职场心经：职场配角如何从幕后走向前台

It is easy to get pigeonholed at work. Finding a way out is another story.

在工作中，非常容易就会把自己固化为一个狭隘的角色，要改变这个状况就不是那么容易了。

Becky Johnson, 30, shook off her old identity as a deferential helper and took on an expanded role at her organization. Here's how she did it.

30岁的贝姬？约翰逊（Becky Johnson）摆脱了她原来作为谦卑助手的身份，在组织内部承担了更大的角色。她是怎样做到的？

The Problem: A loyal follower needed to become more of a leader.

问题：忠诚的追随者需要进一步向领导者角色转变

Ms. Johnson, a former Commerce Department staffer, was hired by Lisa Gable as project coordinator in 2009 to help her start a foundation. As the organization grew from 16 to 250 members, Ms. Gable promoted Ms. Johnson three times, to senior director, and started asking her to fill in for her in meetings and conference calls with the corporate chief executives who lead the group, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition of food, beverage, restaurant and other companies and groups aiming to reduce obesity.

约翰逊女士曾是美国商务部（Commerce Department）的幕僚，2009年被丽莎？盖布尔（Lisa Gable）聘为项目协调员，帮她成立一家基金会。在这家组织从16人扩大到250人的过程中，盖布尔三次提拔约翰逊，一直到高级总监职位，并开始要求她代替自己出席与理事单位负责人之间的当面会谈和电话会议。基金会名叫“健康体重**基金会”（Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation），是一家由食品、饮料、餐饮等公司和一些减肥机构共同成立的联合组织。

But Ms. Johnson, 30, lacked the presence and air of authority needed to command a room. In conference calls, 'I'd turn to her and say, 'Becky, what do you think? ' And she'd be startled,' says Ms. Gable, the foundation's president. If Ms. Gable asked Ms. Johnson to run a meeting in her absence, she deferred decision-making until Ms. Gable returned. 'I needed her to learn how to speak up,' Ms. Gable says, 'to embrace the fact that she was no longer just a participant. It was time to be a driver.'

但30岁的约翰逊缺乏镇住全场的风采和气场。身为基金会会长的盖布尔说，在电话会议期间，“我会扭过头去问她，‘贝姬，你怎么看？’然后她总是一幅吃惊的样子”。如果盖布尔要求约翰逊在自己不在场的时候主持会议，她就会推迟到盖布尔回来的时候再做决定。盖布尔说，“我需要她学会讲出自己的观点，接受她已经不再只是一名与会者的事实。当‘司机’的时候到了。”

Ms. Johnson had essentially pigeonholed herself. In her previous job as deputy scheduling director for former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, being a loyal staffer meant staying behind the scenes, orchestrating events. Her job, she says, was to help her boss 'look as good as possible. The story is never about you.' She had built a mental 'barrier, a line in the sand,' against taking the spotlight.

在事实上，约翰逊是把自己的角色固化了。原先为前商务部长卡洛斯？古铁雷斯（Carlos Gutierrez）做日程安排副总监的时候，做一名忠诚的幕僚意味着要躲在幕后协调各种活动。她说，她的职责是帮助老板“显得尽量光鲜”，自己永远不能成为主角。她在头脑中建立了一道“屏障”，划了一条红线，不让自己接受聚光灯的照射。

At the Washington, D.C.-based foundation, she developed website content and oversaw the launch of a school curriculum on exercise and nutrition. But she hadn't made the mental shift from working in a bureaucracy where rank is explicit to helping run an entrepreneurial organization with four full-time and three part-time employees and a boss intent on stretching her skills. 'Getting past my perspective on rank was the biggest' roadblock, she says.

在这家总部位于华盛顿特区的基金会，约翰逊开发了网站内容，并负责推出了一套有关锻炼与营养的中小学课程。但她原来在一家等级森严的官僚机构工作，现在是帮助运营一家只有四名全职员工、三名兼职员工的企业化组织，而老板又打算拓展她的技能，她的心态未能成功转化。她说，“克服我对等级的看法是大的”障碍。

The Solution: Rethinking the meaning of 'loyalty.'

解决方案：反思“忠诚”的含义

Ms. Gable asked executive coach Michele Woodward to work with Ms. Johnson earlier this year on developing leadership. Ms. Johnson says she wasn't surprised, given that her boss often talked about the value of coaching.

盖布尔在今年早些时候邀请经理人培训师米歇尔？伍德沃德（Michele Woodward）来培养约翰逊的领导能力。约翰逊说，由于老板常常谈起培训的价值，对此她并不意外。

During the coaching, Ms. Woodward realized Ms. Johnson was deferring to her boss out of loyalty. 'Structure and respect for authority had become a real hallmark for her,' says Ms. Woodward, also of Washington. 'She didn't want to be disloyal to a CEO she admired very much by stepping on her toes.'

培训期间，伍德沃德意识到约翰逊对老板言听计从是出于忠诚。同样来自华盛顿特区的伍德沃德说：“等级观念和对权威的尊重已经成为她身上一个实实在在的烙印。”她说：“她不想冒犯自己十分崇拜的一位CEO，觉得这样是不忠的表现。”

Ms. Woodward told her that learning to stand in for Ms. Gable would be an act of loyalty, because it would help her reach the foundation's goals. That was a turning point, Ms. Johnson says. Once she understood 'this is what's expected of me, and this is what I need to do, that aligns your whole value system with the job at hand.'

伍德沃德对她说，学会顶替盖布尔会是一种效忠行为，因为这样做会帮助她实现基金会的目标。约翰逊说，这一席话成了一个转折点。一旦她理解了“这是对我的期待，是我应该 做的事情，整个价值观体系便与手头的工作统一了”。

Personality tests helped Ms. Johnson see that her introverted style, coupled with her training as a staffer, made her hesitant to speak up when working with large groups. Spending more time preparing for meetings would increase her confidence and make it easier, Ms. Woodward told her. She also realized she would mesh better with more outgoing colleagues if she was more assertive in meetings and updated them more often on her work.

人格测试帮助约翰逊看到，内向的性格加上她作为幕僚得到的训练，使她在跟一大群人一起工作的时候不敢把自己的观点表达出来。伍德沃德告诉她，拿出更多的时间为会议做好准备，将会使她变得更加自信，更加敢于发表观点。她也意识到，如果在会议中更加果断，并且更加频繁地向同事报告自己的新工作情况，那么她跟更加外向的同事会更加融洽。

The Implementation: Ms. Woodward coached Ms. Johnson to strike a more authoritative stance, straightening her shoulders and making eye contact. In meetings, taking a seat near the middle of the table, rather than in the corner, would signal that she intended to take part. When speaking to others around the table, pointing her toes toward the person she was addressing would automatically square her shoulders to face the listener, Ms. Woodward said.

方案实施：伍德沃德教约翰逊形成一种更加威严的姿态，具体方法是端正肩膀、与人目光接触。在会议中坐在桌子中央附近的位置而不是角落上，会表露出她参加讨论的意愿。伍德沃德说，在跟一桌的人讲话时，把脚趾指向说话对象将会自动端正她的肩部，直面听她说话的那个人。

Ms. Johnson made the same changes in her posture when talking on the phone, she says. 'When you have a more commanding presence physically, you feel even more prepared to speak up,' she says. She likens it to 'having a little more swagger when you go into a meeting.'

约翰逊说，在电话中交谈的时候，她也做了同样的姿态调整。她说：“当你在身体上更加居高临下的时候，你会觉得更愿意把话说出来。”她将这一点比作“开会时稍微端些架子”。

Ms. Woodward also urged her to swap her classic pantsuits and button-down shirts for more stylish clothing, 'so that you look the part of chief of staff, you look like a CEO-- like somebody who owns the room.' Ms. Johnson bought a few dresses and gold bangle bracelets that 'add a little more excitement' than her customary silver jewelry, she says. The clothes helped her feel she is 'getting more polish and stepping up to more of a leadership role.'

伍德沃德也劝她把经典职业套装和带领扣的衬衫换成更加时尚的着装，这样“你就像个参谋长，像一位CEO，像一屋之主”。约翰逊说，她买了几件连衣裙和金手镯，跟平时戴的银首饰相比，“增添了一些亮色”。这些衣服让她觉得自己“变得更加光鲜”，“在进一步向领导者角色靠拢”。

The Outcome: Ms. Johnson is running more meetings for her boss and making decisions on the spot. Ms. Gable says 'she is much more self-confident. She is putting her ideas forward without any hesitancy.' Ms. Gable says Ms. Johnson is briefing board members during conference calls with confidence.

效果：约翰逊代替老板主持越来越多的会议，并当场拍板。盖布尔说：“她比原来自信多了，总是毫不犹豫地提出自己的想法。”盖布尔说，电话会议期间，约翰逊充满自信地向理事会成员汇报情况。

When Ms. Gable was asked in a recent meeting to describe a school project that had won one of the foundation's grant competitions, Ms. Johnson spoke up to explain how the school involved parents. Later, Ms. Gable says, she told her, 'That was an amazing point. I'm so glad you raised it.'

前不久的一次会议上，盖布尔被要求描述一个曾经赢得该基金会拨款竞标的学校项目。这时候，约翰逊站出来解释这所学校如何让家长参与的事情。据盖布尔说，她后来告诉约翰逊：“那是一个非常不错的要点，你把它说出来了，我很高兴。”

Ms. Gable is so pleased with the outcome of the coaching that she recently sent Ms. Woodward an email: 'I don't know what you've done with Becky, but thank you so much. It's awesome.'

盖布尔对培训效果非常满意，所以近给伍德沃德发了一封电子邮件，说：“我不知道你是怎样培训贝姬的，但是非常感谢。效果非常棒。”

For her part, Ms. Johnson says she is grateful to be working 'with a boss who looks for opportunities for growth for all of her employees.' Last week, Ms. Johnson was promoted to vice president.

约翰逊则说，与“一位找机会让所有员工成长的老板”共事让她心存感念。不久前，约翰逊被提拔为副会长。