另外一种想法：克莱尔•法利在30岁的时候，便被德士古公司【Texaco，后被雪佛龙公司（Chevron）收购】任命为北美石油与天然气勘探业务主管，目前担任KKR集团常务董事，她认为把导师转变成担保人可能花费很长时间。

    她说：“任何职业的前十年，最重要的是做好自己的工作。通常情况下，你要花十到十五年时间来证明自己是可靠的贡献者，也是你开始关注不同的领导风格、明确自己的发展方向的时候，这时才会有人给你提供担保。”而巧合的是，十年或十五年也恰好是孩子自立所需要的时间。祝你好运！

    反馈：如果你的事业能不断发展，而你又从没为家人向公司提出过灵活工作时间的要求，你是如何做到的？导师或担保人是否给你提供过帮助？欢迎评论。

    One further thought: Claire Farley, who was promoted to president of North American oil and gas exploration at Texaco (since merged with Chevron (CVX)) in her late 30s, and who is now a managing director at KKR (KKR), says that turning a mentor into a sponsor may just take time.

    "In your first 10 years or so, in any career, being really good at your job is paramount," she says. "Sponsorship generally happens after you've put in 10 or 15 years as a proven contributor, once you've started paying attention to different leadership styles and figured out where you want to go." Coincidentally, 10 or 15 years is just about the length of time it takes for tiny kids to grow into bigger, somewhat more self-sufficient ones. Good luck.

    Talkback: If you've kept your career moving forward despite working flexible hours to accommodate a family, how have you done it? Were mentors or sponsors helpful? Leave a comment below.