向前一步:第104期 如何找到你的人生导师(18)

 How could I get my clients to take me seriously if their boss was constantly reminding everyone that I was his son's age—oh, and that I should date him? 如果客户们老是听到自己的老板提到我和他儿子同岁（噢，所以我还应该跟他约会？），我如何能让他们认真地对待我呢？

One day, I gathered my courage and asked to speak to him in private. 有一天，我鼓足勇气，向他提出私下谈谈。

I told him (nicely) that I did not think it was appropriate for him to keep bringing up his son. 我告诉他（当然态度是非常小心的），他总是这样提起自己的儿子不太合适。

He laughed it off and kept doing it. 他一笑而过，还是老样子。

Having tried to deal with the situation myself, I went to my manager—the same "Sandberg"-shouting SEM. 之后，我找到主管经理，就是那位大叫“桑德伯格”的项目经理。

He listened to my complaint and then told me that I should think about what I was "doing to send these signals." 他听了我的抱怨后，却让我想想自己是不是做了什么“传递了这些信号的事”。

Yup, it was my fault. 哦，这倒成了我的错。

I told the two other Sandbergs, who were outraged¹. 我又跟另外两位“桑德伯格”说起这件事，他们都很气愤，

They encouraged me to go over the SEM's head and talk to the senior partner, Robert Taylor. 还鼓励我直接去找公司的资深合伙人罗伯特·泰勒。

Robert understood my discomfort² immediately. 泰勒得知此事后，马上理解了我为什么不快，

He explained that sometimes those of us who are different (he is African American) need to remind people to treat us appropriately. 有时候我们的确需要提醒他人尊重自己。

He said he was glad I told the client no on my own and that the client should have listened. 他很高兴我能对那位客户说“不”，而且我的意见也应该被听取。

He then talked to the client and explained that his behavior had to stop. 随后他亲自找到那位客户沟通并解释，请他停止不恰当的言行，

He also spoke³ with my SEM about his insensitive response. 还和我的经理谈了他在这件事上鲁莽的处理方式。

I could not have been more grateful for Robert's protection. 我对泰勒的所做的一切深觉感激。

I knew exactly how that baby bird felt when he finally found his mother. 就像开篇提到的那只雏鸟一样，我真切地感受到了它最终找到母亲的心情。

1 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

2 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。