Having Excellent Problem Solving Skills Can Make You More Successful, These Are
Steps You Should Follow
Have you noticed that some of the problems you are experiencing
either in interpersonal relationships or work, seem to be recurring?
For example, a person who has had some unpleasant arguments with
their co-workers in the past, can expect to go through similar struggles moving
forward, no matter if they are in a completely different work environment. And
the underlying theme of different arguments is the same – that person has a
problem to establish a functional communication with their co-workers.
This is just one example, but many of us tend to repeat the
problems and some of us eventually start feeling hopeless, thinking it is just
our flawed character and there is nothing we could do about it.
Actually, the reason certain problems keep repeating is because
we are not using an efficient problem solving technique. Luckily, we can become
better problem solvers and therefore, lessen the number of problems we face.
Your life can
be seriously affected if you have poor problem solving ability
Whether we’re happy or successful are largely determined by our
problem solving ability. If you just leave problems being unsolved, you may
suffer in the following ways:
- There
are countless complicated and ambiguous problems in interpersonal
interaction. If we’re not efficient problem solvers, we can hardly clear
misunderstanding in communication and get close with people around us.
- Workplace
is where we learn how to tackle different kinds of unexpected problems. If
we don’t keep looking for new solutions, our work performance will worsen
and we will easily feel frustrated when problems pile up.
- It
is common for us to attribute poor mental health to unpleasant personal
experience or genetic factors. But the inability to tackle problems in
life can harm our mental health. According to a 1983 study, scientists
found that people with weaker ability to deal with interpersonal issues
are more prone to depression.[1
So
what are the causes of poor problem solving?
Problem solving is just like
other skills we need to master in life. To be good at it, we need to practice
it with the right approach. Unfortunately, many of us may not realize the
common mistakes we make when solving problems. Here are some examples:
Mistaking
symptoms for the real causes of problems
Most of us tend to spend a
lot of energy to deal with the symptoms of problems without realizing the real
causes. To identify the root causes of a problem, we need to challenge the
first conclusion that pops up in our mind and keep asking the right questions
until we can see beyond the phenomenon of the problem.
Looking
for quick fixes instead of the most effective solutions
It is our tendency to look
for quick fixes of problems. This leads us to believe in our intuitive without
looking into the causal relationship behind the problem. And that’s why we
seldom get to the core of problems and adopts the ineffective solutions.
Relying too
much on our knowledge
Finally, we become ineffective problem solvers because of our
over-reliance on our knowledge. It is a common misconception that the more we
know, the more capable we are to tackle problems. But the fact is mere
knowledge doesn’t enable us to become effective problem solvers. What we also
need is logical thinking skills, the ability to think critically and
creativity.
How to be
better at problem solving
In order to become better problem solvers, we need to follow
these 4 steps whenever we deal with any problem in life:
1. Defining the
real problem
The first and most important step is to identify the root cause
of the problem. One of the most effective approach is 5 whys invented by
Sakichi Toyoda in the 1930s.[2] Totaya
suggests that by asking “why” for 5 times can help us better identify the core
problem.
For example, your problem might be that your business website is
not getting enough traffic.
1. Why is the
traffic declining? Content on the website is not engaging to readers.
2. Why is our
content not engaging to readers? Our content doesn’t fit readers’ needs and
interests.
3. Why can’t our
content fit readers’ needs and interests? We don’t have much understanding of
our readers.
4. Why don’t we
have much understanding of our readers? We haven’t conducted any research in
this area.
5. Why haven’t we
conducted any research to understand our readers? We have no resources for
research.
The solution – allocating more resources on the research to
understand our readers.
Please note that we only apply vertical thinking to delve deep
in one possible problem, which is unattractive content in this case. If you
think there is another possible reason for declining traffic, you should do
another set of 5 whys. By doing this, we can train up our logical thinking
skills and so what we see from a problem does not stay at the superficial
level.
2. Generating
alternatives
After we define the root problem, it is time to find possible
solutions. Here’s where we can use the lateral instead of learned, vertical
thinking.[3] That means, rather than spending all of our energy and
time on transforming one initial idea into a perfect solution, we should rather
think of at least ten possible ones and write them down first.
By doing so, we won’t draw the conclusion too early or limit our
choice to the first few ideas that pop up in our minds, Instead, we postpone
our decision making and make use of our creativity to generate potentially
better options. Although it takes us more time in this stage, we’re more likely
to come up with better solutions later on.
3. Evaluating
and selecting alternatives
After generating possible solutions, it is time to select the
best one. To make sure we make the right decision, we should list the pros and
cons of each option and then compare them on the basis of cost and benefit. In
this way, you are more able to make rational choice instead of being deceived
by your unreliable biased judgement.
4. Implementing
solutions
Although you have gone through 3 stages and take many factors
into consideration to pick the best solution, you shouldn’t have the false hope
that you solution is going to to be perfect. But it’d be good to implement your
solution first and then keep evaluating its effectiveness and make adjustments
afterwards. Then you have a clearer direction in mind of how to tackle your
problem strategically.
http://www.lifehack.org/569528/how-improve-problem-solving?ref=mail&mtype=daily_newsletter&mid=20170330&uid=687414&hash=707e797f7e757e6d794c856d747b7b3a6f7b79&action=click
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