The Problem with Problem Solving: You Get More of What You Look For
By Tony Silbert, MSOD, and Jen Hetzel Silbert, MSOD
Co-founders of Spartina Consulting
Ever been in a work meeting, sitting around a table, with all hands on deck focused on a problem? Few of us haven’t. We spend a lot of time, and even more resources, trying to fix or solve problems of every shape and size.
And it’s not exactly a bad thing. We’re kind of wired for it at an early age. In school we are taught to be good problem
solvers by using critical thinking and deductive reasoning (breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks). This is further reinforced by management theories and methodologies in the workplace, where employees are valued and incentivized for their problem-solving skills.
Let’s reflect on steps in problem solving:
- Identify the problem. People rarely agree on the problem.
- Analyze the root case, which involves diving deeper into what caused the problem.
- Brainstorm solutions and ideas on how to fix the problem.
- Implement solutions by rolling out the fix.
As you know, the majority of time is typically spent on identifying, agreeing, and digging into the root causes of the problem, and very little time spent on developing and implementing creative solutions – which is what people want the most out of these meetings.
This leads to Unintended Consequences and the Downward Spiral.
Take a moment to think about how you feel when you are in these problem-solving conversations. There are many unintended consequences and you always get MORE of what you look for:
- More problems
- Blame
- Disagreement on the problem or root causes
- Personal agendas
- Fingerpointing Hopelessness/helplessness
Welcome to the downward spiral of thought, action, and behavior. You know that moment when you begin circling the drain, that sucking of energy and ideas? The downward spiral actually limits our ability to see future possibilities. So just when you need creativity and out-of-the-box thinking the most, your ability to generate ideas and solutions is diminished. In other words, our habitual reliance on problem solving and deductive reasoning to spark innovations and improvements inevitably leaves us short on seeing possibilities.
Neuroscience shows us that we find what we seek – be it good or bad. By seeking out and studying the affirmative — what we DO want vs. what we do not — we not only solve the problem, but catapult beyond it to explore even greater possibilities.
Utilizing Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in our work, we unlock inductive and abductive thinking, which releases creativity and upward spirals of thought, action, and behavior.
Sounds easy. And yet it’s not when we’re so wired to “fix”.
So, how do we reframe our way to success?
One of our favorite tools to break out of the problem-solving mode is reframing. As a leader, you will often have employees coming to you with their problems, AND they want you to solve them. This is where reframing can help – both for you as a leader, but also as a tool for employees to solve their own problems.
- First you need to be able to reframe for yourself: What is the employee asking for? What is wanted (desired state) vs. not wanted (current state)?
If this problem (such as bad communication) were to go away and be replaced by its positive opposite, what would you call it? Good communication, perhaps? (Jess – how about this: This reframed topic reflects both a shift in perspective and language, toward what is desired) And since you have taken the important step of reframing your outlook, you might consider the issue to be a topic, rather than a problem, so your language reflects and supports your shift in perception.
- Next, move beyond status quo (absence of the problem) and take the topic from “good to great”. For example, rather than studying merely “good communication,” why not study an environment of open and transparent communication and trust?
- Once you have your topic, craft some questions that help you dive deeper. In our communications example, this might include examining when communication is or has been at its best, what conditions are or were present, and hopes for even better communication in the future.
These questions should look for positive evidence of where these conditions are fully alive in the organization – concrete examples, experiences, and stories grounded in your or others positive past.
Remember, you get more of what you look for. So, do you want more problems or more solutions?
Watch and/or listen to the video below to hear this article in Tony’s Silbert’s own voice.