Effective Problem Solving
Leaders face problem-solving every day. Some rush in to ‘fix’ things while others take a different approach.
Rushing in with a quick ‘fix’, a band-aid, often exacerbates additional problems. Why? Because duct tape doesn’t solve all things. True – if your hose sprung a leak, duct tape may hold it for a while. But if the duct tape stays in place, eventually it’ll start leaking, wasting water, and less effectively watering the lawn. Those inefficiencies may be in place for the long time because the quick fix was never revisited. That can happen in the workplace – it does happen in the workplace – when the leader’s focus on problem solving is narrow.
True problem solving means fully understanding what the problem is in the first place. To fully understand you need more than two-dimensional data in a report. You need to go see for yourself what are the contributing factors. In my article, Crisis Leadership: Current and Prepared Agility, on Thrive Global, I speak about those that know more intimately what is contributing to the problem. Seek out those people, go directly to the those in the know, and empathically ask AND listen.
Next, you’ll need to state the problem in a comprehensive manner meaning the solution may not be simple. It may be something lacking in the process, it may be a communication issue, it may be maintenance issue. Stating the problem in an open-ended manner will direct thinking about it in a more well-rounded way leading to understanding the various components that are contributing that need to be addressed.
Third, looking at the problem from multiple angles, multiple whys, prompts better understanding and solutions. In our hose example – what caused the leak in the first place? Is it the way the hose was stored, does it get scraped on something sharp when pulled out, is it poorly made….??? Unless those factors are investigated, the same issue could happen. In the work environment, a problem may need to be looked at psychologically, environmentally, process, equipment, technologically, training, etc. The problem could have multiple components or layers. Unless each is known and addressed, the issue may not get completely resolved.
Once fully understood, solutions may be simple or complex. It may take time, but people will feel heard, the problem will get taken cared of and all can move forward together.
