Blame Culture Is Toxic“責備文化”貽害無窮

邁克爾·蒂姆斯/文　肖爽/譯

Picture this： Your team is racing against time1 and working weekends to submit a new client proposal. You finally manage to put all the documents together， and just in the nick of time， you press “send.” You take a deep breath and thank the team for their hard work. The proposal looks great and you’re confident that you’ll probably win it.

設想一下：你的團隊犧牲了周末時間，只為爭分奪秒完成一份新的客戶提案。終于，你整理好所有文件，在最后一刻按下“發送”鍵。你深吸了一口氣，感謝大家的辛勤付出。提案看起來很不錯，你自信有把握贏得客戶。

A week later， you get an email from the client： “We really liked your bid. We would’ve love to go ahead with your company， but we found a mismatch in your numbers and the supporting documents. We’re pressed for time， so we’ve decided to move forward with someone else. I’m sure we’ll be able to work together in the future.”

一周過后，你收到了客戶的郵件：“我們非常喜歡這個提案，本打算與貴公司合作，但后來發現貴公司的數據與證明文件有一處不符。由于時間緊迫，就選擇了其他公司。我相信今后我們還有機會合作。”

You’re upset， frustrated， and angry. You call your team in， give them an earful2 about not checking the package correctly， and storm out of the room.

你心煩意亂、沮喪憤怒，召集團隊成員，訓斥他們沒有好好檢查項目文件，然后憤然離席。

What kind of an impression did you leave？ Your team probably thinks you’re thankless and unkind. They put a lot of work into that proposal and may even feel like they hate you in the moment. Your relationship may be irreversibly damaged.

你給人留下了怎樣的印象？大家可能覺得你不知感恩、不近人情。大伙兒也為這份提案付出了很多心血，在那一刻，甚至可能對你心生怨恨。你們的關系或許就此出現裂痕，無法挽回。

No matter how nice you think you are， every unkind word or angry tone that escapes your lips undoes five times the amount of good your kind words and actions may have done.

無論你認為自己多么和善，你當時脫口而出的一句惡語、發泄出的一分怒氣會抵消你以往五倍的善言善行。

There are two big challenges to overcoming blame：

要克服責人之心，我們面臨著兩大挑戰：

Humans are wired to blame.

責備乃人之天性。

We are all naturally wired to blame other people or circumstances when things go wrong. These propensities are partially psychological， driven by something called the fundamental attribution bias3. We tend to believe that what people do is a reflection of who they are， rather than considering there may be other factors （social or environmental） influencing their behavior.

一旦事情出錯，我們自然而然地怪罪于他人或者環境。在一定程度上，這種傾向是由一種叫做“基本歸因偏差”的心理因素所造成。我們通常認為一個人的所作所為反映了其本性，卻忽視了影響人之行為的其他因素（社會因素或環境因素）。

This is why when major workplace disasters are reported in the news， “human error” is often the first， and sometimes only， explanation provided， ignoring the systemic factors that led to the failure. It also feels the most satisfying. If someone else is to blame for our problems， then they need to change—not us.

這就是為什么每次新聞報道重大工作事故時，“人為錯誤”往往是第一解釋，有時甚至是唯一解釋，完全忽略了導致事故的系統性因素。如此說法，往往最令人滿意。倘若問題是他人造成的，那么他人需要改變，而非我們。

There is also a biological explanation for our inclination to blame. Recent brain imaging research out of Duke University shows that positive events are processed by the prefrontal cortex， which takes a while and tends to conclude that good things happen by fluke. Negative events， on the other hand， are processed by the amygdala， which controls our fight-or-flight response4. The amygdala usually concludes that bad things happen on purpose， and it comes to this conclusion lightning fast. So fast， in fact， that we don’t even notice we’re making an assumption; we just know that the person closest to the problem must have done it on purpose！

這種責備傾向在生物學上也找得到依據。杜克大學最近的大腦成像研究表明，前額葉皮層負責應對積極事件，反應一段時間后，傾向于判定好事都是出于僥幸。而控制戰斗或逃跑反應的杏仁核則負責應對負面事件，通常立馬得出結論，判定壞事是故意為之。事實上，這結論下得如此之快，我們甚至都意識不到自己只是在做假設，便一口咬定出事的人是故意為之！

We blame more than we think.

我們比自認為的更愛責備。

This leads to the second problem with blame—we don’t notice how often we do it. Even the best executives I work with confess that they initially thought my “don’t blame” message was important for their team members to hear， but not them. However， once they began tracking how often they blame other people or circumstances for problems， they were shocked at how frequently they caught themselves in the act.

這就引出了責備的第二個問題：我們意識不到自己多么受怨天尤人。即使是我合作過的最優秀的高管也承認，他們最初認為我提出的“不要責備”是講給其團隊成員聽的，而非他們自己。可是，一旦他們開始記錄自己多少次將問題怪罪于他人或者環境，就會對自己屢屢做出這種行為感到震驚。

This behavior unfortunately leads their teams down a negative spiral. Our brains interpret blame the same way they interpret a physical attack. When we’re blamed， our prefrontal cortices effectively shut down and direct all our energy to defending ourselves， which， ironically， sabotages our ability to solve the problem for which we are being blamed.

不幸的是，這樣下去會使整個團隊陷入惡性循環。我們的大腦應對責備就跟應對身體受到攻擊一樣。受到責備時，前額葉皮層會及時關閉，將所有精力投入自衛，諷刺的是，這又恰恰削弱了我們解決受指責之問題的能力。

Blame also kills healthy， accountable behaviors. Nobody will take accountability for5 problems if they think they’ll be punished for doing so. Furthermore， learning and problem solving go out the window6 in workplaces that tolerate blame. Instead of learning from mistakes， blamed employees tend to hide their mistakes.

責備也會扼殺健康、負責任的行為。早知道要受到懲罰，就沒人會愿意主動擔責。此外，在一個動不動就興師問罪的工作環境里，人也會對學習懈怠起來，不去積極解決問題。受責罵的員工往往不會吸取教訓，反而會掩蓋錯誤。

So what can we do？

那么，我們能做些什么？

Eliminate blame culture on your team.

肅清團隊中的“責備文化”

Here are two simple changes you can adopt to promote a blame-free culture on your team， especially as a manager.

可以采取以下兩種簡單的方法在團隊中推廣“無責備文化”，此法尤其適用于管理者。

Switch your mindset to “We’re all still learning，” and share your mistakes.

轉變心態為“我們都還在學習”，坦言自己犯過錯誤。

We all make mistakes from time to time. It’s what makes us human. No good comes from blaming and shaming each other for our imperfect nature. You benefited from learning from your mistakes， so allow others to do the same. Use problems and mistakes as teaching moments， not shaming moments. If you’re a manager， discuss your own mistakes and the lessons learned from them. Doing so creates a psychological safe space that will encourage others to follow suit. When a problem surfaces， teammates will be more likely to acknowledge their part in creating them and stop passing the buck7.

人人都有犯錯的時候，這是人之為人的特質。為了不完美的人性而相互指責和羞辱，實在是于事無補。你能從自己的錯誤中有所收獲，那么也應該允許其他人這樣做。以問題和錯誤為契機進行學習，而非羞辱。如果你是管理者，不妨分享一下自己犯過的錯誤以及從中吸取的教訓。這樣做可以構建一個心理安全空間，鼓勵他人效仿。一旦出現問題，隊友會更愿意主動擔當，不再推卸責任。

For example， you could conduct regular lessons learned debriefs8 at the end of a project with your team to understand what went wrong， what it is attributed to， and how you will use that information to move forward with a stronger strategy. This is how you teach others to approach problems from a place of kindness and compassion. Remember that just one negative outburst can set you five steps back.

例如，你可以在項目結束后與團隊進行定期的“經驗教訓”匯報，分析問題出在哪兒，原因是什么，以及如何借用這些前車之鑒來推行更有效的策略。通過這種方式，你才能教人本著善良和同情心來面對問題。記住，僅僅是一次負面情緒的爆發就會讓你前功盡棄。

Focus on what you can change.

專注于你能改變的事。

You can’t change other people. In fact， attempting to do so will only encourage them to resist your efforts. When we blame others for our problems， it kills accountability in ourselves by making us passive victims， and it kills accountability in others by encouraging them to pass the buck.

你無法改變他人。實際上，試圖這樣做只會增加對方的抵觸。當我們委罪于人，一方面會因塑造自己為被動的受害者而使自己的責任心消減，另一方面會因促使他人推卸責任而使他人的責任心也消減。

Before passing on the blame， consider a system’s approach to your problem—that means， defining the problem taking into consideration the entire problem as a whole， not in parts. Weak leaders might ask “Who’s at fault？” but strong leaders， using a systems approach， would ask， “Where did the process break down？” The solutions to your organization’s problems are more likely to be found by examining what’s wrong with your systems than by examining what’s wrong with your employees.

在推卸責任之前，請試著用系統的眼光看待問題，也就是說，界定問題時要考慮全局，而非局部。愚拙的領導可能會問：“是誰的錯？”而高明的領導縱觀全局，可能會問：“是哪個環節掉了鏈子？”要解決你所在機構的難題，答案往往在制度的失靈之處，而非員工的失誤之處。

We may not cause all our own problems， but our past actions or inactions often contribute to the problems of our future， the ones that we are most likely to blame on others. Anytime you encounter a problem—even one you are certain was caused by someone else—ask yourself question： “How may I have contributed to this problem？ How can I approach this situation， this person， and myself， with a generous mindset？” Asking these questions will give you ideas around how to prevent this problem from reoccurring， and how to discuss it in a way that promotes trust as opposed to fear or contempt.

我們的問題或許并非都是自己一手造成，但過去的作為或者不作為往往埋下了未來的禍根，到時候最有可能怪罪其他人。每當你遇到問題，就算你確信這問題是別人造成的，也要捫心自問：“出了這個問題，我負有什么樣的責任？我怎樣才能以寬容之心來面對這種情況、這個人和我自己？”如此自省會給你啟示：怎樣避免問題再次發生，怎樣在討論問題的時候構建互信，而非引發恐懼或者招致輕蔑。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者；單位：香港中文大學）

1 race against time與時間賽跑；爭分奪秒。? 2 give sb an earful訓斥。

3 the fundamental attribution bias基本歸因偏差，是指人們傾向于把他人所有的行為都歸因于人格特質而忽略了環境因素。

4 fight-or-flight response戰斗或逃跑反應，又稱“戰跑反應”，指對威脅的感知引發一連串的生理變化，使身體處于高度戒備狀態，要么“戰斗”，要么“逃跑”。

5 take accountability for對……負責。? 6 go out （of） the window完全消失，不再存在。

7 pass the buck 推卸責任；踢皮球。? 8 debrief詳細詢問，盤問（執行任務的情況）。