How to Act Quickly Without Sacrificing Critical Thinking

你有沒有過這樣的體驗(yàn)？在應(yīng)對(duì)工作中的問題時(shí)，如果反應(yīng)太快，無節(jié)制地采取緊急行動(dòng)可能適得其反，而且代價(jià)高昂，因?yàn)槟憧赡軙?huì)做出短視的決定或提出膚淺的解決方案，忽略了根本原因；而如果你過于謹(jǐn)慎，反應(yīng)遲緩，又會(huì)措手不及，可能會(huì)錯(cuò)過機(jī)會(huì)，或者被新挑戰(zhàn)耗盡精力。

An?unbridled urgency can be counterproductive and costly. If you’re too quick to react, you can end up with short-sighted decisions or superficial solutions, neglecting underlying causes and create collateral damage in the process. But if you’re too deliberative and slow to respond, you can get caught flat-footed, potentially missing an opportunity or allowing an emergent challenge to consume you.

為了平衡這兩個(gè)極端，你需要慎思型的緊急行動(dòng)——有意識(shí)地快速思考當(dāng)前優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)的能力——使最佳思維與最快速的行動(dòng)過程協(xié)調(diào)起來。在我指導(dǎo)各級(jí)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)解決各種管理困境的工作中，我制定了三種策略來踐行慎思型緊急行動(dòng)：

To balance these two extremes, you need?reflective urgency?— the ability to bring conscious, rapid reflection to the priorities of the moment —?to align your best thinking with the swiftest course of action. In my work, coaching leaders at every level through a variety of management dilemmas, I’ve developed three strategies to practice reflective urgency:

1.診斷你的緊急性陷阱

Diagnose your urgency trap

首先，你必須確定是什么限制了你的高質(zhì)量思考時(shí)間——習(xí)慣性的、無意識(shí)的、通常適得其反的方式。當(dāng)你因要求過多而感覺到壓力時(shí)，你會(huì)更加努力地推動(dòng)這些方式。

To get started, you need to identify?what’s limiting your quality thinking time — the?habitual, unconscious, and often counterproductive ways that you push harder to get ahead when you feel the pressure of too many demands.

常見的緊急性陷阱包括過早結(jié)束一次會(huì)議，卻帶著更多未完事項(xiàng)匆忙趕往下一場(chǎng)會(huì)議；在要求你全身心投入的工作中同時(shí)處理多項(xiàng)任務(wù)，這會(huì)降低你產(chǎn)出的質(zhì)量和精準(zhǔn)度；在應(yīng)當(dāng)適當(dāng)拒絕時(shí)，卻接下那些會(huì)削弱你貢獻(xiàn)、消耗你精力的項(xiàng)目。類似陷阱會(huì)讓你陷入分類取舍模式。在這種思維模式下，你很難抽出時(shí)間思考自己的意圖和行動(dòng)。

Common urgency traps include: ending one meeting prematurely, only to rush to the next one with more unfinished business; multitasking during work that requires your complete presence and full attention, which only diminishes the quality and accuracy of your output; saying yes to projects that dilute your contribution and burn your energy, when selectively saying no is the wiser choice. Traps like these keep you stuck in triage mode. In this mindset, taking time out to reflect on your intentions and actions feels like a luxury you can’t afford.

可是，如果你能發(fā)現(xiàn)陷阱，你就可以停止那些讓你一直處于高度急切狀態(tài)的弄巧成拙的習(xí)慣。

But if you’re able to spot your trap, then you can stop the self-defeating habits that keep you in a constant state of elevated urgency.

比如，詹娜是一位新任經(jīng)理，她在努力適應(yīng)這樣的殊死壓力：一邊要完成自己的工作，一邊又要讓團(tuán)隊(duì)對(duì)他們自己的工作負(fù)責(zé)。為了在不降低業(yè)績(jī)的情況下完成這一切，她的緊急性陷阱就是不自覺地向極端指揮控制轉(zhuǎn)變。用她的話說，“一切就像一場(chǎng)近在眼前的危機(jī)，所以我表現(xiàn)得就像這就是一場(chǎng)危機(jī)一樣?！?/p>

For example, Jenna was a new manager struggling to adjust to the dueling pressures of delivering her own work, while keeping the team accountable for theirs. Trying to get it all done without any drop?in performance, her urgency trap was an involuntary shift to extreme command-and-control. In her words, “Everything felt like an urgent crisis, so I acted like it was.”

這種心態(tài)引發(fā)了下意識(shí)的反應(yīng)，讓她過度參與已授權(quán)他人的工作，并通過為每封電子郵件、一對(duì)一對(duì)話和團(tuán)隊(duì)討論設(shè)置底線來進(jìn)行嚴(yán)厲的溝通。結(jié)果是，她的團(tuán)隊(duì)感到越來越多地受到微管理，貢獻(xiàn)的參與度也越來越低。由于詹娜的談話都是倉促而冷漠，她未能在團(tuán)隊(duì)中深化關(guān)系并建立信任。

This mindset triggered knee-jerk reactions to overinvolve herself in delegated work and to communicate harshly by bottom-lining every email, one-on-one conversation, and team discussion. The result was that her team felt increasingly micromanaged and less engaged in their contributions. And because Jenna’s conversations were all rushed and impersonal, she failed to deepen relationships and establish trust within the team.

為了不再以如此強(qiáng)烈的緊迫感進(jìn)行領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，詹娜做出了兩個(gè)改變。首先，她更善于從自己的經(jīng)歷中學(xué)習(xí)。當(dāng)需求激增時(shí)，她感到控制事物的本能是保持領(lǐng)先的一種手段，于是她一改之前的方式，堅(jiān)持在執(zhí)行前授權(quán)。在發(fā)送一封要求更新進(jìn)度的郵件之前，她會(huì)停下來查看已經(jīng)存在的時(shí)間表和任務(wù)完成協(xié)議。這幫助她避免了對(duì)團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行微管理，并騰出時(shí)間讓她專注于大局。

To stop leading with such an acute sense of urgency, Jenna made two changes. First, she got better at learning from her own experience. When demand spiked and she felt the instinct to control things as a means of staying ahead of the curve, she got out of her own way and followed through on previous delegation. Before sending an email to demand a progress update, she paused to review the timeline and task completion agreement already in place. This helped her avoid micromanaging the team, and it freed up time for her to focus on the big picture.

其次，詹娜養(yǎng)成了一種新的溝通習(xí)慣，讓她的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)氣質(zhì)從冷峻和過于直接轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)轱L(fēng)趣和支持。在每次談話或會(huì)議之前，她都會(huì)靜靜地思考兩個(gè)問題：我現(xiàn)在希望對(duì)團(tuán)隊(duì)產(chǎn)生什么影響？當(dāng)我走出房間時(shí)，我希望他們用什么詞來描述我的影響力？對(duì)詹娜來說，這兩個(gè)問題簡(jiǎn)單得足以立即開始應(yīng)用。暫停下來審視授權(quán)協(xié)議并考慮她的溝通影響，這樣的慎思行為足以將她帶出因緊急性陷阱而激發(fā)的慣性。

Second, Jenna implemented a new communication habit to shift her leadership presence from cold and excessively direct to engaging and supportive. Before each conversation or meeting, she quietly considered two questions:?What impact do I want to have on my team right now? When I walk out of the room, what words do I want them to use to describe my influence??For Jenna, these two questions?were straightforward enough to start applying immediately. The reflective act of pausing, to review delegation agreements and to consider her communication impact, was enough to jolt her out of the autopilot mode fueled by her urgency trap.

一旦診斷出自己的緊急性陷阱，你就可以在關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻進(jìn)行同樣謹(jǐn)慎的思考，從而打破這種模式。

Once you diagnose your own urgency trap, you can bring the same thoughtful reflection to your critical moments to disrupt the pattern.

如果你不知道自己面對(duì)的陷阱是什么，那就請(qǐng)回答以下問題：“當(dāng)我面臨的需求增加而能力不足時(shí)，我擁有的一個(gè)適得其反的習(xí)慣是……”一旦你確定了最初的行為，禁錮它的無效思維就會(huì)一目了然。

If you’re unaware of what?your trap is, answer the following prompt to explore it: “When the demands I face increase and my capacity is stretched thin, a counterproductive habit I have?is….” Once you pinpoint the initial behavior, the unproductive thinking that holds it in place will be evident.

2.要把重點(diǎn)放在正確的優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)上

Bring focus to the right priorities

另一個(gè)問題是有人會(huì)無意識(shí)地傾向于關(guān)注不太重要的工作——因?yàn)槲覀兿矚g或者擅長——卻以犧牲當(dāng)務(wù)之急為代價(jià)。麻省理工學(xué)院富有影響力的教授和組織思想家克里斯·阿吉里斯（Chris Argyris）表明，當(dāng)我們未能認(rèn)識(shí)自我并挑戰(zhàn)自我去解決這些問題時(shí)，這樣的常規(guī)行為會(huì)成為公認(rèn)的規(guī)范。

Another problem is the unconscious tendency to focus on less important work,?because we enjoy it or we’re good at it, at the expense of our highest priorities. Chris Argyris, the influential MIT professor and organizational thinker,?showed how?routine behaviors like this?can become accepted norms when we fail to recognize and challenge ourselves to address them.

馬庫斯也是如此，他是一位執(zhí)著于管理任務(wù)的高級(jí)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。他越忙碌，就越容易陷入戰(zhàn)術(shù)模式，以便盡快核銷待辦清單中的事情。這讓他覺得工作富有成效，但不將任務(wù)授權(quán)于人，意味著他永遠(yuǎn)沒有時(shí)間集中關(guān)注長期戰(zhàn)略問題。

This was true for Marcus, a senior leader who developed a habit of obsessing over administrative tasks. The busier he got, the more he slipped into tactical mode, in order to get things checked off his to-do list as quickly as possible. It helped him feel productive, but?failing to delegate these tasks meant he never had time to focus on longer-term, strategic issues.

為了改變這種模式，馬庫斯在關(guān)鍵過渡期進(jìn)行了快速的現(xiàn)實(shí)測(cè)試。任務(wù)是填好這句話：“我禁不住想做……但我知道我應(yīng)該專注于……”

To shift this pattern, Marcus applied a quick reality test during pivotal moments of transition throughout his day. The task was to fill in the blanks to?complete this sentence: “I’m tempted to work on…, but I know I should focus on…”

這個(gè)問題似乎非常簡(jiǎn)單。但對(duì)馬庫斯來說，這個(gè)問題的簡(jiǎn)單易行可以幫助他將深思與快速行動(dòng)結(jié)合起來。這句話中的深思可以引導(dǎo)人做出慎重的選擇，這種選擇不是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)情況緊急，或輕松的任務(wù)完成起來令人愉悅，而是因?yàn)樗\實(shí)地評(píng)估了自己的最高優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)。

On the surface, this question seems obvious. But for Marcus, it was precisely the?simplicity and ease of application that helped him combine reflection with quick action. The thoughtfulness embedded in the statement triggered a deliberative choice,?one dictated not by the urgencies of the moment or easy tasks that felt gratifying to accomplish, but by his honest assessment of his highest priorities.

3.避免過度傾斜

Avoid extreme tilts

在理想世界里，你會(huì)順暢地將深思轉(zhuǎn)為行動(dòng)，但現(xiàn)實(shí)世界不是這個(gè)樣子。你無法減少面臨的要求，也不能在應(yīng)對(duì)這些要求時(shí)，不計(jì)后果地放棄無節(jié)制的緊急心動(dòng)。不過，你可以認(rèn)識(shí)到，并非每個(gè)問題都需要相同的方法。根據(jù)情況的不同，你可以有意識(shí)地精細(xì)調(diào)減或調(diào)增深思和緊急行動(dòng)所需的元素。

In a perfect world, you would fluidly pivot from reflection to action, but that’s not the world you inhabit. You cannot reduce the demands you face, nor can you afford to attack them with the reckless abandon of unchecked urgency. But you can recognize that not every issue requires the same approach. Depending on the situation, you can consciously, and subtly, turn down or dial up the required elements of reflection and urgency.

春子是一家科技公司的銷售副總裁。在一個(gè)重大的新產(chǎn)品發(fā)布過程中，他知道他必須仔細(xì)考慮團(tuán)隊(duì)的戰(zhàn)略，但難以如期完成任務(wù)的壓力始終存在。結(jié)果，春子在謹(jǐn)慎思考與緊急行動(dòng)兩個(gè)極端之間搖擺不定。在某些問題上，他過于深思熟慮，沉迷于細(xì)節(jié)，陷入分析的泥潭。結(jié)果，他顯得冷淡，對(duì)他人漠不關(guān)心，對(duì)新出現(xiàn)的問題反應(yīng)遲緩且無效。可是在其他問題上，他轉(zhuǎn)向了緊急行動(dòng)。由于心存“先反應(yīng)，后思考”的心態(tài)，春子花在清理倉促?zèng)Q定上的時(shí)間，比花在做決定上的時(shí)間更多。

Haruto?was the VP of sales for a technology company. In the midst of a major new product launch, he knew that he had to think very carefully about his team’s strategy, but the pressure of impossible deadlines was constant. As a result, Haruto vacillated between the extremes of thoughtful reflection and urgent action. On some issues he flexed toward too much deliberation, got lost in the details, and became bogged down with analysis paralysis. As a result, he?appeared aloof and indifferent to others, and his response to emerging issues was slow and ineffective. But with other issues, he swung toward urgency. With a mindset of “react first, think later,” Haruto spent more time cleaning up his hasty decisions than he did making them.

春子認(rèn)識(shí)到，他需要停止鐘擺式的搖擺，平衡兩種情況。為此，他采用了六四開的邏輯形式，提高情境靈活性。對(duì)于每一種舉措，他評(píng)估了成功是更依賴于緊急行動(dòng)還是更依賴于深思熟慮。如果春子確定需要將60%的注意力集中在行動(dòng)上（比如，策略性的日常工作），他會(huì)縮短工作時(shí)間和專注力以提高效率。可是，如果謹(jǐn)慎行事更重要，行動(dòng)只占40%（比如，定義關(guān)系的時(shí)刻、涉及具體創(chuàng)新的工作等），他會(huì)擴(kuò)充時(shí)間，深化注意力，以便動(dòng)態(tài)思考。

Haruto recognized that he needed to stop the pendulum swing and focus more on the subtle tilts toward greater urgency in some cases and a reflective stance in others. To do this, he used a 60/40 breakdown as a logic model to increase his situational agility. For each initiative, he assessed whether success relied more on urgent action or thoughtful reflection. If he determined that a 60% focus on action was required (e.g., for tactical, routine work), Haruto?would shrink the time and attention devoted to the work in order to favor efficiency. But if deliberation mattered more and action was only valued at 40% (e.g., for relationship-defining moments, innovation-specific work, etc.), he expanded the time and deepened his focus to allow for dynamic thinking.

在某些情況下，這事很簡(jiǎn)單，只需在議程上加上20分鐘，以避免受到誘惑匆忙行事，把考慮了一半的問題擱置在桌上。在其他情況下，這意味著安排較短的會(huì)議或設(shè)定自我規(guī)定的時(shí)間表，以免迷失。

In some cases this was as simple as adding 20 minutes to an agenda to avoid the temptation to rush and leave half-considered issues on the table. In other instances it was a matter of scheduling shorter meetings, or setting self-imposed timelines to not?get lost in the weeds.

當(dāng)你評(píng)估日常責(zé)任時(shí)，避免忍不住對(duì)每種舉措都統(tǒng)一處理。如果你明白自己需要兩者的最佳結(jié)合——而且完美的對(duì)半開是不現(xiàn)實(shí)的——那就請(qǐng)根據(jù)需要，稍稍向深思和行動(dòng)傾斜，以獲得適當(dāng)?shù)钠胶狻?/p>

As you evaluate your daily responsibilities, avoid the temptation to treat every initiative the same. Knowing that you need the best of both — and that a perfect 50/50 split is unrealistic — make the subtle tilts toward reflection and action as needed to get the balance right.

像詹娜、馬庫斯和春子一樣，你可以在任何時(shí)間、以任何順序采取這些措施，以提高你采取慎思型緊急行動(dòng)的能力。當(dāng)你將這些微觀思考與高度的緊迫感結(jié)合起來的時(shí)候，你的果決與影響速度將不會(huì)受制于適得其反的習(xí)慣和無意識(shí)的疏忽大意，而你在沒有進(jìn)行最佳思考的情況下就采取行動(dòng)時(shí)，這些習(xí)慣和疏忽就會(huì)發(fā)生。

Like Jenna, Marcus, and Haruto, you can take these steps, at any time and in any sequence, to increase your capacity for reflective urgency. When you combine these microreflections with a heightened sense of urgency, your decisiveness and speed to impact will not be at the mercy?of the counterproductive habits and unconscious oversights that occur when you act without your best thinking.

關(guān)鍵詞：自管理

杰西·索斯特林（Jesse Sostrin）| 文?

杰西·索斯特林是普華永道卓越領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力指導(dǎo)中心（Leadership Coaching Center of Excellence）的主任，著有《職位描述之外》（Beyond the Job Description）、《在工作中重塑溝通》（Re-Making Communication at Work）和《管理者的困境》（The Manager’s Dilemma）。

永年 | 譯?? 孫燕 | 校?? 劉雋 | 編輯