How to find the person who can help you get ahead at work | Carla Harris

Translator: Zuzana Šplhová Reviewer: Tímea Somogyi

It was the spring of 1988

Na jar roku 1988

when I had the aha moment.

mi to zrazu všetko došlo.

I was at my first roundtable,

Prvýkrát som bola pri okrúhlom stole.

and for those of you who don't know,

Pre tých, ktorí nevedia,

the roundtable was a very commonly used phrase on Wall Street

slovné spojenie „okrúhly stôl“ sa často používalo na Wall Street

to describe the year-end evaluative process

a znamená proces koncoročného hodnotenia

for analysts, associates, vice presidents, all the way up to managing directors.

pre analytikov, partnerov, podpredsedov až k riaditeľom.

That was the process where they were discussed behind closed doors

Počas tohto procesu za zatvorený dverami o nich diskutovali

around a table, i.e. the round table,

okolo stola, teda pri okrúhlom stole,

and everyone was put into a category --

a každého zamestnanca zaradili do kategórie.

the top bucket, the middle bucket, the lower bucket --

Horná skupina, stredná a dolná.

and then that was translated into a bonus range

Podľa toho prideľovali bonusy

that would be assigned to each professional.

pre každého zamestnanca.

This was my first time there, and as I observed,

Bola som pri tom prvýkrát a všimla som si,

I saw that there was one person that was responsible

že jedna osoba bola zodpovedná za zapisovanie výsledku rozhovoru.

for recording the outcome of a conversation.

There were other people in the room that had the responsibility

V miestnosti boli ďalší ľudia, ktorí prezentovali kandidátov

of presenting the cases of all the candidates.

And there were other invited guests who were supposed to comment

a ďalší pozvaní hostia, ktorí kandidátov komentovali.

as a candidate's position was presented.

Zaujalo ma, že tí pozvaní boli z vyšších pozícií

It was interesting to me that those other people

were folks who were more senior than the folks that were being discussed

než tí, o ktorých sa rozprávali,

and they theoretically had had some interaction with those candidates.

a teoreticky sa už mohli s tými kandidátmi stretnúť.

Now, I was really excited to be at this roundtable for the first time,

Tešila som sa, že môžem prvýkrát byť pri okrúhlom stole,

lebo som vedela, že aj o mojom bonuse sa bude rozhodovať rovnako.

because I knew that my own process would go through this same way,

and that my bonus would be decided in the same way,

so I wanted to know how it worked,

Chcela som vedieť, ako to funguje.

but more importantly,

Ešte viac som chcela vedieť, ako funguje koncept meritokracie,

I wanted to understand how this concept of a meritocracy

that every company that I talked to walking out of business school

o ktorom hovorí každá firma,

ktorá práve vyšla z ekonomickej univerzity.

was selling.

Every time I talked to a company,

Vždy, keď som sa rozprávala s firmou, hovorili: „Naša kultúra a proces

they would say, "Our culture, our process, is a meritocracy.

sú založené na meritokracii.

The way you get ahead in this organization is that you're smart,

V našej organizácii sa presadíte, ak ste šikovní, skromní,

you put your head down and you work really hard,

tvrdo pracujete a vtedy budete úspešní.“

and you'll go right to the top.

So here was my opportunity to see exactly how that worked.

Mala som teda možnosť vidieť, ako to funguje.

So as the process began,

Keď sme začali, zapisovateľ povedal prvé meno.

I heard the recorder call the first person's name.

„Joe Smith.“

"Joe Smith."

The person responsible for presenting Joe's case did just that.

Osoba, ktorá ho mala prezentovať, to urobila.

Prečítala tri štvrtiny argumentov, kým ju niekto neprerušil:

Three quarters of the way through, someone interrupted and said,

„Skvelý kandidát, výborný,

"This is a great candidate, outstanding,

has great analytical and quantitative skills.

dobré analytické a kvalitatívne schopnosti,

This is a superstar."

hotová hviezda.“

The recorder then said,

Zapisovateľ povedal:

"Sounds like Joe should go in the top bucket."

„Zdá sa, že by mal byť v hornej skupine.“

Second person, Mary Smith.

Druhá osoba, Mary Smith.

Halfway through that presentation, someone said, "Solid candidate.

V polovici diskusie o nej niekto povedal: „Dobrá kandidátka,

Nothing really special, but a good pair of hands."

nič výnimočné, dobrý pár rúk.“

The recorder said,

Zapisovateľ povedal:

"Sounds like Mary should go in the middle bucket."

„Mary by mala ísť do strednej skupiny.“

And then someone said, "Arnold Smith."

Potom niekto povedal meno: „Arnold Smith.“

Before the person could present Arnold's case,

Predtým, než sme o ňom niečo počuli, niekto povedal:

somebody said, "Disaster. Disaster. This kid doesn't have a clue.

„Hrozné, nič nevie, nevie pripraviť poriadny model.“

Can't do a model."

And before the case was presented,

Než sme si o ňom niečo vypočuli, zapisovateľ povedal:

the recorder said,

"Sounds like Arnold should go in the bottom bucket."

„Arnold teda asi patrí do najnižšej skupiny.“

It was at that moment that I clutched my pearls --

V tom momente som sa preľakla a chytila som si perly.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

and said, "Who is going to speak for me?"

Kto bude hovoriť za mňa?

Who is going to speak for me?

Kto bude hovoriť za mňa?

It was that moment that I realized that this idea of a meritocracy

Vtedy som si uvedomila, že meritokracia,

that every organizations sells is really just a myth.

ktorú predáva každá organizácia, je len mýtus.

Nemôžete mať 100 % meritokratické prostredie,

You cannot have a 100 percent meritocratic environment

when there is a human element involved in the evaluative equation,

ak hodnotenie robia ľudia.

because by definition,

Je to tým pádom subjektívne.

that makes it subjective.

V tej chvíli som vedela, že za zavretými dverami

I knew at that moment that somebody would have to be behind closed doors

niekto o mne musí hovoriť a prezentovať ma tak,

arguing on my behalf,

presenting content in such a way

aby ostatní okolo stola rozhodli v môj prospech.

that other decision makers around that table

would answer in my best favor.

That was a really interesting lesson,

Bola to zaujímavá lekcia.

and then I said to myself, "Well, who is that person?

Potom som si pomyslela: „Kto je tá osoba?

Ako takú osobu voláte?“

What do you call this person?"

And as I thought about the popular business terms at the time,

Myslela som na vtedy populárne slová v biznise a pomyslela si:

I said, wow, this person can't be a mentor,

Nemôže to byť mentor, lebo mentor vám dáva rady na mieru.

because a mentor's job is to give you tailored advice,

tailored specifically to you and to your career aspirations.

Upravené špeciálne pre vás a vaše kariérne sny.

They're the ones who give you the good, the bad and the ugly

On je ten dobrý, zlý a škaredý.

Bez prikrášľovania.

in a no-holds-barred way.

OK. Person can't be a champion or an advocate,

Tá osoba nie je váš zástanca alebo obhajca,

because you don't necessarily have to spend any currency

lebo nepotrebujete nič minúť na to, aby ste boli niekoho zástancom,

to be someone's champion.

You don't necessarily get invited to the room

a ak ste obhajca, tak vás za zavreté dvere nepozvú.

behind closed doors if you're an advocate.

Až o dva roky neskôr som prišla na to, ako sa táto osoba má volať.

It was almost two years later

when I realized what this person should be called.

I was speaking at the University of Michigan

Rečnila som na Michiganskej univerzite pred kandidátmi na MBA

to the MBA candidates,

talking about the lessons that I had learned

o tom, čo som sa naučila počas krátkych troch rokov na Wall Street.

after my three short years on Wall Street,

and then it came to me.

A potom mi to došlo a povedala som:

I said, "Oh, this person that is carrying your interest,

„Tá osoba, ktorej na vás záleží, alebo ako rada hovorím,

or as I like to say, carrying your paper into the room,

ktorá do miestnosti donesie spis o vás,

this person who is spending

osoba, ktorá míňa svoj hodnotný politický a sociálny kapitál na vás,

their valuable political and social capital on you,

táto osoba, ktorá bude za vás búchať do stola,

this person who is going to pound the table on your behalf,

this is a sponsor.

je podporovateľ.

This is a sponsor."

Je to podporovateľ.“

And then I said to myself,

Potom som si pomyslela:

"Well, how do you get a sponsor?

Ako človek získa podporovateľa a prečo ho potrebuje?

And frankly, why do you need one?"

Well, you need a sponsor, frankly,

Podporovateľa potrebujete, lebo ako viete,

because as you can see,

there's not one evaluative process that I can think of,

neexistuje žiadny hodnotiaci proces,

whether it's in academia, health care, financial services,

či už vo vzdelávaní, zdravotníctve, finančníctve, ani jeden,

not one that does not have a human element.

ktorý by neobsahoval ľudský element.

So that means it has that measure of subjectivity.

Znamená to, že ide o subjektívne meranie.

There is a measure of subjectivity in who is presenting your case.

Subjektívny je ten, kto vás prezentuje.

There is a measure of subjectivity

Subjektívne rozprávajú a hodnotia objektívne dáta o vás.

in what they say

and how they interpret any objective data that you might have.

There is a measure of subjectivity in how they say what they're going to say

Miera subjektivity je aj v spôsobe, ako rozprávajú a čo povedia,

to influence the outcome.

aby ovplyvnili výsledok.

So therefore, you need to make sure that that person who is speaking,

Preto si musíte byť istí, že človek, ktorý za vás hovorí,

that sponsor,

ten podporovateľ, myslí na vaše dobro

has your best interests at heart

and has the power to get it, whatever it is for you,

a má moc vám vybojovať to, čo za tými dverami potrebujete.

to get it done behind closed doors.

Now, I'm asked all the time,

Stále sa ma pýtajú, či viem, ako takého podporovateľa získať.

"How do you get one?"

Úprimne, nirvána je, keď vás niekto vidí a povie: „Ja vám to splním.

Well, frankly, nirvana is when someone sees you in an environment

and decides, "I'm going to make it happen for you.

I'm going to make sure that you are successful."

Zaistím, aby ste boli úspešní.“

But for many of us in this room, we know it doesn't really happen that way.

Veľa z vás vie, že tak to nefunguje.

So let me introduce this concept of currency

(smiech)

Predstavím vám teda dva typy meny a poviem vám, ako ovplyvnia

and talk to you about how it impacts your ability to get a sponsor.

vašu schopnosť získať podporovateľa.

There are two types of currency in any environment:

V každom prostredí existujú dva typy mien.

performance currency and relationship currency.

Mena výkonu a mena vzťahov.

And performance currency is the currency that is generated

Mena výkonu vyplýva z toho, že dodáte to, čo od vás chceli

by your delivering that which was asked of you

and a little bit extra.

a ešte trochu viac.

Every time you deliver upon an assignment above people's expectations,

Vždy, keď presiahnete očakávania, vytvoríte menu výkonu.

you generate performance currency.

It works exactly like the stock market.

Funguje to ako na burze.

Any time a company says to the street

Keď spoločnosť vyhlási, že za akciu dodá 25 centov

that they will deliver 25 cents a share

and that company delivers 40 cents a share,

a nakoniec dodá 40 centov za akciu, akcie idú hore a rovnako aj vy.

that stock goes up, and so will yours.

Performance currency is valuable for three reasons.

Mena výkonu je hodnotná pre tri dôvody.

Number one, it will get you noticed.

Po prvé: všimnú si vás, získate reputáciu.

It will create a reputation for you.

Number two, it will also get you paid and promoted

Po druhé: zaplatia vám a veľmi rýchlo vás povýšia

very early on in your career

v akejkoľvek kariére a prostredí.

and very early on in any environment.

And number three, it may attract a sponsor.

A po tretie: pritiahne to podporovateľa.

Why? Because strong performance currency

Prečo?

Lebo silná mena výkonu zvyšuje vašu úroveň viditeľnosti,

raises your level of visibility in the environment, as I said earlier,

takže pritiahnete podporovateľa.

such that a sponsor may be attracted to you.

Why? Because everybody loves a star.

Prečo? Lebo všetci milujú hviezdy.

But if you find yourself in a situation

Ak sa ocitnete v situácii, keď nemáte podporovateľa,

where you don't have a sponsor,

here's the good news.

mám pre vás dobré správy.

Remember that you can exercise your power and ask for one.

Môžete uplatniť svoju moc a podporovateľa požiadať.

But here's where the other currency is now most important.

Vtedy je dôležitá druhá mena.

That is the relationship currency,

Vzťahová mena.

and relationship currency is the currency that is generated

Táto mena vzniká z investícií, ktoré vložíte do iných ľudí v okolí.

by the investments that you make in the people in your environment,

the investments that you make in the people in your environment.

Z investícií, ktoré vložíte do iných ľudí v okolí.

You cannot ask someone to use their hard-earned

Nemôžete od niekoho chcieť, aby použil tvrdo zarobený osobný vplyv

personal influential currency on your behalf

na vás bez toho, aby ste sa s ním poznali.

if you've never had any interaction with them.

It is not going to happen.

Nestane sa to.

So it is important that you invest the time to connect, to engage

Je dôležité investovať čas na spájanie, komunikovanie a spoznávanie sa s ľuďmi

and to get to know the people that are in your environment,

vo vašom okolí a hlavne, dať im príležitosť spoznať vás.

and more importantly to give them the opportunity to know you.

Because once they know you,

Keď vás spoznajú, stúpa možnosť, že keď ich oslovíte,

there's a higher probability that when you approach them

to ask them to be your sponsor,

aby boli vaším podporovateľom, odpovedia kladne.

they will in fact answer in the affirmative.

Now, if you're with me and you agree that you have to have a sponsor,

Ak so mnou súhlasíte a viete, že potrebujete podporovateľa,

let's talk about how you identify a sponsor.

poďme sa rozprávať o tom, ako podporovateľa identifikujete.

Well, if you're looking for a sponsor,

Ak hľadáte podporovateľa, musí mať tri hlavné črty.

they need to have three primary characteristics.

Number one, they need to have a seat at the decision-making table,

Po prvé, musí mať miesto pri stole, kde sa rozhoduje.

they need to have exposure to your work

Musí poznať vašu prácu,

in order to have credibility behind closed doors,

aby bol za zatvorenými dverami dôveryhodný.

and they need to have some juice,

A musí mať šťavu, alebo inak, musí mať moc.

or let me say it differently, they'd better have some power.

It's really important that they have those three things.

Je dôležité, aby tie tri veci mal.

And then once you have identified the person,

Keď ste tú osobu identifikovali, ako sa ho na to spýtate?

how do you ask for one?

The script goes like this.

Scenár je takýto:

"Jim, I'm really interested in getting promoted this year.

„Jim, rada by som bola tento rok povýšená.

I've had an amazing year

Mám za sebou skvelý rok a už neviem firme viac dokázať,

and I cannot show this organization anything else to prove my worthiness

že som povýšenia hodná a že som pripravená.

or my readiness for this promotion,

but I am aware that somebody has to be behind closed doors

Viem však, že niekto sa za mňa musí postaviť

arguing on my behalf and pounding the table.

za zatvorenými dverami a búchať do stola.

You know me, you know my work and you are aware of the client feedback,

Poznáš ma, poznáš moju prácu a poznáš aj spätnú väzbu od klientov.

and I hope that you will feel comfortable arguing on my behalf."

Dúfam, že sa za mňa rád postavíš.“

If Jim knows you

Ak vás Jim pozná a je medzi vami vzťah, je vysoká pravdepodobnosť,

and you have any kind of a relationship,

there's a very high probability that he will answer yes,

že povie áno.

and if he says yes,

Ak povie áno, bude sa snažiť to pre vás urobiť.

he will endeavor to get it done for you.

But there's also a shot that Jim might say no,

Je aj šanca, že Jim povie nie.

and if he says no, in my opinion,

Ak povie nie, podľa mňa sú len tri dôvody prečo.

there's only three reasons that he would tell you no.

The first is he doesn't think that he has enough exposure to your work

Nemyslí si, že má dostatok informácií o vašej práci, aby mu verili,

to have real credibility behind closed doors

to be impactful and effective on your behalf.

aby mal vplyv a malo to pre vás účinok.

The second reason he may tell you no

Druhý dôvod môže byť, že vy si myslíte, že moc má,

is that you think he has the juice to get it done,

but he knows that he does not have the power to do it

ale on vie, že tú moc nemá a v rozhovore s vami to určite neprizná.

and he is not going to admit that in that conversation with you.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

And the third reason that he would tell you no,

Tretí dôvod, prečo povie nie:

he doesn't like you.

jednoducho vás nemá rád.

He doesn't like you.

Nemá vás rád.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

And that's something that could happen.

Aj to sa môže stať.

But even that will be valuable information for you

Aj to bude pre vás hodnotná informácia.

that will help to inform your next conversation with a sponsor

Pomôže vám to pri oslovovaní ďalšieho podporovateľa.

that might make it a little bit more impactful.

Môže to mať o trochu väčší vplyv.

I cannot tell you how important it is to have a sponsor.

Nedokážem vyjadriť, aké dôležité je mať podporovateľa.

It is the critical relationship in your career.

Je to významný vzťah vašej kariéry.

A mentor, frankly, is a nice to have,

Je dobré mať mentora, ale dlho si poradíte aj bez neho.

but you can survive a long time in your career without a mentor,

but you are not going to ascend in any organization without a sponsor.

V žiadnej organizácii však nepostúpite, ak nebudete mať podporovateľa.

It is so critical that you should ask yourself regularly,

Je to také dôležité, že by ste sa mali pravidelne pýtať:

"Who's carrying my paper into the room?

„Kto do miestnosti nesie môj spis?

Who is carrying my paper into the room?"

Kto do miestnosti nesie môj spis?“

And if you can't answer who is carrying your paper into the room,

Ak tú otázku neviete zodpovedať, tak vám radím, aby ste časť svojej energie

then I will tell you to divert some of your hardworking energies

into investing in a sponsor relationship,

investovali do vzťahu s podporovateľom, lebo pre váš úspech to je dôležité.

because it will be critical to your success.

And as I close, let me give a word

Na záver by som sa rada prihovorila, k budúcim podporovateľom, ktorí sú tu.

to the would-be sponsors that are in the room.

If you have been invited into the room,

Ak vás pozvali do miestnosti, máte pri stole svoje miesto.

know that you have a seat at that table,

and if you have a seat at the table,

Ak máte pri stole miesto, je vašou zodpovednosťou hovoriť.

you have a responsibility to speak.

Don't waste your power worrying about what people are going to say

Neplytvajte svojou mocou tým, že budete rozmýšľať, čo povedia iní

and whether or not they think you might be supporting someone

a či si iní myslia, že sa za niekoho staviate,

just because they look like you.

len preto, že vyzerá ako vy.

If somebody is worthy of your currency,

Ak je niekto hodný vašej meny, míňajte ju.

spend it.

One thing I have learned after several decades on Wall Street

Počas niekoľkých desaťročí na Wall Street som sa naučila,

is the way to grow your power is to give it away,

že ak chcete, aby vaša moc rástla, musíte ju odovzdávať ďalej.

and your voice is at the heart.

Váš hlas je podstatný.

(Applause)

(potlesk)

And your voice is at the heart of your power.

Váš hlas je podstatou vašej moci.

Use it.

Použite ho.

Thank you very much.

Veľmi pekne vám ďakujem.

(Applause)

(potlesk)