May 22, 2022

「別給我問題，給我解答」的問題 - 2

Require problem statements instead of complaints. Although you should want people to alert you to potential issues, they need to learn how to distinguish between raising a valid concern and simply complaining. Complaints are stated in absolutes, such as always and never, rather than in concrete facts. They lack accountability and often have villains (them) and heroes (us). And they often don’t look beyond the surface of the issue. For example, “Group Blue never hits their deadlines, and we’re always left holding the bag⁷” is a complaint. It makes an absolute statement, identifies a villain, and doesn’t show any accountability on the part of the speaker.

要求成員以「問題」來回報，而不是「抱怨」。雖然你是要人們告訴你潛在的問題，但他們也需要學習分辨什麼是合理的「問題回報」及「純屬報怨」。報怨通常會以「絕對」這種表達法起頭，像是「總是」或是「從不」，而不是就事論事。這些人也通常缺乏當責的思維，會認為自己就是惡棍，受害者或是英雄。例如，「藍隊從來沒有在時程內完成任務，而且我們總是要為他們背黑鍋或擦屁股」就是個不折不扣的報怨。因為這裡面充滿了"絕對"的思維，而且報怨者也很明確的指出誰是惡棍，自己完全沒有任何責任(是受害者)。

Problem statements, on the other hand, provide objective facts, examine underlying factors and causes, and reveal everyone’s role in creating the problem, even the person presenting it. A problem statement for the same issue would be something like this: “In the past six months, Group Blue has missed deadlines four times, by an average of 6.5 days. In two cases we were also unprepared to meet the deadline. However, in the other two cases our group completed our part of the project on time, but we had to work weekends to integrate Blue’s late work so that it wouldn’t impact the customer.”

相反的，如果是「問題回報」的敘述方式，就會提供有明確目標的事實，會仔細深挖事實背後的成因及環境，並界定清楚這個問題中的每個人，甚至是回報者自己，扮演了什麼角色。剛剛的『藍隊』的例子中，「問題回報」的描述就會像這樣：「在過去6個月裡，藍隊錯失了該有的時程4次，而且平均延遲了6.5天。其中2次我們也沒有任何準備可以應對這個問題，但在另外2次的狀況，我們完成了我們的部分，但為了不要影響用戶，我們必須要在假日加班，協助藍隊整合他們延遲的部分，才能在時程的要求下準時交付產品。

When the issue is presented in the form of a problem statement, it’s much easier to spot the pattern of repeated delays. Because the presenters acknowledge⁸ their part in the problem, you know they’re open to being part of solution, not just blaming others. This allows everyone to dig in deeper and identify the root cause of the issue. Perhaps Group Blue needs more resources or isn’t receiving the information they need to complete their work on time. Or maybe the way projects are scheduled fails to account for unexpected events.

當潛在的危機是以「回報問題」的型式被適當的回報時，我們就比較容易對焦到錯失時程的模式是怎麼一回事。因為回報問題的人清楚的回報了這個問題的事實部分，而且他們也以開放的心態，成為解決方案的一部分，而不單純只是問責他人。這樣的過程讓大家都對同樣的問題有更深的理解，也更容易挖到根因。也許藍隊是需要更多的資源，或是單純沒收到足夠的資訊，也或許他們是遭遇到時程以外非預期的插件，才會導致他們無法準時趕上時程。

Find the right person or people to solve the issue. When an employee brings you a problem, consider its scope and that person’s ability to solve it. If they can singlehandedly⁹ tackle the challenge, maybe they just need your approval before proceeding. Or they may need you to coach them on how to think about the situation and broaden the field of potential solutions.

找到對的人來解決問題。當員工帶著問題而來，我們可以評估一下這個問題的牽涉範圍和這個員工的能力。如果這個員工其實一個人就可以妥善的解決這個問題，也許他只是要在動手前獲得你的許可。或是他只是需要你的指導，如何分析這個問題，或是擴展可能的解法範圍。

If the size of the problem is beyond their ability to solve, someone else might be better suited for the challenge, or people across departments may need to collaborate. In some cases, the problem might be so important or visible that you need to stay involved. Based on the situation, you can coach the individual to stretch their abilities and tackle the challenge; thank them for raising the issue and assign it to the appropriate people to resolve; or bring together several groups to address it.

如果這個問題的範圍已超過這個員工的能力所及，我們就得開始思考更適合接受這個挑戰的人，或是需要考慮跨部門的協作來處理。有時問題比想像中的還要重要或是顯眼，需要你持續關注它，這時你就可以嘗試指導成員，延展他的能力圈，接受這次挑戰。這些問題能讓員工帶來討論，讓我們能找適合的人處理它，或是找幾個團隊一起處理它，都是值得感謝的事。

Your employees are always going to encounter problems. By inviting people to surface problems early, often, and constructively, you reduce fear and increase empowerment and the speed of problem resolution. As Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei says, “Identifying problems can be a solo sport, but finding solutions rarely is.”

員工總是會遇到問題的。但讓他們能早點，經常，有建設性的把問題浮現出來，你不但是在減少員工對「問題」的恐懼，而且也是在增進他們提出解決方案的能力。就像哈佛商學院教授Frances Frei說的：「找出問題可以是單人運動，但找到解法很少能單打獨鬥」。