The Toolkit for New Leaders: Problem-Solving

March 27, 2023

Company Culture

We’re continuing our focus on developing new leaders with another tool in our New Leaders Toolkit by focusing on Problem-Solving.

One of the most valuable tools a new leader can process is the ability to solve problems, from those that arise in our day-to-day operations to the once-in-a-decade market shifting changes or problems that will affect how we do business.

The new leaders on your team probably have shown some aptitude for problem-solving, but we want this to act as a refresher for some and a guide for others. If you’re new in your leadership role or if you’re an aspiring leader, we hope you’ll find some or all this article useful in practice.

Let’s explore problem-solving and how they can help new leaders succeed.

Define the Problem

First, we need to define the problem. Before we can solve the problem, we need to know what the problem is, who it’s a problem for, and what the potential consequences are if we don’t solve it effectively.

The 5 Why’s technique is an excellent method to identify our problem’s underlying causes rather than just addressing its symptoms.

Problem Statement: Our company is experiencing high employee turnover rates.

Why Question 1 – Why are employees leaving the company?
Answer: Employees are not feeling valued or recognised for their contributions.

Why Question 2 – Why are employees not feeling valued or recognised?
Answer: The company’s performance appraisal process is not providing adequate feedback or recognition.

Why Question 3 – Why does the performance appraisal process not provide adequate feedback or recognition?
Answer: Managers don’t have the training or aren’t equipped to provide meaningful feedback or praise.

Why Question 4 – Why aren’t managers trained or equipped to provide meaningful feedback or recognition?
Answer: The company does not prioritise leadership development or provide adequate training resources.

Why Question – 5 Why does the company not prioritise leadership development or provide adequate training resources?
Answer: Leadership development wasn’t a priority, and it’s not included in our budgets.

A quick analysis of the answers to our 5 Why Questions suggests the root cause of our high employee turnover rate is a lack of resources dedicated to developing training resources and leadership development. That lack of investment means our managers aren’t giving people meaningful feedback or adequately recognising high performers.

With the cause uncovered, it’s time to generate ideas to fix it at the root rather than continue treating its symptoms.

Generate Solutions

Solving the problem doesn’t always need to fall on the shoulders of a single person, as there are several ways to generate solutions.

Brainstorm solutions: Brainstorm with colleagues to develop as many potential solutions as possible. During a brainstorming session, don’t judge the ideas. We want to encourage a free flow of ideas because even an unconventional or “bad” idea could be the spark that enlightens the room for the best ideas.

Research best practices: When we have a problem, we often feel like it’s all our problem, or it’s unique to only our organisation, but thankfully, those problems are incredibly rare. Other companies have gone through similar issues and found solutions. Research to see who else has been in your situation and how they solved it.

Consult with experts: Sometimes, we’re not the best person to solve the problem, and it’s acceptable and encouraged to consider bringing in outside experts like Quartz Enterprises to help your business address the situation.

Evaluate the Options

With a list of potential solutions to our problem, we need to be considerate and find the one that will work best for our situation and organisation. Here are things to consider during your evaluation.

Assess the potential impact: Each solution will have varying degrees of impact on the root cause. Some will trim the roots, while others will completely yank the roots from the ground. We need to ask how likely this solution will address the root cause of the issue.

Consider feasibility: Money can solve most of the problems we face, but we need to be responsible with budgets and use resources wisely. It’s time to consider the feasibility of our solutions. We must factor in the price, time, resources, and organisational constraints for implementing each option. We must be realistic in considering our budget, timeline, and resources.

Evaluate risks: Is there a perfect solution? Perhaps, but we need to weigh the risks of each option before we can know if we’ve found the ideal solution. Consider any unintended consequences or negative impacts on other parts of the organisation. How can we lessen these risks?

Seek input: Change affects everyone to varying degrees. Before implementing our solution, we need to gather feedback from people across the organisation on how this change will affect them. Ideally, we want to find a solution that makes everyone’s lives easier or at least minimally impacts others with our solution.

Prioritise: We’ve accessed for impact on the problem and other people, we’ve considered the risks and determined the feasibility of our solutions. Now we need to prioritise the potential solutions that will highly impact the problem while having a minimal impact on the rest of the organisation.

Test: Before making a massive change, test your solution or solutions by running small tests of your best options. By testing your solutions before fully implementing them, you can gauge their real-world effectiveness. Some things look great on paper but leave much to be desired in practice.

Implement the Solutions

It’s time. We’ve determined the root cause; we’ve generated and evaluated our options, and not we need to implement the best solution.

Create an action plan: Before starting, we need to create an action plan that lays out all the details, including the steps required to implement the project, the timeline for implementation, what resources we’ll need and who handles what parts of the plan.

Share the plan: With your action plan ready, we must communicate it to everyone involved in its implementation and to anyone directly or indirectly affected.

Provide instruction: We need to ensure everyone who is playing a part in the solution can do their part, which means giving them detailed instructions on their roles and responsibilities and training them if needed to complete their tasks.

Track progress: We need to track the progress of the implementation. This allows us to make tweaks, communicate delays to our stakeholders and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness. Collect feedback from everyone impacted during its progress, and we want to use their feedback for improvements.

Celebrate successes: This is the best part. Please recognise the people who helped along the way.

Reflection

Congratulations. We’ve made it to the last step of our New Leaders Tool Kit section on problem-solving.

The solution is in place, and the company is better for it. It’s time for new leaders to reflect on their experiences.

After celebrating the project’s success, it’s essential to evaluate our role in the project and assess where we were strong and which areas were you weaker. We need to be honest in our reflection to identify areas we can improve and aspects where we are strong to maximise them the next time.

As a new leader, effectively solving problems is one of the essential tools in your tool kit. It takes practice and commitment, and by improving your problem-solving, you grow as a leader, and be better prepared for what lies ahead in your career.

The key takeaways:

Clearly defining the problem is the first step in effective problem-solving. New leaders must think critically and communicate the problem effectively to others.
Generating a wide range of potential solutions is crucial for effective problem-solving. New leaders must use creative thinking, collaborate effectively, and build a culture of innovation that encourages employees to share their ideas and take risks.
Evaluating options and making tough decisions are critical skills for new leaders. They must weigh each option’s pros and cons, assess the risks and rewards, and communicate their decisions effectively to stakeholders.
Implementing effective solutions is essential for achieving results. New leaders must be able to communicate the solution clearly to stakeholders, allocate resources effectively, and manage the implementation process to execute the solution as planned.
Reflecting on problem-solving and learning from experiences is vital to continuous improvement. New leaders must be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies for continued learning and growth.