, more intimate, with coaching and guiding, whereas an advisor might be somebody you call upon at certain points to guide your thinking.” She suggests building a diverse group to get the broadest perspective possible; hers includes an older colleague (the famed leadership expert Warren Bennis), a former boss, a longtime friend, and a younger colleague with a fresh perspective on the industry. “I can call her and ask her about Twitter, ” Neal jokes. At the start of your career, she says, the advice may be more “how to, ” and later on, it’s “where to” apply your talents.
打造一个顾问团。 尼尔建议邀请4到5位你尊重的人士来担当顾问：“这些人将反映现状并且激励你、深刻了解你是谁、你需要什么以及你将如何获得这一切。”她说。顾问并不一定要签署一份承诺书；尼尔认为这项工作比做导师更困难，“导师是一个更加长期的关系，更加亲密，包括指导和指引，但是顾问可能是你在特定时刻进行拜访，希望他能引导你的思维的人士。”她建议建立一个多元化的团体以获得最广泛的意见；她的顾问团包括一位老同事（著名的领导能力专家沃伦·本尼斯）、一位前老板、一位长期的朋友以及一位对行业具有新鲜观点的年轻同事。“我可以打电话给她，询问她有关Twitter的情况。”尼尔开玩笑说。她表示，在职业生涯开始的时候，建议可能更多集中于“如何”，之后是“到什么地方”施展你的才华。
Move Around in Your Career. “In the past, ” says Neal, “if you moved around a lot, it wouldn’t look good on your resume. But when I’m looking at a resume now, I want people to move around about every five years.” It doesn’t have to be a drastic change; moving to different positions or divisions within your company is fine. But, says Neal, it’s imperative to “demonstrate you can work in different cultures, with different business models, and solving different business problems.” With an increasingly diverse workforce and an atmosphere of constant change, she’s found that “the people who are most effective in senior level leadership roles are those who have had multiple life experiences, transitions, failures, and successes. There’s a confidence that comes from leaving your hometown, going to a different school, having different kinds of jobs, bosses, experiences, working for a fast-paced company and then working for a dinosaur. It’s very eye-opening when you do that. I think it rounds out your career, and that’s actually a break from the past.”
在不同的职位、公司工作。 尼尔说：“在过去，如果你到处跳槽，你的简历可能看起来有点糟糕，但当我现在看到一个简历，我希望人们大约5年换一个地方。”这并不需要是很大程度的变化，转到公司里不同的岗位或者不同部门也是可以的。但是，尼尔指出，必须“展示你可以在不同文化、不同的商业模式里工作，解决不同的商业问题。”面对越来越多元化的劳动力和不断变化的氛围，她发现“在高级别领导角色中最有效的人士是那些拥有多种人生经历、转折、失败和成功的人士。这个过程能让你拥有一种信心：你离开家乡、去不同的学校、从事不同类型的工作、为不同的老板效力，拥有不同的经历，在一家快节奏公司工作，之后加入过时、落伍的企业。这样做会令你大开眼界。我认为这令你的职业生涯变得完美，这实际上是对以往的突破。”
What tips do you have for leaders under 30 to succeed? What skills do you believe will be necessary in the future?
对于30岁以下的领导人，你有什么成功秘诀？你认为将来什么样的技术是必须的？
Dorie Clark is CEO of Clark Strategic Communications and the author of the forthcoming Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). She is a strategy consultant who has worked with clients including Google, Yale University, and the Ford Foundation. Listen to her podcasts or follow her on Twitter.
多莉·克拉克（Dorie Clark）是克拉克战略传播公司（Clark Strategic Communications）的首席执行官，也是即将出版的新书《打造个人品牌，塑造美好未来》（Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future）一书的作者。作为战略咨询顾问，她的客户中包括谷歌、耶鲁大学和福特基金会。
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