回想一下上次你聽過的畢業典禮演講。就算記不清內容,估計也就是勇往直前不怕萬難之類的老話。用意當然是好的,但說白了,越聽越想打瞌睡。 那么,去年哈佛大學教育學院院長詹姆斯.E.萊恩的畢業典禮講話是為何能成為一股清流(僅僅在Facebook上就廣為轉發,瀏覽量超過800萬)?因為他簡明扼要地談到五大問題,不僅對工作,對個人生活的方方面面都至關重要。 萊恩的新著《人生思考題:哈佛教育學院院長提出的5+1個人生重要問題》(Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions)正是基于那次演講而作。書的篇幅不長,坐飛機從紐約飛到匹茲堡的時間就能讀完,其中包含的真知灼見卻發人深省(而且趣味橫生),讀者可從中了解五大關鍵問題如何影響每個人的生活和事業。 Monster最近與萊恩聊到如何適時提出這些問題,幫助在事業上做出明智決定,避免決策失誤。 排在第一位的問題“等等,你說什么?”看來和求職息息相關,不是嗎? 當然,因為要請對方解釋工作內容,增進互相了解,便可以用這句話開頭。求職者,尤其是年輕人都希望表現得自信,所以不敢多問應聘的工作實際性質,結果一上手才發現各種意料之外。 求職者不應該畏首畏尾,請直截了當地提出一系列問題,比如你會有大的自主權,上下級匯報關系,用人單位希望你工作多少時間,以及具體的工作內容等等。 求職者很容易想當然地以為自己勝任某份工作,實際上卻不適合,發揮不了自己才能。這種情況一定是出了問題。 “我想知道……?”對求職有什么影響? 求職者的搜索范圍常常太過狹窄,沒法全面地認識自己的技能和才華。所以,為了充分挖掘潛力,求職時不妨多問問自己“我有沒有可能做這種工作”。 很重要的一點是經常問。有了一定資歷后,職場中人的好奇心會變少,更愿意維持現狀。我剛擔任教育學院院長時完全沒有相關工作背景(此前在弗吉尼亞大學法學院任教15年),于是我經常問“我想知道……”,問得實在太多,我相信當時應該讓很多人厭煩。但在大部分企業里,這個問題還是問得太少。 從您的書來看, “至少,我們是不是能夠……?”好像是您最看重的問題。為什么? 我確實最愛問這個問題,不管是在工作場合還是在家。無論什么新項目,你都無法預見到最后的結果。但如果要等到完美無缺的方案再行動,項目可能會一直停滯,連啟動的機會都不一定有。因此,多問問“至少,我們是不是能夠……?”起碼能立刻開始。 解決紛爭時,“至少,我們是不是能夠……?”也是個好問題。通過問“至少,我們是不是能同意……?”,可以找出各方共同的立場。這是擱置爭議重新行動起來的好辦法。 為什么“我能幫什么忙?”這個問題在職場很重要? 首先,這是真誠主動地提出幫助。大多數人會說“有幫得上忙的地方就叫我”,簡直就是在暗示對方別來麻煩自己。其次,這是問具體什么地方可以幫忙,鼓勵對方想清楚哪里需要幫助。有時人們只是需要發泄,這時認真傾聽也是一種幫助。 讓我們從職業發展的角度談談“真正重要的是什么?”這個問題。能有什么幫助? 這個問題對求職特別有幫助,因為可以理清重點。你想在哪里生活?你能忍受通勤花多長時間?你想靠這份工作掙多少錢,或者需要掙多少?在事業與生活平衡對你有多重要? 誠實面對自己,如果工作相關條件跟你的真心答案并不不符合,就鼓起勇氣拒絕。很多人之所以工作不開心,正是因為入職以前沒認真考慮哪些對自己最重要。 這個問題也適用于工作中一些場景,比如開會。如果在開會前你已經想清楚真正重要的是什么,如何實現,開會的效果會好得多。一旦想清楚,或許你會發現有些問題根本不需要開會解決。(財富中文網) 譯者:Pessy 審稿:夏林 |
Think back to the last graduation speech you heard. Even if you can’t remember it, it’s probably safe to assume it was a pretty cliché potpourri of go-forth-and-conquer platitudes, well meant but, let’s be honest, snooze-inducing. So how does a commencement address like the one given last year by James E. Ryan, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, stand out (and go viral with more than 8 million views on Facebook alone)? By keeping it simple, succinctly covering five questions he believes are vital, not only at work, but also everywhere else in life. Based on that speech, Ryan’s new book, Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions, takes only about as long to read as, say, a flight from New York to Pittsburgh. But it’s packed with thought-provoking (and often funny) insights about the power those five questions can have in shaping lives and careers. Monster recently spoke with Ryan about how asking the right questions can help anyone make great career decisions and avoid bad ones. The first question on your list, “Wait, what?”, seems especially relevant to a job search. Is it? Definitely because it’s the first step to clarification and understanding. People looking for a job, especially young people, want to seem confident, so they don’t ask for enough details about what a job will actually be like—and then, once they start [the job], they’re surprised. Don’t hesitate to ask about things like how much independence you’ll have, the reporting relationships, the hours you’ll be expected to put in, and exactly what you’ll be doing. It’s so easy to make assumptions that put you in a job that’s wrong for you, where you aren’t at your best, and that’s always a mistake. How does asking, “I wonder if…?” affect a job hunt? Often, the scope of someone’s job search is too narrow because it doesn’t take into account all of the skills and talents people bring with them. So looking at lots of different possibilities and asking yourself, “I wonder if I could do that,” can be really useful. It’s also important to keep asking. People in midcareer tend to be less curious and more inclined to stick with the status quo. Coming into this job as dean of graduate school [after 15 years of teaching at the University of Virginia School of Law], I was a total outsider, and I asked, “I wonder if…” so often that I’m sure I annoyed lots of people. But in most organizations, the question isn’t asked enough. Your book makes “Couldn’t we at least…?” seem like perhaps your favorite question. Why is that? It is! I ask it all the time—at work and at home. With any new project, you usually can’t see how it will turn out in the end. But if you wait until you have the perfect plan, something new can stall out before it’s even begun. So “Couldn’t we at least…?” is how you begin to make progress. “Couldn’t we at least…?” is also a great question for getting past conflicts. It’s a way to find common ground, as in, “Couldn’t we at least agree…?” It’s a good way to get unstuck. Why is “How can I help?” important at work? First, it’s a sincere offer. Most people say, “Let me know if I can help,” which comes across almost as a signal not to ask! Second, it’s asking for specifics, which obliges the other person to focus on what they actually need. Sometimes, someone just needs to vent, which can be helpful in its own way. Let’s talk about “What truly matters?” from a career standpoint. How does this question help? It’s particularly useful in a job search because it’s about your priorities. Where do you want to live? How long of a commute can you tolerate? How much money do you really want to make, or need to make? How much does work-life balance matter to you? Be honest with yourself, and have the courage not to accept a job offer that doesn’t correspond with your honest answers. The reason so many people are unhappy in their work is that they didn’t look hard enough at what really matters to them before they took their current jobs. This question also helps in work situations, like meetings. If you go into a meeting thinking about what is really important and how to accomplish that, you’ll get a lot more out of it. Or you may realize you don’t need to have the meeting at all. |