前程百利小编为大家带来托福阅读材料。材料围绕着如何培养自己的领导能力给出了一些可靠的建议，文章中较难的词汇已经标示出来。希望大家在阅读的过程中可以学到相关的知识，同时通过不断的阅读练习提高自己的托福阅读能力。
Are you so caught up in the day-to-day(日复一日的) grind(苦差) of addressing personnel matters(人事问题) budget(预算) concerns and sudden crises that there never seems to be time to even think about improving yourself at work?
If so you're unfortunately in good company. Surveys show that federal leaders consistently give themselves poor grades when it comes to engaging in professional development(职业发展). There are some ways around this dilemma though for both public and private sector workers at all levels.
Since it's easy to be overwhelmed and unsure of where to start I've found it helpful to focus on several key steps.
First break your goal into smaller pieces. That is establish incremental(渐进的) goals and then devote 30 minutes to an hour each day or week to achieving those milestones(里程碑).
A good way to keep yourself disciplined(自律) about this is to set up regular meetings with a colleague you admire and who possesses a skill you wish to develop or even a friend who can serve as a confidential(秘密的) sounding board(共鸣板) for some tough issues you are tackling(处理，应对). This means you'll need to step away from your desk for lunch or a cup of coffee but the time is likely to yield dividends(意外收获).
Another possibility is to find a mentor(导师;被辅导者mentee;遵循此类变化的还有tutor-tutee employer-employee等) in a senior position(在上级) within your organization who can provide advice and guidance and also give you insights(深入的见解) into your organization. As someone who made the leap from the federal government to the technology sector Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg cites the mentoring she received from more experienced Silicon Valley executives as a key to her success.
Likewise Xerox CEO Ursula Burns often talks about the invaluable lessons she derived(获得) as executive assistant to the company’s president of marketing(市场部). She was able to sit in on meetings with senior leaders and learn firsthand the culture of the company as wells as lessons that helped her to succeed throughout her career and eventually rise to the top.
Some executives pick a specific weakness they know they want to improve and then focus on that issue in their day-to-day interactions. This might involve concentrating on becoming better at delegating(用人) responsibilities or better at listening to and incorporating(吸纳) others' suggestions. Or it may mean building trust by making sure you keep your commitments(信念，责任感) and are open and transparent(公开透明) with your staff members.
You should also put aside some time(腾出时间) to read whether its leadership and management books or biographies(传记) and fiction(虚构作品) (which are also full of leadership lessons). Books are a great source of inspiration and insight. Many leaders I've talked to dedicate time either early in the morning or later in the evening when the world is a little quieter.
Twitter can lead you to sources of useful information as well without consuming a lot of time. Follow the postings of the Harvard Business Review various financial publications or leadership sites to expose yourself to fresh ideas and research.
Of course the most significant investment you can make may come through formal training and development programs. Such programs usually will strengthen your problem-solving techniques offer one-on-one executive coaching and provide valuable hands-on(实际的，亲身体验的) experience and an opportunity to network(建立关系网) with a community of peers.
Whatever option you choose the best advice simply may be: Get started. Research shows that the best managers are the ones who continuously(不断地) seek to improve learn and develop their leadership skills.
以上就是前程百利小编为大家带来的托福阅读材料，平时的阅读练习是托福考试阅读备考的重要一环。希望大家利用好每份材料，尽可能多地从中获取知识。预祝大家托福考试取得好成绩。
