When solving problems individually, you do not have to think about others and different perspectives. You can focus on the problem and how you will proceed along the root-cause analysis process. However, many of us solve problems with others or in a team. When solving problems in a group, it is important to create a positive and safe environment.
Ensuring a positive and safe environment for effective problem-solving is critical for success. People are extremely sensitive. You need to ensure that every idea is valued and you create a willingness to reexamine or reject established norms.
Be sure every team member’s input is valued, no matter the level of experience. Everyone must be aware of emotions and fragile self-esteems. Unfortunately, most people enter a problem-solving process as a contest where only one person or group wins. It is critical that any aggression is focused at the problem and not at individuals or groups.
The team must find common ground to work together and achieve a common objective. Foster open and honest communication to ensure everyone is committed to solving the problem. Do not listen only to contradict or argue, but listen to learn. Allow everyone the freedom to speak their mind in a non-threatening environment.
Value input from all team members and analyze the problem from multiple perspectives. Judgment and evaluation must be used only when necessary (but not when developing new ideas). An effective leader will ensure the team works together to properly analyze (or take apart) the problem, conceptualize (or understand) the problem, and finally synthesize (or put together) all the information to develop an effective solution.
Avoid comprising the problem-solving team with only subject-matter experts. It is often difficult for subject-matter experts to create a new idea or suspend their expert attitudes toward the problem. Experts typically provide what is known whereas creative thinking is often required, not experts. Non experts will attack problems from a different perspective, bringing in new ideas which experts might have never considered.
A cross-functional team should be created to include a wide-variety of perspectives and experiences. Including team members who are not experts in the problem-solving process can often result in new perspectives and alternatives that subject-matter experts often miss. During the early stages of problem-solving, ignorance is often bliss. A great quote from Henry Ford is:
“One good way to hinder progress is to fill a man’s head with all the learning of the past; it makes him feel that because his head is full there is nothing more to learn.”
Most importantly, identify who owns the problem and meet with them before beginning the problem-solving process. Find out if the owner of the problem is willing to solve it; if they already have a solution, or if they are open to new solutions? You do not want to spend time solving a problem that its owner does not want solved. Though sometimes, you might still want to attack the challenge, when it is important. Many problem owners get stuck in the expert mindset and feel they have already looked at all possibilities, or worse, have given up from repeated failures or an environment which does not value change.
Also, solving someone else’s problem without meeting with them can produce a challenging situation where the problem owner may become defensive or outright antagonistic to your actions as they may perceive you as encroaching on their “territory”; avoid stepping on someone’s toes, respect everyone, and work toward cooperation.
Work hard to create a collaborative, hands-on, interdisciplinary team, and a positive and safe problem-solving environment. A key part of the Positive Revolution is respect. Be sure to respect others, but don’t give up just because someone is not open to change. Use all your skills as a Positive Revolutionist to make positive change, even when you are up against powerful forces.
Problem-solving is identifying the problem (or opportunity), determining the gap between what is and what should occur, and observing firsthand what is happening. You then identify the cause of the problem, develop and implement countermeasures, and track the effect of the countermeasures to determine if you have reduced or eliminated the gap between the actual and planned target. Problem-solving is a combination of the proper tools, techniques, skills, and a positive, inquisitive mindset. Effective problem-solvers are open to changing direction as well as continually monitoring countermeasures for continuous improvement when presented with new information. Effective problem solvers make problem-solving a habit. Skilled problem-solvers also use disciplined and systematic methods to solve problems and balance divergent and convergent thinking. As the pace of change accelerates, you cannot solve today’s problems with antiquated or ad hoc methods, tools, or techniques.