想解決問題，就問問題

創造力，Creativity，是過去兩年求職網站LinkedIn 刊登的履歷表中最常用到的形容詞。請這樣想：「創造力」就是發現問題和解決問題的能力。

進入本文前，請先想想以下單字：

A 重新定位

B 綜合

C 動搖

Creativity— the ability to identify problems and construct quick fixes—is being (A)recast as a prized and teachable skill. Laura Pappano indicatedthat“ creative” has been the word of choice in LinkedIn profiles two yearsstraight.

知名作家和記者Laura Pappano 寫道：「創造力—發現問題和有效解決問題的能力—已被重新定位是最有價值和可以被訓練的技巧。」「『創意』是過去兩年，熱門求職網站LinkedIn 所刊登的履歷表中最常用到的形容詞。」她說。

“Improving creative thinking skills is the key to improving businessperformance.” says management consultant John Caneld. What dierentiatesoutstanding and mediocre organizations is whether they know and howeective creative thinking is encouraged.

管理顧問John Canfield:「提高創造性思維能力是提高經營績效的關鍵。」機構好壞的差別在於，知不知道如何鼓勵員工更有效地思考。

Content knowledge evolves quicker than meets the eye, therefore it’s crucial for business executives to develop the ability to push their teams beyond (B) synthesis and evaluation—the building blocks of critical thinking—and come up with truly creative strategies for reframing challenges and transforming information. Here are a few places to start：

批判性思考的基礎，是企業管理人在內容知識快速變動的情況下，須具備推動團隊超越綜合評比的能力—也就是批判思考的建構—並且為重新規畫的挑戰和不斷變換的訊息提出真正有創意的策略。可以從以下幾個方向開始：

1. Using questions to solve problems. Instead of starting with, “We’re not reaching our sales target,” begin by questioning on everything relating to the current process. Who is involved, what is the fundamental hypothesis and whether there is room for experimentation? Get your team into the “think of problems as questions” mindset, so they shift away from the typical and come up with new ideas and strategies.

1.用問題來解決問題。與其說「我們沒有達到目標數字」，不如盡你所能地問目前的進度。誰參與、基本假設是什麼，以及還可以如何嘗試不同的東西？讓你的團隊去思考需要解答的問題，讓他們擺脫陳腐的策略，並提出一些新的想法和策略。

2. Don’t shoot an idea down immediately. As the leader, your opinion is the weight behind your team’s survival. When you pass a judgment on something, you are more likely to (C)sway others based on your status rather than the quality of your argument. Canfield suggests being the final speaker so your team can wrestle with an idea before you pass judgment. When you do speak, find at least three positives even if the initial response was negative. This will challenge you to think outside the box and model effective, creative brainstorming for your team.

2.不要立刻否定主意。作為領導者，你的意見在團隊中很有分量，所以當你宣布決定時，你很可能會動搖別人—因為你的職位，而不是你論點的優劣。Canfield建議，領導者要當最後的發言人，讓你的團隊在你傳達決策前可以和想法搏鬥。當你真的開口講話，至少試圖找出建議的3項正面反應，即使你最初的反應是負面的。這將使你挑戰跳脫框架思考，並為你的團隊建立有效又有創意的腦力激盪模式。

3. Visualize the projects for your team. When it comes to solving a problem, place a flipchart on the wall. On the flipchart paste on post-its, one at a time, then group them into problem categories. On the second flipchart, use the post-its to describe the procedures leading to these problems. This practice will help your team solve the first step, confirm the problem and identify the steps that got you to that point.

3.視覺化你的團隊企畫。如果你需要解決一個問題，在牆上張貼可翻式圖表。在便利貼上寫上每一個問題，一次放一個，然後把它們組成共同的問題。在第二個圖表，使用便利貼描述問題程序。這個練習將幫助你的團隊完成解決問題的第一步：確定問題和確認問題的次序。