如何成爲老闆最有價值的員工

It is a fact of professional life that someone must choose you to be successful. Usually, this someone is your immediate boss, and it pays to do everything in your power to make yourself valuable to this important individual.

說起職業生涯,一個事實是想成功需遇慧眼伯樂。而通常這個伯樂就是你的直系上司，所以你需要不惜一切代價向這個人證明你的價值。

Before diving into a number of ideas on making yourself ever more valuable to your boss, let’s explore the issue of someone needing to choose you to be successful.

在談怎樣做能讓你對於老闆更有價值之前，我們要先深挖一下伯樂識出你這匹好馬的因由。

More than a few people have suggested to me that this thinking discounts the importance of individual determination and hard work. My polite pushback is that nothing replaces or minimizes the need for these behaviors—they are essential for success. However, for your efforts to pay off in an organizational setting, your hard work must be recognized and appreciated by some person or some group able to choose you to do more.

不少人提醒我說這種想法是對個人毅力和努力的否定。而我對此禮貌的回擊則是，這樣的思考角度並沒有取代或縮減個人行爲表現——這些已被默認爲成功的先決條件了。但是，在企業裏想要成功，你的努力必須得到別人的發現和賞識，這個別人則是那些之後會更青睞你做事的人或組織。

Yes, power and politics play a role in your success, no matter how hard you work.

沒錯，不論你努力與否，權力和政策都在你的成功道路上扮演重要角色。

Senior managers select individuals for promotion or advancement based on how much they trust him/her to make good decisions to lead initiatives or manageteams. This trust is cultivated through experience working together and ample evidence that the individual under consideration for advancement displays consistently good judgment when it comes working with others, solving problems, setting priorities and creating results that help the organization.

在選擇提拔晉升名額時，高官們會以對個人作決定、引領項目發展和管理能力方面的信賴度作爲考量依據。這樣的信賴度，是通過與其共事和其他能證明一個人一直表現很好，受到好評的考慮所慢慢建立出來的，這都在他與人合作、解決問題、清楚主次和做對公司有利的事時得到體現。

Since many advancement opportunities are stretch assignments for us—larger in scale and broader in scope than our prior experiences—this factor of trust is critical. The individual extending the new opportunity to us is literally trusting that we will grow safely and quickly into the role.

當很多更高要求的機遇戰士在我們面前時——比我們之前從事的業務規模更大範圍更廣——這時對我們的信賴度就格外重要。伯樂之所以把機會交到我們手裏，是因爲相信我們可以平穩快速地適應新角色的要求。

Given the importance of trust and the power your boss has to select you for “more,” it is essential for you to help make his/her decision an easy one when it comes to considering you for new opportunities.

那麼在知道了信賴度和上司傾向於選你做事的重要性後， 關鍵就在於你能否讓他們輕鬆地決定你擔當新任務的首選了。

1. Strive to understand and support his goals. 

1．盡力理解和支持上司的商業目標。

Nothing says “I care and I am committed” more than striving to understand and support your boss’s priorities and goals. Not every boss is forthcoming with their own professional goals and personal aspirations, so you may have to dig just a bit. Use the rationale that you want to ensure your goals align with her goals. Ask clarifying questions.

沒有什麼比盡力理解和支持上司的商業目標更能表達你的忠心了。並不是所有老闆都有明確的職業目標和強烈的個人意願，所以你要稍稍挖掘。基本的原理是確保你的職業目標和老闆的商業目標同一步調。適量詢問以確認。

Every manager has slightly different communication preferences. Some appreciate detailed, regular updates. Others are more interested in noteworthy exceptions. Pay attention to the cues, including interest or boredom and adjust accordingly. And it never hurts to ask: “How often and what detail do you prefer that I communicate with you?”

每個經理人對於溝通的偏好都不盡相同。一些追求細化的日常報備；一些更傾向於瞭解客觀的變化和特例。注意言行間的意味，包括興趣點和無聊點的把握，並依此調整自己與上司的交流模式。問出：“以怎樣的頻率和拿怎樣的細節信息來找您溝通您覺得合適呢？”不會有差錯的。

The magnetic attraction of gossip is potentially toxic to your career. Steer clear of most of these group gatherings and their negative banter. Nonetheless, it pays to keep your ears and eyes open looking for the nuggets of truth often present in workplace gossip. If you learn that people are confused over the firm’s direction or latest strategy, this is important information for your boss.

被謠言話語吸引注意可能對你的工作有潛在危害。儘量和羣體性扯閒篇劃清界限，因爲負面影響大。雖然如此，你還是可以在聽職場閒篇的時候仔細觀察和傾聽，抓住一些事情的實情。如果同事抱怨不清楚公司現在的發展方向和最新戰略，那麼這將是對你上司很重要的情報哦。

Filter out the he said/she said gossip, but don’t discount the talk that highlights organizational shortcomings and opportunities.

彙報給上司時不要提說話人的名字，但是暴露出的問題的細節和機遇在內容上卻不能忽略。

No one loves a negative surprise, least of all, your boss. If you see or sense something going wrong, run, don’t walk to share this information. Your advance warning will enable her to help mitigate the problem or at least plan how she will share it with her boss and others in the organization.

誰都不喜歡壞消息，特別是你上司。如果你嗅到了出現壞情況的氣息，快跑，別逮誰都說。你的提前警示不僅可以幫助上司縮小問題，至少也可以讓他有規劃怎樣給他的上司和其他人彙報的喘息之機。

The most destructive words to your credibility with the boss are, “What do you think I should do?” Purge that phrase from your lexicon and remember to always enter the boss’s office with a plan—preferably two options with one preferred.Be prepared to support your recommendation. 

最掉信賴值的一個問題是，“您認爲我要做什麼呢？”把這句話從你的語庫裏徹底拿掉，並且保證每次去上司辦公室都有一份計劃——最好是兩個選項，劃分出優先級，準備好推薦其中一個爲優先級的原因。

Whether you recognize it or not, you are an ambassador for your boss, reflecting on his or her reputation and ability to select and develop good people. Act accordingly. Armed with context for your boss’s priorities, attempt to build allies and represent those interests in the spirit of strengthening the organization. Also, work hard to understand the priorities of other leaders and groups and ensure that your boss has this intelligence to apply to her own efforts.

不管你有沒有注意到，你已然是上司和同事信息溝通、發掘人才的橋樑了。你就按此行事，依照上司的優先級定位，嘗試建立盟友並以公司發展爲導向代表公司利益。另外，也要努力試着理解其他團隊和領導的優先項設定，並保證你的上司能夠獲取到這些信息並應用於他們的工作。

Smart professionals master the fine art of showcasing their successful results without crossing the line to obnoxiousness. Modesty is not your ally when it comes to building credibility for advancement. Make certain to share the spotlight with those who helped bring about your good results.

智慧的工作者懂得顯露自己成功業績卻又不討嫌的藝術。在追求加強信任度和晉升時，謙虛就要站一邊了。確定好一些你曬業績的對象，並知道他們能把這些傳遞出去就是個很好的辦法。

Nothing reflects better on a boss’s selection of you for a promotion than your proven ability to also develop great talent.

沒有什麼比知道你懂得發揚他人才能更有利於上司提拔你的了。