{"id":5811,"date":"2017-05-29T17:46:22","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T22:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=5811"},"modified":"2017-05-29T17:46:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-29T22:46:22","slug":"how-leaders-solve-the-biggest-problem-solving-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/29\/how-leaders-solve-the-biggest-problem-solving-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leaders Solve the Biggest Problem-Solving Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problem-solving is in the \u201cDNA\u201d of effective leadership.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So how come sometimes it just doesn\u2019t work? Why is it that some attempts at problem-solving feel like you\u2019re just butting your head into a brick wall? Why do some of the best-intentioned problem-solving initiatives just fall flat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s because, right out of the gate, you haven\u2019t properly sized up the problem you\u2019re about to tackle. The most effective leaders I know have a much higher problem-solving batting average because they start by processing the problem through these 3 clarifying questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Is this a problem to be solved, or a tension to be managed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Before you decide to tackle whatever crisis has landed on your desk, first discern if indeed you really can solve it. It could be a tension that must be managed.<\/p>\n

At the 2010 Global Leadership Summit, Andy Stanley unpacked this vital distinction. As Stanley pointed out, not every difficult situation that lands on your desk is a problem you will ever be able to solve. Some of these situations are tensions you must learn to manage.<\/p>\n

2. Is this my problem?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once you\u2019ve determined that the latest crisis really is a problem, and not a tension to be managed, next figure out if it really is your problem.<\/p>\n

At the 2004 Global Leadership Summit, Bill Hybels interviewed USC president Steven Sample, and asked him how he responds when a problem is presented to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I do,\u201d Sample answered, \u201cis to figure out if this is really my problem!\u201d<\/p>\n

You might be tackling a problem that really doesn\u2019t belong to you.<\/p>\n

3. Just how big is this problem?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As I outlined in an earlier post,<\/a> one of the first jobs of leadership is to determine the appropriate scale of the problem that has just landed. \u201cIs this a big deal? A little deal? Somewhere in between?\u201d<\/p>\n

Always figure out just what the scale and scope of this problem really is. And put the appropriate energy and resources towards it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the point. Today, and every day, problems will land on your plate. The cumulative effect can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019ll apply this three-question clarifying process, you\u2019ll be amazed just how much more effective your problem solving efforts really can be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Problem-solving is in the \u201cDNA\u201d of effective leadership.\u00a0 So how come sometimes it just doesn\u2019t work? Why is it that some attempts at problem-solving feel like you\u2019re just butting your head into a brick wall? Why do some of the best-intentioned problem-solving initiatives just fall flat? Sometimes it\u2019s because, right out of the gate, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,738,478,577,7,87,263],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-focus","category-leadership","category-leadership-summit","category-the-global-leadership-summit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5811"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5817,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811\/revisions\/5817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}