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One of the many challenges that people face when
confronted with change, loss, trauma, and so forth is
sheer “newness” of ground upon which they are now walking.
Not having been to this “place” before — whether this
place is a new physical space, a new job role, the absence
of a loved one, the aftermath of a loss, and so forth —
can create challenges for us when we try to keep walking
forward. This is where the problem solver dimension is
most powerful: it enables resilient people to find a
pathway toward their goals.
In the face of uncertainty and stress, resilient people
have the ability to analyze their situations and problems,
view problems and challenges as opportunities for
learning, discover the root causes behind the challenges
that they face, and find creative solutions that provide a
healthy way forward. Resilient people are also effective
at seeing the relationships between the specific
challenges or problems they face with other issues,
challenges, and problems within a larger system or network
of deeply interdependent issues. This awareness of the
bigger picture enables resilient people to recognize the
limits of their own influence, leverage their insights
into greater gains, and to expect (and not be blindsided
by) the unexpected.
Being effective problem solvers enable resilient people
to work their way through challenging situations by
discovering the forces that have contributed to the
problem or challenge and, through this discovery, finding
creative ways to both deal with the challenge directly and
prevent future occurrences. Resilient people are not
easily set back by difficulty. Instead, they use the
insights they have gained from examining a problem or
challenge to better understand how to tackle the problem.
Resilient people are challenged by setbacks, loss,
trauma, difficult changes, and so forth, but they do not
let these challenges overwhelm them. Instead they try to
better understand their situation and the forces behind
this situation as the first step toward finding a way
through or around these challenges. In the face of
failure, resilient people use their problem solving skills
to examine what had just happened, integrate the lessons
from the failure into their psyche, pick themselves up off
the ground, and begin walking forward — this time with
insight and wisdom on their side.
Without the ability to effectively problem solve, a
person is likely to be eternally challenged by set-backs,
losses, frustrations, and so forth without the capacity to
learn from his or her past experiences or to recognize
familiar patterns and the best ways to respond to these
patterns. And, without these insights or lessons from the
past, the individual is likely to be in a perpetual state
of stress and anxiety without a sense of hopefulness at
seeing his or her way through the situation.
The problems
that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the
level of thinking that created them.
- Albert Einstein, German physicist (b. 1879, d. 1955)
An undefined
problem has an infinite number of solutions.
The greatest
glory of living lies not in never falling, but in
rising every time you fall.
- Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist, first
democratically elected president of South Africa (b.
1918)
No problem is
so large or complex that it can’t be run away from.
- Charlie Brown, Peanuts character drawn by cartoonist
Charles M. Schulz (b. 1922, d. 2000)
Good judgment
comes from experience, and experience — well, that
comes from poor judgment.
- A.A. Milne, British author of Winnie the Pooh
(b. 1882, d. 1956)
Nothing will
ever be attempted, if all possible objections must
first be overcome.
- Samuel Johnson, British author, critic, essayist (b.
1709, d. 1784)
We are
continually faced with a series of great opportunities
brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.
- John W. Gardner, American educator, activist, and
political leader (b. 1912, d. 2002)
Anyone who
proposes to do good must not expect people to roll
stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly
if they even roll a few more upon it.
Obstacles are
those frightful things you see when you take your eyes
off the goal.
- Hannah More, English playwright, novelist, educator
and poet (b. 1745, d. 1833)
Do not look
where you fell, but where you slipped.
It's so much
easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too
much about the problem.
- Malcolm Forbes, American publish and philanthropist
(b. 1919, d. 1990)
Chance favors
the prepared mind.
- Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (b.
1822, d. 1895)
Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
- George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, essayist, and
poet (b. 1863, d. 1952)
The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905
The whole
problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are
always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so
full of doubts.
- Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and
mathematician (b. 1972, d. 1970)
Success is
not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to
continue that makes the difference.
- Winston Churchill, British statesman, Prime
Minister, an author (b. 1874, d. 1965)
Insanity —
Repeatedly doing the same things in the same way and
expecting different results.
Problem solving involves a combination of personal and
situational awareness, insight, and the application of
problem solving skills. Any attempt to develop and
strengthen problem solving in an individual, therefore,
must involve focusing upon and developing each of these
problem solving capacities.
Some ideas to encourage people to strengthen their
Problem Solver dimension include:
On a personal, one-on-one basis . . .
- Encourage the person to enhance his or her awareness
of his or her surrounding environment and his or her
responses to this environment. Have the person consider
such questions as:
- What, exactly, is the problem I face? What are
its boundaries?
- What is the relationship between the challenge
before me and other issues and challenges in my
life?
- What are the forces within me and within the
larger environment that helped create or that
sustain this problem or challenge?
- What is the “worst-case” scenario for me if this
problem/challenge doesn’t turn out right? What might
be a healthy response from me if this happens? How
might I become stronger and more able as a result of
this outcome?
- Who could help me work through/think through
this problem?
- Which of my past life experiences has best
prepared me for this challenge?
- What are the life lessons that I might take away
from this experience?
- What might I have done differently to have
avoided this problem or challenge?
- What are the root causes of this problem or
challenge? And, to what extent could I have
influenced/can I influence any of these causes to
avoid or reduce this problem today and in the
future?
- What is the “silver lining” for me as a result
of this challenge/problem?
- Ask the person to reflect upon the problem or
challenge that he or she is facing and to identify three
positive steps that he or she could take to reduce the
negative effects of this problem/challenge.
- Ask the person to identify one thing that he or she
could STOP doing and one thing that he or she could
START doing to prevent, reduce the impact of, or
directly solve the problem/challenge that he or she is
facing.
- Invite the person to identify the single greatest
obstacle that he or she sees to successfully solving the
challenge or problem that he or she is facing — and the
actions that he or she could take to reduce or eliminate
this obstacle.
- If an individual is facing a significant challenge or
crisis, guide him or her in reflecting upon his or her
personal assets/strengths to guide him or her through
the challenge but also to identify one or two changes
that he or she could make in his or her life to enable a
healthy, learning-centered, positive response to this
challenging situation.
- Ask the individual to explore the root causes of their
challenge/problem by walking the person through the
cause-effect (or fishbone) diagram. In the “effect” box,
have the person write the problem result (e.g., “I
didn’t get the promotion that I felt that I deserved”)
and then identify/label each of the major cause
dimensions (e.g., Skills/Knowledge, Work
Environment, Relationship with Management, Work
Experience, Organizational Culture, and so
forth). Next guide the individual in identifying how
each of these cause dimensions has led to the
undesirable outcome. Once the diagram is completed,
encourage the person to identify key themes, insights,
lessons-learned, and so forth and what actions they will
take based upon these insights.
Either on a one-on-one basis or when facilitating a group
discussion . . .
- Use any of the activities from the one-on-one list
above, inviting individuals to first work by themselves
and then to partner with another person in the workshop
and to share and gather feedback on their ideas for
change.
- If the group has identified a set of problems or
challenges facing the team or organization, organize the
larger group into small discussion groups to identify
first the causes of the problem and then, after a
reporting out and large group discussion of these
causes, invite the discussion groups to identify some
possible actions to begin addressing or solving the
problem.
- Guide workshop participants in developing a Personal
Action Plan for making progress at
addressing a specific problem that they are facing in
their work or life. This Action Plan should identify the
problem that he or she is facing, why it is important to
solve this problem, the possible root causes of this
problem, and the specific steps that the individual will
take to address the causes and tackle the problem.
Invite participants to partner up with another person in
the room with whom he or she can share, discuss, and
revise his or her action plan. Following the workshop,
the facilitator may want to check in with participants
(via e-mail, phone call, or face-to-face interaction) to
inquire as to the progress the person is making toward
solving his or her problem.
- Conduct a problem solving skill-building workshop that
teaches basic problem solving tools and skills. Some of
the more accessible tools include: cause-effect diagram,
is/is not diagram, the five whys,
affinity/inter-relationship diagram, brainstorming
(structured and unstructured), and force field analysis.
- In a workshop setting, ask participants to identify
the “upside” or “silver lining” of the problem,
challenge, or change facing the team or organization.
You might begin by acknowledging the “downsides” of the
problem/challenge/change (and even list these on a flip
chart), but, after ten minutes or so, shift the group
toward identifying potential positives for the
organization and for them as individuals as a result of
this problem/challenge/change. Guide the group in
exploring ways to ensure that these “upsides” are
realized and that the “downsides” are also resolved or
addressed.
Click here for a PDF version of this page: Problem
Solver Dimension PDF.
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