英文原文
Have you ever found yourself reacting to something a colleague said as if you were a child being told off by their parents, even though you're both adults and peers? Or ever said something to a teammate that you thought was a casual, lighthearted remark and been surprised when it triggered anger or condemnation? When we work with the messiness and complexity of people and relationships, we often need awareness of how we are relating to each other, as well as what we say. Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychoanalytic theory and modality of psychotherapy that can help us explore these dynamics as we aim to build healthier, psychologically safer work environments. As a caveat, TA is a vast, rich and nuanced theory with wide-ranging principles, practices and applications – we'll only scratch the surface here, but we will draw on some of its most accessible and powerful insights. TA was developed by Eric Berne in the 1950s and 60s, with the core idea that we all have three ego states that we exist in and shift between – Parent, Adult, Child. These are not age-based but behavioural and motivational. Parent: the behaviours, thoughts and feelings that we learn and copy from our parents, carers or significant figures with power in our childhoods that we (often unconsciously) reenact – may be nurturing or critical and often includes rules and judgments. Adult: often summarised as present-focused, rational, grounded, in this ego state we operate and respond appropriately in the here and now. Child: the behaviours, thoughts and feeling we experienced as a child replaying in the present – may be what's called the 'adapted' child or 'free' child. The goal isn't to avoid or 'transcend' these ego states, but to become aware of which ego state we, and others, are acting from, and notice how that affects our communication. Most of the time, at work, we want to be relating to each other in Adult-to-Adult ego states – where we are grounded in the present moment, responding to what's happening right now, and able to be our most rational selves. Transactional analysis aligns closely with our work on psychological safety as both are rooted in valuing people and their capacity to think, feel and grow. One of TA's core philosophical principles is the belief that 'people are OK', sometimes expressed as 'I'm OK, you're OK.' This life position reflects a basic sense of mutual respect and worth. 'I'm ok' means that I have a basic sense of self worth and I trust that I matter to others. 'You're ok' means I see you as someone worthy of my respect. You matter to me. This doesn't require agreement with everything a person says or does. In fact, it means we can challenge someone's behaviour while still holding them in positive regard. We can say, in essence, 'I value you as a person, even as I raise a concern about something you've done.' Another core assumption of TA is that people can think. It's not for us to judge the quality or capacity of their thinking, but to start from the belief that they can think – and they do. We work from the assumption that people are capable of understanding, reflection and choice. In our psychological safety work, this aligns closely with the Local Rationality Principle – instead of assuming mistakes happen because someone didn't think, or was too stupid to do the right thing, we consider that people do what seems reasonable to them, based on their goals, knowledge, understanding and focus of attention in that moment. In other words, their actions made sense to them at the time. Finally, TA also holds that because we all have the capacity to think, we can make decisions, and re-think them if we wish. We can change our minds, our behaviours and ultimately our outcomes. This belief is essential whenever we're supporting individual or team learning, growth, and development. If we don't start from the position that people are capable of change, then let's face it, any attempt at improvement is unlikely to succeed. Alongside these philosophical assumptions and starting points, TA offers us some incredibly useful tools and approaches to work with each other more effectively. One of its central principles is the importance of open, transparent communication. At its heart, TA values and aims for clarity and honesty in both what we say and how we say it. When we're building psychological safety, we're creating environments where people feel safe enough to speak honestly – and where they know that will be welcomed, not punished. So how do we use TA as a framework when fostering psychological safety? Feedback conversations: We use the 'I'm OK, you're OK' model in our feedback workshops to help people approach difficult conversations from a place of mutual respect. It's easy to slip into a 'one-up' mindset – 'I'm OK, you're not OK' – especially when we feel frustrated. But effective professional feedback comes from our Adult self, not the Critical Parent. Many of us know how it feels to be on the receiving end of feedback delivered from a Parent ego state, and it rarely helps us grow. Contracting: TA offers a broader, more human-centred idea of a contract, as not just a legal agreement, but any clear, bilateral, co-created commitment to how we'll work together. It's about making our expectations of each other explicit: how we'll collaborate, give feedback, and raise concerns. In coaching, contracting is so powerful that we often find any bumps in the relationship can be resolved simply by revisiting and reworking that contract. Building relational awareness: Just becoming aware of ego states and ideas like 'I'm OK, you're OK' can help us be more intentional in how we show up at work. Whether we're leaders or team members, we want to model Adult-Adult communication: grounded, respectful, and open. This last point came to life in a recent workshop. One participant began describing mistakes a couple of their team members were making. Halfway through their story, they stopped and said, 'I've just realised I've slipped into I'm ok, You're not ok.' In that moment, they realised how their stance was clouding their ability to think and communicate clearly, and that insight changed their perspective. Instead of focusing on who was to blame, they began exploring what might be causing the mistakes, and left with a very different strategy to take back to their team. As we (hopefully!) know by now, no policy or team building activity is going to fix all our challenges around psychological safety. There are many different lenses, approaches and practices we can try, but ultimately they all come down to how we relate to one another. Transactional analysis offers a framework to understand and begin to improve those relational dynamics. So next time you're in a tricky team situation, ask yourself: Am I in Parent, Adult or Child right now? And what magic might happen if I shift?
中文翻译
你是否曾发现自己对同事说的话做出反应，就像孩子被父母训斥一样，尽管你们都是成年人和同龄人？或者是否曾对队友说了一些你认为随意、轻松的话，却惊讶地引发了愤怒或谴责？当我们处理人际关系中的混乱和复杂性时，我们常常需要意识到我们如何相互关联，以及我们说了什么。沟通分析（TA）是一种精神分析理论和心理治疗模式，可以帮助我们探索这些动态，以建立更健康、心理更安全的工作环境。需要说明的是，TA是一个广泛、丰富且细致的理论，具有广泛的原则、实践和应用——我们这里只触及表面，但我们将借鉴其一些最易理解和强大的见解。TA由埃里克·伯恩在20世纪50年代和60年代发展起来，其核心思想是我们都有三种自我状态，我们在其中存在并切换——父母、成人、儿童。这些不是基于年龄的，而是行为和动机的。父母：我们从父母、照顾者或童年时期有权力的人物那里学习和模仿的行为、思想和感受，我们（通常无意识地）重演——可能是养育性或批判性的，通常包括规则和判断。成人：通常被概括为以当下为中心、理性、接地气的，在这种自我状态下，我们在此时此地适当地操作和回应。儿童：我们在童年经历的行为、思想和感受在当下重演——可能是所谓的“适应型”儿童或“自由型”儿童。目标不是避免或“超越”这些自我状态，而是意识到我们和他人正在从哪种自我状态行动，并注意这如何影响我们的沟通。大多数时候，在工作中，我们希望以成人对成人的自我状态相互关联——在那里我们立足于当下，回应正在发生的事情，并能够成为最理性的自己。沟通分析与我们在心理安全方面的工作密切相关，因为两者都植根于重视人及其思考、感受和成长的能力。TA的核心哲学原则之一是相信“人是OK的”，有时表达为“我OK，你OK”。这种生活立场反映了基本的相互尊重和价值感。“我OK”意味着我有基本的自我价值感，我相信我对他人很重要。“你OK”意味着我把你看作值得我尊重的人。你对我很重要。这不需要同意一个人所说或所做的一切。事实上，这意味着我们可以在挑战某人的行为的同时，仍然对他们持积极态度。我们可以说，本质上，“我重视你这个人，即使我对你所做的事情提出担忧。”TA的另一个核心假设是人们能够思考。不是由我们来判断他们思考的质量或能力，而是从相信他们能够思考——并且他们确实在思考开始。我们从人们能够理解、反思和选择的假设出发。在我们的心理安全工作中，这与本地理性原则密切相关——而不是假设错误发生是因为某人没有思考，或太愚蠢而做正确的事情，我们认为人们基于他们的目标、知识、理解和当时的注意力焦点，做对他们来说合理的事情。换句话说，他们的行为在当时对他们来说是有意义的。最后，TA还认为，因为我们都有思考的能力，我们可以做出决定，并在愿意时重新思考。我们可以改变我们的想法、行为，最终改变我们的结果。这种信念在我们支持个人或团队学习、成长和发展时至关重要。如果我们不从人们能够改变的立场出发，那么让我们面对现实，任何改进的尝试都不太可能成功。除了这些哲学假设和起点，TA还为我们提供了一些非常有用的工具和方法，以更有效地合作。其核心原则之一是开放、透明沟通的重要性。TA的核心是重视并旨在实现我们所说内容和方式的清晰和诚实。当我们建立心理安全时，我们正在创造人们感到足够安全以诚实说话的环境——在那里他们知道这将被欢迎，而不是惩罚。那么，当我们培养心理安全时，如何使用TA作为框架？反馈对话：我们在反馈工作坊中使用“我OK，你OK”模型，帮助人们从相互尊重的地方进行困难对话。很容易陷入“高人一等”的心态——“我OK，你不OK”——尤其是当我们感到沮丧时。但有效的专业反馈来自我们的成人自我，而不是批判性父母。我们许多人都知道从父母自我状态接收反馈的感觉，这很少帮助我们成长。契约：TA提供了一个更广泛、更以人为本的契约概念，不仅仅是法律协议，而是任何清晰、双边、共同创造的关于我们将如何合作的承诺。这是关于明确我们对彼此的期望：我们将如何合作、给予反馈和提出担忧。在教练中，契约如此强大，以至于我们经常发现关系中的任何问题都可以通过重新审视和修改契约来解决。建立关系意识：仅仅意识到自我状态和“我OK，你OK”等想法，就可以帮助我们在工作中更有意识地表现。无论我们是领导者还是团队成员，我们都希望模拟成人对成人的沟通：接地气、尊重和开放。最后一点在最近的一个工作坊中变得生动。一位参与者开始描述他们团队中几个成员犯的错误。在故事讲到一半时，他们停下来并说，“我刚刚意识到我陷入了‘我OK，你不OK’的状态。”在那一刻，他们意识到他们的立场如何模糊了他们清晰思考和沟通的能力，而这种洞察改变了他们的视角。他们不再关注谁该受责备，而是开始探索可能导致错误的原因，并带着一个非常不同的策略回到团队。正如我们现在（希望！）所知，没有政策或团队建设活动能够解决我们所有关于心理安全的挑战。我们可以尝试许多不同的视角、方法和实践，但最终它们都归结为我们如何相互关联。沟通分析提供了一个框架来理解和开始改善这些关系动态。所以下次你在一个棘手的团队情况中时，问问自己：我现在处于父母、成人还是儿童状态？如果我转变，可能会发生什么魔法？
文章概要
本文介绍了沟通分析（TA）理论及其在提升工作场所心理安全中的应用。文章解释了TA的核心概念，包括父母、成人、儿童三种自我状态，以及“我OK，你OK”的生活立场。文章强调了成人自我状态在工程和物理等专业领域中的重要性，因为它促进理性、接地气的沟通。文章还讨论了TA如何帮助团队通过反馈对话、契约和关系意识来建立心理安全，并举例说明了如何从“我OK，你不OK”的心态转变为更建设性的方法。文章最后鼓励读者在团队互动中反思自己的自我状态，以改善关系动态。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：想象一下，你和朋友一起做科学实验，有时候你会像大人一样冷静地讨论问题，有时候你会像小孩一样闹情绪，有时候你会像父母一样批评别人。沟通分析就是教我们注意这些不同的“状态”，让我们尽量用“大人”状态来好好说话，这样大家都能更开心地合作。它还说“我很好，你也很好”，意思是我们要互相尊重，即使有不同意见。
TA沟通分析心理学理论评价：这篇文章很好地展示了沟通分析理论在组织环境中的应用价值。它强调了成人自我状态的重要性，这与工程和物理领域所需的理性、客观思维高度契合。文章中的“我OK，你OK”立场体现了TA的核心哲学，即尊重每个人的内在价值，这为心理安全奠定了坚实基础。文章还巧妙地将本地理性原则与TA的“人们能够思考”假设联系起来，突出了在错误分析中避免指责、理解行为背后逻辑的重要性。这种整合展示了TA如何提供实用框架来改善团队沟通和关系动态。
在实践上可以应用的领域和可以解决人们的十个问题：在工程团队、物理研究小组、技术项目管理和跨学科协作中，沟通分析可以帮助解决以下问题：1. 减少因情绪化反应导致的沟通冲突；2. 提升反馈对话的效率和接受度；3. 建立清晰的团队契约和期望；4. 增强成员在高压环境下的理性决策能力；5. 促进跨层级和跨部门的成人对成人沟通；6. 降低因误解或指责造成的团队紧张；7. 支持错误分析和学习文化的发展；8. 改善领导者和团队成员之间的互动模式；9. 培养个人在专业场景中的自我觉察和调整能力；10. 创造更包容、尊重的工作氛围，从而提升整体心理安全和团队效能。