How to Claim Your Leadership Power | Michael Timms | TED

翻译人员: Sue Lu 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

Are there any other parents here

在座是否有家长

who have struggled to get your kids out the door on time?

曾为让孩子准时出门而苦恼？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, you know, right?

所以，你懂的，对吧？

It's like herding kittens.

就像赶小猫一样。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My wife and I would start nagging our three daughters

我和妻子会开始不断催促三个女儿，

long before it was time to leave,

甚至离出门时间还很早。

but that obviously wasn't working

但这显然行不通，

because we were always late for everything.

因为我们仍然总是迟到。

But one day was a complete Gong Show.

但是有天这完全成了场闹剧。

Five minutes before we needed to leave for an important event,

离出发还有五分钟，要去一个重要活动，

I found my oldest daughter on the porch reading,

我却发现大女儿在门廊上读书，

my middle daughter was playing the piano,

二女儿在弹钢琴，

and my youngest daughter wasn't wearing any socks.

而小女儿还没穿袜子。

So I told them, "Stop reading, stop playing the piano,

我就叫她们：“别读书，别弹钢琴了，

put on your socks, and everybody get in the car."

穿上袜子，全部上车！”

Five minutes later, nobody was in the car.

五分钟后，车里一个人也没有。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

On my way to help my youngest daughter with her socks,

我去帮小女儿穿袜子时，

I noticed my oldest daughter was still on the porch reading.

看到大女儿还在门廊上读书，

Now I'm starting to lose it.

我开始发脾气了。

Her response?

她的回应？

"I didn't hear you."

“我没听见。”

But before I could say a word, I heard the piano start playing again.

我还没开口，就听见钢琴声又响起了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And that's the story of how I lost my mind.

这就是我如何失去理智的故事,

The end.

一言难尽。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I just wanted my daughters to take a little ownership

我只是想让女儿们有点主人翁意识，

for getting out the door on time.

能够主动准时出门。

But then I remembered something I teach management teams.

我想起了我教给管理层的知识——

You can't inspire accountability in others

你无法激发他人的责任感，

until you model it yourself.

除非你自己先以身作则。

That's when I realized I wasn't taking any accountability for this problem,

我意识到自己对此没有负一点责任，

I was blaming it totally on my daughters.

而是把它完全归咎于女儿们。

So I tried a different approach and looked in the mirror.

于是我尝试了另一种做法，照镜子反省。

What was I doing, or not doing,

我做或没做什么，

that may be contributing to this problem?

从而可能导致了这个问题？

Then it hit me.

然后我突然明白了。

I knew when they needed to be done breakfast, dressed,

虽然我知道她们什么时间 需要吃完早餐，穿好衣服，

groomed and ready to leave.

打扮好，准备出发。

But did they?

但她们知道吗？

I also knew what time it was,

我也知道那时是几点，

but there were no clocks in their bathrooms,

但她们浴室里没有钟，

which I discovered is like a different dimension from my girls

那里就像女儿们的另一维度空间，

where time ceases to exist.

在那里时间不复存在。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Solution.

解决方案。

I put big clocks everywhere

于是我到处都装上大时钟，

and posted the schedule in a common area.

并将时间表贴在大家活动的地方。

And you know what?

知道吗？

It actually worked.

很管用的。

Now we're not perfect at getting out the door in time,

我们在准时出门上还不够完美，

but it's much better than it was.

但比以前好多了。

I had fallen into the same trap

以前，我陷入了同样的陷阱，

that many people in leadership positions fall into,

许多领导者都会犯的错误，

which is blaming other people for a problem

就是将问题归咎于他人

without considering my part in it.

却不检讨自己的责任。

While working with leadership teams,

在与领导团队合作时，

I discovered three powerful habits that elevate the performance of others.

我发现了三种强大的习惯， 可以提升他人的表现。

I call it the three habits of personal accountability.

我称之为个人问责的三种习惯。

Habit one: Don't blame.

习惯一：别责备他人。

Habit two: Look in the mirror.

习惯二：照镜子反省。

Habit three: Engineer the solution.

习惯三：设计解决方案。

This sequence of habits has an almost magical effect on other people's behavior.

这些习惯对他人行为有近乎神奇的影响，

And you get better results.

因此你会得到更好的结果。

But this isn't just for CEOs and managers.

这不仅适用于首席执行官和经理们。

We're all trying to help others be better, right?

我们都在努力帮助他人变得更好，对吧？

As a parent, a coworker or a volunteer.

无论是作为父母、同事，或是志愿者。

Here's why these habits work.

下面是这些习惯产生影响的原因。

Habit one: Don't blame.

习惯一：别责备他人。

Think about the last time you blamed someone for something.

想想你上次为某件事责备某人，

How did it turn out?

结果如何？

Probably not well.

可能不是太好吧。

That's because our brains interpret blame

因为我们的大脑理解责备的方式

the same way they interpret a physical attack.

与理解物理攻击的方式相同。

Blame triggers the fight-or-flight response,

责备会触发战斗或逃跑反应，

which effectively shuts down our prefrontal cortex,

由此关闭我们的前额叶皮层——

which is the problem-solving part of our brain.

大脑中负责解决问题的部分。

So when I was getting angry at my daughters,

因此，当我跟女儿们生气时，

it wasn't motivating them.

她们并没有受到激励，

It was actually impairing their brain function.

她们的大脑功能反而被削弱。

Researcher Dr. Amy Edmondson studied hospital teams

研究员艾米·埃德蒙森（Amy Edmondson）博士 研究了医院的团队，

to see how culture affects people's willingness

以了解文化如何影响人们

to report medical errors.

举报医疗失误的意愿。

She expected that the high-performing teams would make fewer mistakes,

她预计表现出色的团队失误会更少，

but to her surprise,

但令她惊讶的是，

they reported more errors.

他们失误更多。

Why?

为什么？

Because when people aren't blamed for problems,

当人们不会因出问题受到指责时，

they're more willing to admit their mistakes and learn from them.

他们更愿意承认错误并从中吸取教训。

But in cultures of blame, people hide problems

但是在责备文化中，人们会隐瞒问题

or point their finger at someone else.

或指责他人。

No one is going to take accountability

没人会承担责任，

if they think they're going to be blamed for doing so.

如果大家认为自己会因此受到指责。

Blame destroys teamwork,

责备会破坏团队合作、

problem solving,

问题解决、

learning and initiative.

学习和主动性。

In other words, blame kills accountability.

换句话说，责备会扼杀责任担当。

So what should we do instead?

那么我们该怎么做呢？

Habit two: Look in the mirror.

习惯二：照镜子反省。

Most of us are really good at noticing other people's mistakes,

大多数人都很善于发现他人的过错，

but we're not so good at noticing how we contribute to problems.

但却不太擅长发现自己的责任。

One time, my assistant helped me mail out hundreds of expensive marketing packages

有一次，助手帮我向潜在客户 邮寄了数百份昂贵的

to prospective clients.

营销套餐资料。

Three weeks later, no responses.

三周后，我们仍没收到任何回应。

So I checked one of the cover letters.

我就查看了致函。

It read, "Dear Mr. Smith,

上面写着：“亲爱的史密斯先生，

[insert company name here.]"

[在这里插入公司名称。]”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

She missed one of the variable fields in every letter.

她漏掉了每封信中的这个变量字段，

Thousands of dollars down the drain.

数千美元就这么白白浪费了。

Now, she felt awful and said, "This is totally my fault."

她感觉很难受：“这全是我的错。”

I was thinking, "You are darn right this is totally your fault."

我心里想，“你太对了，全是你的错。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But then I looked in the mirror

但后来我照镜子反省，

and I realized I didn't highlight any of the variable fields in yellow

意识到我没用黄色标出 这批信件的任何变量字段，

like they are in all our other templates.

这是其他所有模板都遵循的程序。

If I had, she couldn't have missed it.

如果我遵循了，她就不会出错。

Now I'm not saying that every problem is my fault.

好吧，我并非说每个问题都是我的错，

But if I look closely enough at my problems,

但如果仔细审视，

I can usually discover how my actions or inactions

通常就能发现我的作为或不作为

contributed to them in some way.

在某种程度上导致了这些问题。

This is a profound insight

这是一个深刻的领悟，

because if I can see my part in a problem,

如果我看到了 自己在这个问题中的作用，

I can do something about it.

我就能采取相应的行动。

The next time you encounter a problem, try this.

下次你遇到问题时，试一试，

Ask yourself: How may I have contributed to this problem?

问问自己： 我是否有份造成了这个问题？

I taught these principles to a construction company,

我曾向一家建筑公司传授这些原则，

and followed up a few weeks later to see how things had changed.

并在几周后跟进，看看情况有无改善。

A project manager told me the following story.

项目经理给我讲了以下故事。

"Our general manager is a total blamer,

“我们的总经理总爱责备人，

and team meetings usually turn into blame sessions.

所以团队例会通常变成指责大会。

But the week after you taught us these principles,

但在你教了我们这些原则后，

that meeting went very differently.

下一周的例会变得不同寻常了。

When our general manager identified a problem,

当总经理发现问题，

he was about to lay into the person who he thought was responsible.

正要追究他认为应负责任的人时，

But then he stopped,

却又停了下来，

put his head in his hand for a moment,

把头埋在手里片刻，

then looked up and said,

然后抬起头说：

'This is how I think I contributed to the problem.'

“发生这个问题，我也有一定责任。”

The mood in that meeting changed instantly.

会议的气氛瞬间改变了，

And then I saw something I have never seen before.

然后我看到从未见过的场面。

Other people began raising their hand saying,

其他人开始举手说：

'No, boss, it wasn't just your fault.

“不，老板，这不只是你的错。

This is how I think I contributed to the problem.'"

我认为我也有一部分责任。’”

When leaders acknowledge their part in problems first

当领导者率先承认自己在问题中的责任，

it makes it safe for everybody else to do the same.

其他人也会放心地跟着认错。

And if nobody else follows suit,

而且，即使没有他人效仿跟进，

then you've earned the moral authority to ask,

因为你已赢得道德权威，就可以问责：

"And how may you have contributed to this problem?"

“你对这个问题有没有一定责任呢？”

Before others will allow us to hold them accountable,

在他人允许我们对其问责之前，

they must first see us hold ourselves accountable.

他们必须首先看到我们对自己问责。

Now what if the cause of your problem isn't what you think it is?

那么，如果问题起因并非如你所想呢？

Habit three: Engineer the solution.

习惯三：设计解决方案。

When bad things happen,

当问题出现时，

our brains are hardwired

我们的大脑会固执己见地

to blame the person closest to the mess and ignore other causes.

责备最接近混乱局面的人， 从而忽视其他原因。

Fortunately, there's a fix.

幸运的是，有一个解决办法，

It's called "systems thinking,"

叫做“系统思维”，

which is noticing how environment and processes influence behavior.

即注重环境和流程对行为的影响。

Systems thinking emerged toward the end of World War II,

系统思维在第二次世界大战 即将结束时出现，

when the US Air Force noticed

当时美国空军注意到

that a lot of their planes were crashing without any mechanical problems.

他们的许多飞机坠毁并非机械问题导致。

Their conclusion?

结论？

"Our pilots are idiots."

“我们的飞行员是笨蛋。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So they engaged some consultants

因此，他们聘请了一些顾问

to help them select less error-prone pilots.

来帮助他们挑选不易出错的飞行员。

When the consultants investigated,

当顾问进行调查时，

they discovered they didn't have a pilot problem.

发现空军没有飞行员问题，

They had a cockpit problem.

但是有驾驶舱问题。

For instance, pilots confused gear handles that looked and felt the same

例如，飞行员容易混淆 那些外观和感觉都一样的操作杆，

if they were located right beside each other.

尤其是当它们相邻时。

Or they mixed up controls

或者，飞行员会搞混那些控制装置，

if they were in a different position, in a different model of plane.

当它们装在驾驶舱的不同位置 或不同型号的飞机上。

Design better cockpits, the consultants concluded,

顾问们得出结论，设计更好的驾驶舱，

and you'll have fewer crashes.

这样就可以减少坠毁事故。

So the US Air Force engineered the solution

因此，美国空军设计出解决方案，

by simplifying cockpit design.

就是简化驾驶舱。

Similarly, when I stopped blaming my daughters,

同样，当我停止指责女儿时，

I noticed the environmental factors that were influencing their behavior.

我才注意到影响她们行为的环境因素，

I engineered the solution by putting up clocks and a schedule

并因此设计了时钟和时间表的解决方案，

so they had the information they needed to take the initiative.

这样她们就能获得采取主动所需的信息。

Instead of asking, "Whose fault is this?"

不要问“这是谁的错？”，

Ask: "Where did the process break down?"

而是问：“流程在哪里出现问题？”

This question is your secret weapon to short-circuit the blame game

这个问题是你终止指责游戏的秘密武器，

and find sustainable solutions to your problems.

用以找到解决问题的可持续方案。

Remember,

请记住，

you can't inspire accountability in others

你无法激发他人担责，

until you model it yourself.

除非你自己先树立担责榜样。

The next time you encounter a problem,

下次遇到问题时，

test this sequence of habits and watch it change your outcomes.

测试这些习惯， 看看它如何改变你的结果。

Don't blame.

别责备他人，

Look in the mirror. And engineer the solution.

照镜子反省， 然后设计解决方案。

Be the change

先改变自己，

that you want to see in others.

如果你希望他人改变。

Our world is in desperate need of more people

我们的世界迫切需要更多人

who take ownership of problems and solutions.

能够主导问题和解决方案。

In our workplaces,

无论是在我们的工作中，

our homes and in our society.

还是在家庭和社会中。

And the secret is,

而秘诀就是，

as you model these behaviors,

当你以身作则时，

so will those around you.

周围的人也会这样做。

It's kind of magic.

很神奇吧。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）