Skip to main content

Be a Problem Solver

Be a problem solver

How does being a problem solver build resilience to change? Well... if you are a problem solver, you will see a challenge, not as a problem but rather a situation waiting for the right solution! If you see a picture of Mount Kilimanjaro do you think “Phew too big” or do you start planning a route, finding guides and getting the right equipment? When you are first presented with a change, you think what can I do differently and how can we benefit from this?

Here are a few questions I ask myself when presented with a challenge or a new situation:

What is the real issue?
Customers asked for longer branch opening hours because they wanted easier access to their cash 24 hours a day. So the preferred solution to the issue, was not for branches to stay open until 11pm but to install an ATM.

Who knows more than me about this issue?
Use lessons learnt or simply ask an SME, colleague or friend for support when trying to solve the problem. Don’t forget your line manger or team lead as a source of knowledge and wisdom. Everybody has a different perspective and set of skills that could help you see the situation from a different light.

What’s in it for the customer or for me?
If this question is not answered, very often the challenge may remain unresolved. There is far more willingness to address a problem if there is something to gain at the outcome.

Do I need to reinvent the wheel?
Sometimes small changes lead to big changes in behaviour. In the UK, getting authorisation from organ donors was a huge challenge until someone had the bright idea to add a simple check box to the driver license application/renewal forms. In less than 6 months, the hospitals saw an increase of 40% of willing donors.

Are the barriers a false assumption?
Assumptions help us to narrow down the focus of a problem but sometimes we can base our assumptions on false information or prejudices. Assumptions should be based on scientific fact, rather than what we think we know. It helps to write your assumptions down and examine each one individually.

Knowing how to solve problems is key to reinforcing resilience to change because it means that you have a flexible approach to every new situation.  A good problem solver is creative in their approach and is a good listener. You also has to think differently because if all the other applied solutions have not worked, this is where thinking out of the box will really earn you kudo’s and save you and your team a lot of time and stress

Let’s solve the problems by thinking differently

Blogs
Ted Talks – Life Lessons from an Ad Man
Career Centre – Problem Solving Strategies

Good Reads
‘Blink’ and ‘The Outliers’  - by Malcom Gladwell
‘The Mind of a Fox’ – by Chantell Ilbury & Clem Sunter

Share your story about how you approach problems and how you would use this to solve problems. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have People Skills

Have people skills There are lots of examples across the ages of people who ooze charm and charisma – Madiba, Princess Diana and Barrack Obama to name but a few. But are some people just naturally charismatic or can you work on it? I think you absolutely can develop your people skills and this will help strengthen your resilience to change! It’s also an essential part of building an engaging culture of leadership. I think the movie ‘Invictus’ has great examples of how to build your people skills in ‘The Madiba Way’. What simple things did Nelson Mandela do to uplift his team and an entire nation? My first thought is that he took time to understand  what is important to people . From small every day niceties like asking how his guard’s children were doing at school, to recognising that rugby is not just a sport but a way of life for many people. Madiba embraced the culture of his enemy and won peace for a nation. How does that translate to our reality? We all get in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Have A Personal Vision

Have a Personal Vision There is nothing worse than being faced with changing landscapes and not knowing what lies ahead. It's like walking along an unknown path in a forest, having to constantly look left and right to check that you are not heading toward danger. As a core characteristic of building resilience to change, knowing where you are heading automatically provides confidence that you can move forward in this changing landscape without the world falling apart. One of the first actions towards having a personal vision is to get clarity as to what that vision looks like. Here is an opportunity to align your personal vision, with your team’s and ultimately with that of your company, as you prepare for the Future of Work and the role you play in ensuring that, you are the number one worldwide industry leaders in digital entertainment. Clearly knowing where you fit within your team and what you need to be doing for the day, week or month ahead, enables you ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Proactive

Be Proactive One of the things that we often fear is the fear of the unknown. We spend a lot of energy worrying about outcomes that never actually happen, because we are trying to avoid disruption to our daily routines. When we know what lies ahead, we can plan and make provision for the things we think we will need and also prepare for the unexpected. When we are proactive, we plan ahead as much as possible by thinking about solutions to potential issues that may arise. For example, when I know that I am going on a scuba trip, there are number of things I need to plan for if I want to ensure that I have the best time possible. There are things that I know I will have to always take with me, so I have a checklist of those things readily available. In fact a number of things need to be planned at least 3 to 6 weeks before hand; Is it oversea’s  – is my passport up to date, do I need a visa? Weather  - Is the temperature warmer or colder? Food & Bev...
Post a Comment
Read more