Six Problem-Solving Steps. The sections below help explain key problem-solving steps. Organizational silos are the root cause of most workplace problems and are why many of them never get resolved. The most effective leaders approach problems through a lens of opportunity. Simply put, effective organizations deliver results. The company raised $120 million in funding without asking whether they were solving the right problem or if the problem was worth solving. Problem solving requires effective listening skills. Diagnose the situation so that your focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. Be the leader that shows maturity, acts courageously, and requires accountability. This applies to internal-facing teams trying to improve processes and to customer-facing teams trying to create the right products for their markets. Problem solving requires transparent communication where everyone’s concerns and points of view are freely expressed. As circumstances would have it, this was the first shipment to a new client that was “testing” our new products in 200 stores with an opportunity to expand our distribution to over 2500 stores nationally. As fundamental as communication may sound, don’t ever assume that people are comfortable sharing what they really think. They have no direction. Effective communication towards problem solving happens because of a leader’s ability to facilitate an open dialogue between people who trust her intentions and feel that they are in a safe environment to share why they believe the problem happened as well as specific solutions. With this basic formula, you can add information and arguments in favor of solving your problem. When complaints are moved up the chain of command, they become more expensive to handle and only add to the customer's frustration. The franchise locations never received it. The basic form is: “[A user] needs [need] in order to accomplish [goal].”. The customer or user problem exists outside of your brand or company — but it is your brand’s job to take steps and solve it. Leadership in the Age of Personalization. “How a problem is framed or described can determine the kinds of options considered to address the problem, stakeholders’ perceptions of its importance and the achievement of the desired solution,” says Paloma Cantero-Gomez, CEO at YouthProAktiv. How To Write an Effective Problem Statement, How To Recognize and Prevent Transformation Fatigue, The Role of Leadership in an Agile Company, The Uncommon League - The League of Analysts Inc, 574 Prairie Center Drive - Suite 135-233, Eden Prairie, MN, 55344, United States. But less time and attention than is required by a problem not well solved. Peter Peterka, a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, emphasizes the importance of facts within your problem statement. For example, let’s say customers have a hard time navigating stores in a franchise. Examine the history. Define the Deviation. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. I’ve seen one too many times how difficult it is to get to the root of the matter in a timely manner when people do not speak-up. What is the purpose of putting time and energy into finding a solution? They never realize that, in the end, all problems are the same – just packaged differently. It is an opportunity to gain trust and understanding which ultimately creates a culture of respect. As you develop your problem statements, remember that your customers or users are at the heart of your issues. Ask, “What else is … Sound familiar? A clear problem statement can help you build a team of engaged employees and invested stakeholders to solve the issue. He employs the same concept when optimizing code, asking: “How is this code going to be used?” When employees know what the problem is, they can work to find ways to solve it. In academic research, writing a problem statement can help you contextualize and understand the significance of your research problem. We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and people we serve. Effective problem solving does take some time and attention more of the latter than the former. As a result, they may only put a band-aid on the situation or may take action on what they think is the problem while ignoring the real issue. They tackle problems head-on and get on with the business of driving growth and innovation. Talk to and engage with team members. Instead of panicking, we took a problem solving approach that involved multiple steps and resulted in a full-blown change management effort with our label supplier, manufacturer, trucking company and client. Bring dull academic concepts to life with visual and practical learning experiences, helping your students to understand how their schooling applies in the real-world Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. Silos, lack of budgets and resources, and many other random acts or circumstances also make it harder for people to be productive. This is where a leader must trust herself and her intuition enough to challenge the team until accountability can be fairly enforced and a solution can been reached. However, many people try to work on their problems by addressing the effects. All rights reserved. The key to verification is evidence. You may opt-out by. Applying each of these lessons can help you become a master problem solver. Registered trademark pending. A lack of general interest or motivation often stems from how strong communication with employees is or how they're treated by management. A vague problem statement won’t let you get to the root of the issue, and clear facts won’t win people over to make a change. For a great example of the dangers of rushing through problem statement creation, Vivek Siva at Hackerearth points to Juicero. There is no signage guiding them. Why hasn’t the main office designed signage? Effective leaders that are comfortable with problem solving always know how to gather the right people, resources, budget and knowledge from past experiences. This is why today’s new workplace must embrace an entrepreneurial spirit where employees can freely navigate and cross-collaborate to connect the problem solving dots; where everyone can be a passionate explorer who knows their own workplace dot and its intersections. If students are respected they can practice respect with their peers and other staff. If your client has sent you a difficult email or they're angry with you over the phone, then offer to meet with them in person if you can to address the problem. Why isn’t there signage in the stores? As Karl Popper, one of the most influential 20 th century philosophers of science, once eloquently stated, “All life is problem solving.” I’ve often contended that the best leaders are the best problem solvers. By the time you drill down to the last of five questions, you can direct the design and branding teams to create signage for individual locations to help customers. While the process seems simple at face value, creating a problem statement requires insight and research to be effective. I am the author of the books:  Leadership in the Age of Personalization, The Innovation Mentality and Earning Serendipity. They have the patience to step back and see the problem at-hand through broadened observation; circular vision. 24 So getting this decision right could mean you achieve over 100 times as much with your career. Empathy is particularly important if you are combining design thinking with your existing six sigma methodology, says Saksham Khandelwal, advisor at NTT DATA. Knowing when the problem actually started (with attention to finite details such as the exact day and exact time) can often The problem statement becomes much more concrete and valuable than if you stopped at “customers keep getting lost in our stores.”. They may have highly creative ways to address the problem, but cannot explain why they have chosen this approach. In a workplace where silos exist,  problem solving is  more difficult  because you are more likely dealing with self-promoters – rather than  team players fostered by a cross functional environment.. They go with their emotions or a gut feeling about the right approach. This is a great method for group brainstorming. The rigor with which a problem is defined is the most important factor in finding a good solution. Address the problem definition: Your address is the number of the house, flat, or apartment and the name of the street... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples Problem solving is the greatest enabler for growth and opportunity. Your sales team folks will be getting back to you shortly. Mergers & acquisitions keep us on our toes and further distract us from solving existing problems by creating new ones. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. IDEAL First Step: Identify. For example, people who try to increase self-confidence by creating confidence through forced behaviors and self-talk, without first understanding why they Others are more intuitive. Discover the lifters and high-potential leaders within the organization and you will see examples of the benefits of being open-minded and how this eventually leads to more innovation and initiative. Planning is an essential part of any journey. One of the first steps to effectively solve problems is delving into the root cause of the problem. Take enough time to step back and assess the situation and the opportunities that each problem represents. Why don’t they have any direction? I help organizations build high-performance leaders, teams and cultures focused on inclusion and the power of individuality. “Answering to the right problem in the right way thus depends 95% on the correct framing of it.”. I’ve always believed that you don’t know the true potential and character of a person until you see the way they solve problems. Flip It. Embrace problem solving and the many unseen treasures it represents. Solve the problem, or find someone who can solve it— quickly! It sets your goals for work and ties all of the actions within the organization together. Each experience teaches us all new things. Images by: stockbroker/©123RF.com, ammentorp/©123RF.com, Ernesto Eslava, blackmachinex. There are many people in the workplace that enjoy creating unnecessary chaos so that their inefficiencies are never exposed. As leaders, the goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems – which means we must be courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hand. However, when problematic concerns or instances of non-compliance arise, a corrective action program is by far one of the most effective measures used to address a given problem. It takes time because it’s so important. Steven Widen, president of E-Cubed Media Synthesis, highlights empathy as a powerful tool that your team can use to define problem statements. Research indicates that customers prefer the person they are speaking with to instantly solve their problem. The Uncommon League, the Uncommon Conference, and Bob the BA are registered brands of The League of Analysts Inc DBA the Uncommon League. Organizational inefficiencies like these are all too familiar to nonprofit leaders. And they come with a high cost: lower potential for making progress toward the important societal challenges and opportunities nonprofits seek to address. Ivan Schneiders, director of experience design at Avanade, proposes a simple rule of thumb for developing problem statements: “If you mention your product, service or solution in the customer problem statement, then it’s probably not a customer problem.”. When you know your workplace dot, you have a much greater sense of your sphere of influence. “Remember, Six Sigma deals in data, and having the facts right there in front will back any information that you will give regarding the issue at hand,” he writes. Lead with questions that start with “how might we,” and make sure the following query is specific enough to drive ideas and creativity. Many leaders attempt to dissect a problem rather than identify the strategy for change that lies within the problem itself. That is why when those involved in the problem would rather not express themselves – fearing they may threaten their job and/or expose their own or someone else’s wrong-doing – the problem solving process becomes a treasure hunt. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Without strategy, change is merely substitution, not evolution. When you listen effectively, you While the process seems simple at face value, creating a problem statement requires insight and research to be effective. Whether you are a leader for a large corporation or a small business owner, here are the four most effective ways to solve problems. If problem solving creates chaos, you may have a serious leadership deficiency. Problem statements make it easier for teams to be creative in their solutions too, believes data scientist Rahul Agarwal. The only way to define the performance issue with clarity is to identify the … My organization, GLLG, helps companies build high-performance leaders, teams and cultures focused on inclusion and the power of individuality. The teacher-student relationship is a necessary part of building classroom culture and helps to address challenging behavior. This is why they say failure serves as the greatest lesson in business and in life. … As such, they never see the totality of what the problem represents; that it can actually serve as an enabler to improve existing best practices, protocols and standard operating procedures for growing and competing in the marketplace. Helpful problem-solving techniques include using flowcharts to identify the expected steps of a process and cause-and-effect diagrams to define and analyze root causes.. Therefore, if you are stuck working with people that are closed-minded, effective problem solving becomes a long and winding road of misery. Unnecessary silos invite hidden agendas rather than welcome efficient cross-functional collaboration and problem solving. Even recognizing the importance of problem statements, many teams and employees rush through the creation process. Observations and conversations (along with your existing data insights) work to show how problems genuinely affect your customers or team members, creating an internal drive for you to fix them. It becomes less about corporate politicking and more about finding resolutions and making the organization stronger. Emily Stevens at CareerFoundry identifies the “five whys” technique to get to the root of the problem. In the process, we fail to solve the core of each problem we are dealt; thus we continuously get caught in the trap of a never-ending cycle that makes it difficult to find any real resolutions. Reprint: R1209F. The ROI from how we handled this problem helped open our eyes to many elements that were previously being overlooked – and in the long run it helped enable us to grow the business. If continuous improvement practitioners are able to establish the winning conditions for change, they can look forward to successful outcomes. They inspire people to lift their game by making the problem solving process highly collaborative; for them, it’s an opportunity to bring people closer together. Effective communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost and save money. What it really takes is a willingness to slow down. This will not only diffuse anger (since it's harder for most people to get truly angry face-to-face) but it also shows that you genuinely want to address … “Almost every time I coach a team on their problem statement, we spend four times the amount of time on it than they expected, and the problem statement always changes by the time we’re done,” writes lean advisor Jamie Flinchbaugh. What it really takes is a willingness to slow down. Some problems are far higher-impact than others, because they can differ by 10 or 100 times in terms of how big, neglected and solvable they are, as well as your degree of personal fit. A problem statement allows you to lobby for resources around a single idea and build company buy-in with peers and stakeholders, writes Eshna Verma at Simplilearn. You may be tempted to rush into creating a problem statement based on your gut or a project you want to get done, but this could be a big mistake. Once all voices have been heard and all points of view accounted for, the leader (with her team) can collectively map-out a path toward a viable and sustainable solution. A signage section has never been added to the branding guide. This guide will show you how to improve your problem statements to drive better results. When you operate in a siloed environment where everyone wants to be a star, it becomes increasingly difficult to help make anything or anyone better. Test - What is Your Personal Decision-Making Style?Guidelines to Rational Thanks for contacting the Uncommon League! Using the same example for store signage, a few HMW questions could be: How might we make it easier for customers to navigate our stores? As a result, Juicero quickly went under as everyone realized the packets could be squeezed by hand. When your team has the emotional intelligence to understand what motivates or frustrates their customers, they can take steps to remedy those problems. A problem is like a curve in the road. Open-minded people see beyond the obvious details before them and view risk as their best friend. My goal is to prepare organizations to lead in the age of personalization– to achieve maximum growth and significance in the workplace and marketplace - as the individual. © 2019 - 2020 The League of Analysts Inc DBA the Uncommon League. The “Plan of Action” section does not need to be structured exactly like the “Problem Description,” but it should allow readers to see how the proposed solution does address all the elements of the problem, as they were described. He emphasizes that if your product is part of the customer problem, then you have bigger problems. Leaders who lack this wisdom approach problems with linear vision – thus only seeing the problem that lies directly in front of them and blocking the possibilities that lie within the problem. Continuous improvement specialists are challenged to solve problems for their organizations or clients. A solid strategy must be implemented in order to solve any problem. Some businesses experience a downturn in productivity due to a lack of motivation from their employees. Rather than viewing this problem simply as a hurdle that could potentially lose us the client, we took proactive measures (and a financial investment) to show our new client that we were capable of not only solving the problem – but earning their trust by responding promptly and efficiently  with a comprehensive step-by-step incident report that included our change management efforts. “You need clarity around the decision-making criteria and constraints, the time frame required, and an indication of action that will occur when the problem is solved, or not solved.”. But the reality of the workplace   finds us dealing with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking, self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy. Breaking down silos allows a leader to more easily engage their employees to get their hands dirty and solve problems together. In addition to guidance, a problem statement also provides several concrete benefits to your team, from gaining access to resources to building executive support. “Empathy is the foundation of a human-centered design process, and without empathy-led design thinking principles, it's difficult to form a genuine problem statement,” he writes.