High Performance Leadership

Do you instantly know the solution to every problem? I don't. I doubt that you do, either. It's easy to reach for obvious solutions, except that they seldom work. We usually need to dig deeper. Our first assumption about the cause of a problem is often incomplete. We blame a person -- and they were only a factor. Other people were involved. We blame a procedure, without checking to see why that procedure is in place. We blame ourselves, when we might not have had anything to do with the cause. Dig deeper. Catch the whole situation. Find a solution that will last. -- Doug Smith

Isn't it easy to blame people for our problems? Probably, because people are usually involved. But, most of the time if we fix the conditions causing the problem or the process that leads to the actions that people are doing we can fix the problem. No blame, just change. Most problems aren't caused by people but most problems are only solved by people. Instead of blame, we need team work. And that comes from cooperative, collaborative communication. Who can help you with your biggest problem today? Are you ready to talk about it? -- Doug Smith

Are you struggling to find the right idea to solve a problem? I've constantly got a few problems percolating in the background that I know are still waiting for my best, most creative ideas. The best ideas seldom happen right away. They need time. They need energy. They need to be fed with other creative activities to emerge. But they are there. If you haven't found your best idea yet, the key word is yet. It's there. Your most creative ideas will take you where you need to go. They'll solve those troubling problems. They'll develop that next big change. They're there. Keep digging. -- Doug Smith

What happens when we don't solve a problem? What happens when we fail? I've worked on some big problems and fallen on my face. I had a plan, a had a goal, but the problem got the best of me. Crap happens. But in the process of working on that problem, as unpleasant as it was, I learned. I grew. I changed. Problems are there to help us grow. Even when we fail to solve a problem we learn and grow by working toward a solution. Maybe we solve it later. Maybe we change direction. Maybe we never fix what was bothering us. But when we stay open, curious, and creative we learn. And learning is often enough to make the journey worthwhile. What have you learned today? -- Doug Smith

Are you a big fan of brainstorming? As someone who works in problem solving, goal achievement, and in the arts as well, I love anything that adds to our creativity. Brainstorming is a great way to generate lots of ideas - especially when we take the time to learn new ways of doing it. True creativity is a constantly expanding process. But, sometimes the right solution is right there in front of us. Sometimes we slow ourselves down by digging too deep when the gold is right in front of us. You don't need ten thousand solutions to your problem if the first one works. Determining what will work helps. Figuring out the real cause of our problem provides detailed guidance. If the solution works, you're done. Do you ever look too hard for a solution? How can you spot a perfect idea when it emerges? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:   High Performance Leadership Training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Want to solve that big problem? Focus on the goal you want to achieve instead of the pain your problem presents.  Work to create your ideal situation. When we focus positively on the goal that we want to achieve, rather than the symptoms of a problem we perceive, our energy and focus helps us get where we really want to go. Try it. Convert that problem statement to a goal statement. Then, get busy. I think you'll like the results. What's your biggest goal today? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

What would happen if you gave your biggest problem your full attention? You could find the root cause. You could develop a list of solutions. You could create an action plan that would be unstoppable. You could solve that problem. Your biggest problem probably isn't big enough to stand up to your full attention and best solutions. Why not take that problem on right away? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Why do we run away from the answer? Sometimes it's right there in front of us - the solution to our problem, and yet we turn away. It's a bad habit and one that keeps us from finding what we're looking for when it comes to solving a problem. The solution to your problem is looking for you -- you just need to stop running. Can you hear those footsteps? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Did you know that many problems have two secret ingredients? No, it's not a special sauce or patented process. The secret ingredients are two things that hide under all the symptoms and cloud a problem solvers focus on the situation. Centered problem solvers figure out what are the secret ingredients and how they are effecting the ideas being created, the pain being felt, the reactions of the people involved. Very often there are two secret ingredients: Problems have one or both: a solution and/or a viable use. Sometimes people don't want to solve what is framed as a problem because it already serves their needs. They like it. A person may not see the injustice in unequal distribution of resources if they have all the resources they need. A person may not see hunger as a problem if they eat in fine restaurants every night. A person may not see unhappy customers as a problem if the work is easier when the customer goes away. The viable use could even be sensible, usefu...

Why is it that we so often wait until a problem is a real pain before we solve it? It could be because we're so busy. It could be because we're so distracted. It could also be that we hope secretly that the problem just goes away. But, problems don't just go away, do they? They tend to get worse until they are attended to. Left alone, problems get  bigger. Why not solve a problem before you feel its pain? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership: High Performance Leadership Training doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

How does it feel to solve a problem only to have many people complain about the solution? What are the chances of that problem staying solved? It's tempting as a leader to take the fastest possible path to a solution. Sometimes that means deciding ourselves. Sometimes that means excluding the people who would be most impacted by the solution. That often leads to another problem to solve AND the need for some powerful change management. Why create another problem? Sometimes a solution aggravates people more than the problem did. Involve the people within the situation in finding a solution.  You never have to convince someone that their own idea is right. Why not find out what their idea is? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Does that current problem look a lot like a previous problem? Are you tempted to try the same solution that you've used before? Just because a problem looks like a previous problem doesn't mean the same solution will work. In fact it could mean exactly the opposite - the previous solution didn't work. If it had, you wouldn't be recognizing the same old problem. High performance leaders learn how to find and encourage creative solutions. They dig deeper, beyond the obvious answers. They discover the actual causes and move to create better paths to their goals. Think of that old problem as a new problem and find a new solution. Wouldn't it be nice to solve it once and for all? -- Douglas Brent Smith Learn to deal with your team's problems more effectively by bringing our one-day workshop " Solving Problems " to your location. Ask me how here: doug@frontrangeleadership.com

Run away! Do you ever find yourself simply avoiding a big problem? Even though you know for sure that problem is not going away on its own, it's just too hairy and slippery to figure out right now and it doesn't seem as if the effort is worth the anxiety. But what eventually happens to our anxiety if we do nothing about our problems? It just grows bigger. Before I run from a problem I need to ask if that's the best solution for all concerned. How about you? -- Douglas Brent Smith Are you interested in helping the people in your organization to learn how to solve more problems faster and more collaboratively? Check out our one day workshop on Centered Problem Solving .

It seems faster. It seems more efficient. Why not simply give your constituents no choice by changing what needs to be changed and removing the old way of doing things? Because, well -- people don't like that sort of thing. And when they don't like something you can count on lots of resistance. There's not much point in solving a problem by creating new ones. Centered problem solvers do better than that because they know that a solution that needs to be forced is probably not going to solve your problem. We might as well find a solution that our constituents embrace -- even when that is more work. What do you think? -- Douglas Brent Smith Looking for a way to solve more problems in your organization? Why not bring our workshop Centered Problem Solving to your location.

What happens when you impose your solution on someone else's problem? If it works, they will be happy that it works and likely still resent you for imposing the solution. If it does not work (which is often the case) you of course will get the blame. People need to come up with their own solutions. Your advice may be brilliant. Your insistence may be strong. But their resistance to change (and need for ownership) will quite likely get in the way. We should not force someone to try our solution to their problem. Even if their ideas aren't as good, they are much more likely to follow them. Unless your trying to teach both of you a lesson. Good luck with that approach. Centered problem solving involves much more. It is taking an approach of working on the relationship as well as the problem. It's attacking the process, and not the person. It's cooperating and collaborating. That's not as easy as imposing your own solution -- but much more likely to succeed....

Photo by Stephen Downes, at downes.ca Have you ever had a problem linger for years because there was no perfect solution? What about a partial solution? What if we found something that worked fast, even if it was incomplete? What if we stopped giving a problem the right to rule our lives? The search for a perfect solution can keep a problem alive for years. It could be a sign that you or your group doesn't really want to solve the problem. It could be a sign that there IS no perfect solution. What if you found a solution that worked fairly well and got you headed in the right direction to eventually eliminate the problem? Sometimes the search perfection can slow us down. Your solution just needs to be good enough to make things better. Isn't that what you want? -- Douglas Brent Smith

How do you feel after solving a problem?  Usually, there is a rush of joy when I think I have a problem licked. The effort, the work, the time feels altogether worth it. But, sometimes there can be a lingering doubt. There can be a flicker of uncertainty. The faint sounds of the problem still ticking away are heard. Maybe that problem isn't solved after all. Maybe there is still work to do. Sometimes our inner radar will tell us. Centered leaders have ways of knowing when their center is still off. Balance is impossible to fake. If you don't feel better after solving a problem maybe you haven't solved the problem. Ready to go back to work? -- Douglas Brent Smith