How to Become Your Own Career Coach
在今天的职业生涯中，没有什么事是直线成功的，而过去几年创造了一种环境，我们不得不面对不断的变化和日益增加的复杂性，并对之习以为常。指导是一种很有价值的方法，可以让人头脑清晰，应对日渐曲折的工作环境中的不确定性。
There’s no such thing as a straight line to success in careers today, and the past few years have created an environment where we’ve all had to become accustomed to constant change and increased complexity. Coaching is a valuable way to create clarity and deal with the uncertainty of an increasingly squiggly world of work.
指导有助于我们了解自己，发现新的选择，摆脱困境，但是只有少数幸运个体和组织才负担得起与合格指导师共度时光的机会。我们知道指导可以让工作更加优异，但我们需要一种更好的方式让指导对每个人都有行之有效。
Coaching helps us understand ourselves, uncover new options, and get unstuck, but the opportunity to spend time with a qualified coach is only available to a fortunate few individuals and organizations who can afford it. We know coaching can make work better, but we need a better way to make it work for everyone.
为了让指导变得轻松易行，我们需要将其定义从“人”扩展到“方法”。采取指导之法的一个重要部分是学习成套技能，以便能够在职业生涯中指导自己。这并不能取代与他人进行职业对话的价值——若有不同，则它的作用恰恰相反，它让你能够与经理、同事和导师等形形色色的人进行更有意义的指导对话。自我指导技能可以促进自我意识和自足能力的提升，帮助你更有信心、更具掌控力地驾驭事业。
To make coaching accessible, we need to widen its definition from a person to an approach. An important part of taking a coaching approach is learning the skillset to be able to coach yourself in your career. This doesn’t replace the value of career conversations with other people — if anything, it does the opposite by putting you in a position to have more meaningful coaching conversations with a wide variety of people, like managers, peers, and mentors. Self-coaching skills accelerate your self-awareness and your self-sufficiency, helping you navigate your career with more confidence and control.
自我指导是一种通过提问来提高自我意识、促进积极行动的技能。人人都可以学会自我指导，无论经验或专业知识如何。这需要练习，有时可能会感到不自在，但辛苦努力是值得的。当我们为应对自己事业中遇到的挑战而发展自己的想法和行动时，会增强自己的应变力，减少对他人的依赖。
Self-coaching is the skill of asking questions to improve self-awareness and prompt positive action. Everyone can learn to coach themselves, regardless of experience or expertise. It takes practice and might feel uncomfortable at times, but the hard work will be worth it. When we develop our own ideas and actions in response to the challenges we experience in our careers, we increase our resilience and reduce our dependency on other people.
欲开始自我指导，请致力于培养以下三种技能。
To get started coaching yourself, work on developing these three skills.
自我意识
Self-Awareness
为了达到高水平的自我意识，我们需要看清自己，了解别人如何看待我们。自我意识不是偶然产生的——是我们让它发生的。以下是两种提高自我意识的方法，你可以将它们融入到每日工作中。
To achieve high levels of self-awareness, we need to see ourselves clearly and understand how other people us. Self-awareness doesn’t arise by accident — we make it happen. Here are two ways to improve your self-awareness that you can integrate into your workday.
制作5分钟思维导图
Create a five-minute mind-map
专时用于自我审视很少会排在待办事项的首位。然而，当我们越来越多地意识到，价值观和信仰会推动我们的行动时，我们就会更加清楚在未来所做的选择。
Focused time to think about ourselves rarely makes it to the top of our to-do lists. However, when we increase awareness of how our values and beliefs drive our actions, we can be more conscious about the choices we make in the future.
创建五分钟的思维导图可以帮助你快速了解自己对某一职业挑战的反应。要做到这一点，请在页面中央写下你的挑战，然后记下你对挑战的内容、人物、时间和原因的任何思考，并看看你注意到了什么。比如，如果你与工作中的某人关系不好，你可能会反思自己需要讨人喜欢（对“原因”的领悟），或者可能会得出结论，认为关系不好的人碰巧与你工作方式不同（对“人物”的领悟）。你越是经常这样做，你就越会注意到自己的思维模式，这些模式在工作中可能对你有利，也可能对你不利。这种自我意识会帮助你在学习自我指导时摆脱困境。
Creating a five-minute mind-map can help you quickly gain insight into your reactions to a career challenge. To do this, write down your challenge in the center of a page, then note down any reflections you have about the what, who, when, and why of the challenge, and see what you notice. For example, if you have a difficult relationship with someone at work, you might reflect on your need to be liked by people (a “why” insight), or you might come to the conclusion that the people you find difficult just happen to work differently from you (a “who” insight). The more regularly you do this, the more you’ll notice patterns in your thinking that could be working for or against you at work. This self-awareness will help you get unstuck as you learn to coach yourself.
了解意图与影响的异同
Understand intent vs. impact
为了找出我们需要解决的自我意识缺口，我们需要了解自己希望被人知道的东西是否与我们在工作中的表现一致。为了自己探明这一点，请想想自己一周中的三个重要场面，在这三个场面下，你对自己想要如何表现有一个清晰的认知。对于每个场景，只用一个词来概括意图。比如，你可能希望在某一演示报告中显得“可信”，或在团队会议中表现出“有协作精神”。在每一场面之后，请至少一位参与人员从他们的角度用一个词描述你的影响力。
To spot the self-awareness gaps we need to work on, we need to understand whether what we want to be known for is consistent with how we show up at work. To explore this for yourself, think about three important situations in your week where you have a clear view of how you want to show up. For each scenario, summarize your intention using just one word. For example, you might want to be “credible” in a presentation or “collaborative” in a team meeting. After each situation, ask at least one person who was involved to describe your impact from their perspective in one word.
这个问题可能听起来类似“在今天的会议上，你会用什么词来总结我的方法？”或者“你会用哪一个词来形容我在演示时的影响力？”将你的意图与关于影响力的反馈进行比较，这有助于看到自己是否存在自我意识一致性或者潜在缺口及成长机会。
This question might sound like, “What word would you use to summarize my approach in today’s meeting?” or “What one word would you use to describe my impact when presenting?” Comparing your intent with the feedback you receive on your impact will help you see whether you have self-awareness alignment or a potential gap and opportunity for growth.
自我指导的问题（ CYQs）
Coach-Yourself Questions (CYQs)
向自己提出有洞察力的教练问题，将打开你的思维，支持你确定行动，帮助你取得积极的进展。你可以用以下三个角度来评估问题质量：
Asking yourself insightful coaching questions will unlock your thinking and support you to identify actions that will help you make positive progress. You can assess the quality of your questions using the three O's below:
入手（Open）
自我指导问题从人物、内容、原因、地点、时间或方式入手，不是一个答案非对即错的封闭性问题。如果你发现自己在问诸如“我是否喜欢我的工作”之类的封闭式问题，请以开放的方式再问一次“我喜欢我工作的哪些方面”，你会发现自己因此获得了更多的洞见。
CYQs start with who, what, why, where, when, or how, not a closed question with a yes-or-no answer. If you find yourself asking a closed question, such as, “Do I enjoy my job?” ask it again in an open way: “What do I enjoy about my job?” You’ll find you get more insights as a result.
自我身份（Ownership）
自我指导问题关注自我身份，总是会将“我”包括其中。问的不是“那个人是如何比我进展更快的？”相反，问题变成了“我怎样才能加速我的进展”。如果你在指导自己时发现自己在责怪他人或外部因素，这是一个信号，表明你需要将关注的重点重新调整到你能掌控的事情上。通过确定自己的行动，你会更有决心促进变化的发生。
CYQs focus on ownership and always include “I.” Instead of, “How has that person progressed more quickly than me?” the question becomes, “How could I accelerate my progression?” If you find yourself blaming other people or external factors when coaching yourself, it’s a signal that you need to refocus on what you can control. By identifying your own actions, you’ll be more committed to making change happen.
一次一个问题（One-at-a-time）
避免问题“扎堆”，即，你同时问多个问题。不要问“为何我错过了最后期限，而且感觉我无法掌控自己的时间”，相反，你依次提问和回答每个问题“为何我错过了最后期限”“为何我感觉无法掌控自己的时间”，作为指导手法的一部分，一次一个问题有助于你产生更多的选择和行动。
Avoid question “stacking,” where you ask multiple questions at the same time. Instead of asking, “Why am I missing deadlines and feeling so out of control of my time?” you ask and answer each question in turn: “Why am I missing deadlines?” and “Why do I feel out of control of my time?” One-at-a-time questioning helps you generate more options and actions as part of your coaching approach.
以下是让你开始着手的5个自我指导问题：
Here are five CYQs to get you started:
- 工作中什么东西最让我精力最充沛？｜What gives me the most energy at work?
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什么时候我让自信阻碍了我？｜When do I let my self-belief hold me back?
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我如何才能增加获得反馈的频率？｜How can I increase the frequency of the feedback that I get?
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谁能为我的事业挑战提供不同的视角？|Who could offer me a different perspective on my career challenge?
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今天不是现实、但我希望12个月后成为现实的东西是什么？｜What do I want to be true in 12 months’ time that isn’t true today?
倾听自己的声音
Listening to Yourself
为了指导自己，我们需要善于倾听会影响我们行动的想法和观念。然而，干扰和不适会让我们走神或被更容易处理的事情所吸引。当注意力被分散时，我们就无法达到那种能够帮助我们以不同的方式进行思考或行动的反思深度。在你学习倾听自己的声音过程中，可以练习一些技巧。
In order to coach ourselves, we need to become skilled at listening to the thoughts and beliefs that inform our actions. However, distraction and discomfort can make our minds wander or gravitate toward things that are easier to work on. When our attention is diverted, we don’t achieve the depth of reflection that will help us think or act differently. There are a couple of techniques you can practice as you learn to listen to yourself.
找出你的心理摩擦力
Find your friction
所有人都会心不在焉。了解这种情况何时何地发生，是确保你在学习自我指导时不妨碍自己的重要部分。寻找方法增加你和你的分心缺点之间的摩擦，可以防止它影响你的自我指导工作。比如，如果技术是你的弱点，你可以把设备放在另一个房间里，以此来找出心理摩擦力。如果其他人制造了影响你集中注意力的问题，试着在咖啡馆里指导自己，或在一天开始的时候、在你工作的要求分散你注意力之前指导自己。
We all get distracted. Understanding when and where this happens is an important part of making sure you don't get in your own way when you're learning to coach yourself. Finding ways to increase the friction between you and your distraction downfall can prevent it from affecting your self-coaching efforts. For example, if technology is your weakness, you can find friction by leaving your devices in another room. If other people create a problem for your focus, try coaching yourself in a café or at the start of a day before the demands of your job distract you.
成为自己最好的朋友
Become your best friend
自我指导的一部分是了解在头脑中倾听谁的声音。我们全都有一个内心里的教练和一个内心里的批评者，有时候你内心中的批评者会悄然进来，开始控制局面。这听起来可能像是“我不够聪明，无法弄明白这个问题”或者“我没有能力做这事，所以我现在应该放弃”。
Part of coaching yourself is learning whom to listen to inside your head. We all have an inner coach and an inner critic, and there will be times when your inner critic will creep in and start to take control. This might sound like “I'm not smart enough to figure this out” or “I can't do this so I should give up now.”
为安抚你内心的批评，请试着用你最好朋友跟你说话的方式来对自己讲话。想象自己正和那个人交谈，写下他们会说出的三句支持你的话。也许他们会让你想起以前的成功或者你以前是如何克服逆境的。或者他们可能会谈到多么钦佩你的决心和勇气。当你内心的批评者悄然而至时，请你将此人牢记于心。
To quiet your inner critic, try talking to yourself in the same way your best friend would talk to you. Imagine yourself having a conversation with that person and write down three supportive sentences they would say. Perhaps they would remind you of previous successes or how you've overcome adversity before. Or maybe they would talk about how much they admire your determination or bravery. Keep this person in mind when your inner critic creeps in.
我们的事业经常让人感觉具有不确定性，但自我指导是一种我们都可以掌控的能力。致力于发展你的自我指导能力可以帮助你克服障碍，为你的成长开辟更多机会。如果有一项技能是你在2022年需要花时间学习、练习和提高的，那么自我指导就是一个良好的开端。
Our careers can frequently feel uncertain, but self-coaching is a capability we all have control over. Committing to the development of your self-coaching skills can help you overcome obstacles and open up more opportunities for your growth. If there's one skill you spend time learning, practicing, and improving in 2022, coaching yourself is a good place to start.
海伦·塔珀是Amazing If公司的共同创始人及CEO，该公司志在让每个人的事业得到提升。她与商业伙伴萨拉·埃利斯合著了《星期日泰晤士报》（The Sunday Times）头号畅销书《曲折的事业，你指导你自己》（The Squiggly Career, You Coach You），也是播客“曲折的事业”（Squiggly Careers）的主持人。她们的TEDx演讲“最好的职业道路并非总是直线坦途（The best career path isn't always a straight line）”观看次数超过一百万。在创办Amazing If之前，她曾在微软、维珍（Virgin）和英国石油（BP）担任领导职务，并获得过《金融时报》30%俱乐部（FT & 30% Club）的女性领导MBA奖学金（Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship）。
萨拉·埃利斯是Amazing If公司的共同创始人及CEO，该公司志在让每个人的事业得到提升。在创办Amazing If之前，萨拉的职业生涯包括在巴克莱银行（Barclays）和英佰瑞超市（Sainsbury’s）担任领导职务，之后她在创意机构Gravity Road担任过董事总经理。
