虽然性别平等再近些年取得了长足进步，但是在各行各业， 似乎顶层的认识还是以男性居多。有很多理论来解释这个现象，比如说女性被歧视啊，其中有一个观点认为，成功男性更愿意与其他男性建立人脉关系，女性不容易在社交上打开局面。但是的确有一些成功的女性在人脉经营上做的很好。那么她们经营人脉有什么特点呢？
Efficient. Studies, including the new one, show that women generally absorb more collaborative demands in the workplace than their male peers do. But the female managers with the strongest networks "recognize that every 'yes' means a 'no' to something else," says Babson College's Rob Cross, one of Carboni's coauthors. He notes that one Silicon Valley executive he knows has adopted that idea as her mantra. Although these successful female networkers might feel an identity-driven desire and a stereotype-influenced pressure to help colleagues out and be a team player, they try to resist. They prune nonessential appointments from their calendars, deflect low-priority decisions and requests, run streamlined meetings, insist on efficient email norms, and set aside time for reflection and high-level thinking. At the same time, they make the most of their collaborative strengths and inclinations by working with others in a way that establishes or enhances key relationships and ups their visibility.
词汇：
mantra: 咒语
prune: 修剪
deflect: 避免
streamlined meetings：精简会议
email norms：邮件规范
ups their visibility：提高可见性
Nimble. The researchers' data shows that most women's relationships, particularly those with female peers, are stickier than men's, growing stronger, more mutual, and more interwoven over time. Carboni and Cross note that this can occasionally be a positive -- for example, an old contact might offer a new opportunity or employment prospect. But if you work in a dynamic organization that requires rapid adjustments to changing demands (and who doesn't nowadays?), always relying on the same people can hurt your performance.
词汇：
nimble:灵活
interwoven：交缠的
Boundary-spanning. The highest-ranking, best-networked women connect with people in a wide variety of functions, geographies, and business units. Again, less successful female networkers tend to shy away from the tactic because it feels uncomfortable or overly promotional. "We heard from women that they liked their own communities," Carboni says, whereas spanning boundaries made them wary of "backlash" and "stressed out." But that behavior is critical to accessing new information, leading innovation, and pursuing advancement, for both women and men. Cross suggests periodically considering the leaders in your organization and asking yourself, "Who isn't in my network but should be?" He advises approaching them "not with 'Here's what I need' but with 'Could we grab a coffee and explore ways of working together?'" Companies including Ford and Booz Allen Hamilton have tried to institutionalize the practice by setting up cross-functional groups of female high potentials who meet regularly with C-suite executives.
词汇：
tactic ：策略
institutionalize the practice：将某些实践制度化
Energy-balanced. More than two decades' worth of research shows, perhaps not surprisingly, that the highest performers are seen as the most energizing people in their networks -- as the type of colleague who makes the work more engaging, which then drives better performance. But men and women are expected to bring different energy to relationships, and this is where effective female networkers set themselves apart from less successful women: They demonstrate both competence and warmth, both intelligence and emotional intelligence, as studies -- the researchers' and others -- suggest they must to build trust. "The most successful women don't downplay their knowledge, skills, and accomplishments; they show evidence that they can do things," Cross says. "But they also use humor, presence, and small gestures to signal caring and positivity, and they employ listening skills to spur creative thinking among their colleagues."
词汇：
downplay:低调处理
set themselves apart from ：把他们与XX区别开来
signal caring and positivity：signal 在此处作为动词，意味发出某些信号
spur: 不要总是使用promote了
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