????芭芭拉?安達工作一直很努力。她在德勤咨詢公司（Deloitte Consulting）工作了11年之久，一直負責舊金山人力資源部，不過，真正到了晉升的關鍵時刻，她的最大優勢并非這些“苦勞”，而是其他高管所不具備的一項：一位完全信任她、具有影響力的支持者。

????邁克爾?福茨是公司合伙人，負責美國東部地區業務。6年前，他就曾審查過芭芭拉的候選資格。為了讓她晉升一個全新的重要職位，福茨曾為她游說，但芭芭拉認為自己沒有做好準備，福茨表示他會幫助她，直到她取得成功，并成功說服了芭芭拉。十年之后，芭芭拉成為德勤咨詢公司全美人力資源業務的負責人，并且在公司高層領導團隊中有一個人們夢寐以求的席位。安達表示：“他能給我這個機會，并替我推薦，實際上是用自己的信譽作為擔保。我們仍保持密切的聯系。我知道他會一直支持我，而他也知道我對他100%的忠誠。”

????當今職場，能有一位可以給予你指導的良師益友當然是好事。但要想攀上職場巔峰，則需要一位“靠山”，也就是擔保人。師父與“靠山”有何區別呢？師父可以對你進行指導，提供建議，幫助你為下一個職位做好準備。而擔保人則會為你承擔風險，打開通往下一個職位的大門，把你推薦給適當的人，并在事關你職場命運的高層對話中，為你辯護。Catalyst研究部資深總監希瑟?福斯特-卡明斯表示：“師父會與你進行交流，而‘靠山’則把你推薦給其他人。”

????近期，許多公司希望在領導層中增加女性的比例，因此擔保人理念也被越來越多的公司所采納。2010年《哈佛商業評論》（Harvard Business Review）對4000名高層員工進行了調查，結果顯示19%的男性員工有一名擔保人，而女性的比例僅為13%。而有推薦人支持的女性，更愿意提出加薪，也有更多機會獲得升職、加薪和更高的職場滿意度，甚至進入公司高層。《哈佛商業評論》的合著者、人才創新中心（Center for Talent Innovation）主任西爾維婭?安?休利特表示：“推薦是獲得高層職位的唯一途徑。”

????擔保機制在各個方面都得到了推廣。研究顯示，絕大多數擁有“靠山”的男性和女性員工，對自己的晉升幾率更加滿意。

????Barbara Adachi was always a hard worker. But even after 11 years running the San Francisco human capital division for Deloitte Consulting, when it came to a key promotion she had something many senior executives lacked: an influential backer who believed in her.

????Mike Fucci, a partner running the company's Eastern practice, had reviewed her candidacy for partner six years earlier. When he lobbied for her promotion into a new major role, she didn't feel ready, but Fucci convinced Adachi that he would teach her what she needed to know to be successful. Ten years later she now runs Deloitte's national human capital practice and has a coveted seat on the company's senior leadership team. "By giving me that chance and recommending me for that role, he put his reputation on the line," Adachi says. "We still are hand in glove, and I know he's got my back. He knows I'm 100% loyal to him."

????In today's career maneuvering, having a mentor is nice. But having a sponsor is what will get you to the top. What's the difference? A mentor can coach you, give advice, and help prepare you for your next position. A sponsor will go out on a limb for you, open the door to your next job, introduce you to the right people, and make the case for you in those top-level conversations that could make or break your career. "A mentor will talk with you, but a sponsor will talk about you," says Heather Foust-Cummings, senior director of research at Catalyst, which has conducted research on sponsorships.

????The idea of sponsorship has gained momentum lately as companies aim to move more women into corporate leadership. A 2010 Harvard Business Review study of 4,000 high-level employees reported that 19% of men say they have a sponsor, compared with 13% of women. Yet women who have a sponsor in their corner are far more willing to negotiate raises and more likely to see more promotions, higher salaries, and more career satisfaction -- and get to the top. "Sponsorship is the only way to get those top appointments," says Sylvia Ann Hewlett, president of the Center for Talent Innovation and co-author of the Harvard Business Review study.

????Sponsorship is gaining ground across the board. Research shows that the vast majority of both men and women feel more satisfied with their rate of advancement when they have sponsors.

????近期的研究，促使多家公司啟動了新的“擔保人”計劃。近期，聯合利華（Unilever）開始提供延長的交流會議時間，以便促成擔保機會，而德勤、百事公司（PepsiCo）、英特爾（Intel）和美國運通（American Express）均啟動了相關項目，旨在幫助女性高管找到擔保人。

????The latest research has prompted several companies to launch new sponsorship programs. Unilever recently began hosting extended networking sessions to develop sponsorship opportunities, while Deloitte, PepsiCo (PEP), Intel (INTC), and American Express (AXP) have started programs aimed at helping their women executives find sponsors.