There are so many complicated problems that go unsolved for the lack of one major ingredient: open and honest communication.
Not just honest, but more: radically honest. So honest that feelings bubble to the surface and change the energy in the room. So honest that there are NO doubts how people perceive the situation. They may disagree, but they get closer to understanding.
How can you solve a complicated problem without a clear understanding of both the facts and the feelings of the situation?
The answer is, you likely can't.
Creative, high impact problem solving requires open and radically honest communication.
The analysis could be jarring. Feelings will be exposed and activated. People will occasionally want to hide the facts or hide from the feelings. But unless we completely understand what they are it is incredibly tough to effective deal with them.
Get it all out on the table. Tell it exactly the way we see it. Adjust and change as necessary but get the dialogue going -- unthreatening, unjudging, non-concluding but open.
Once it is safe to say what we see hear and feal, it's safe to start solving the problem.
It's at the heart of complicated problem solving: communication.
What will you do today to encourage people to say what they are really thinking?
-- Doug Smith
-
Problems bring pain. Maybe it's physical, or emotional, or logistical-- as long as the problem is there, so is that pain. When we solv...
-
We're all in a hurry. Urgency is a way of life. When we're working on a problem it feels as if the faster we solve it the better. Bu...
-
How many solutions does your problem need? Sometimes the answer is just one more. It could also be that your problem needs twenty more befor...
-
Sometimes it's more important to be centered than to be right. -- doug smith
-
Who do you get to help you solve your problem? You, of course, that's a given. Also, people who will be impacted by any solution you try...
-
Do you try to do everything on your own? If you're part of a team, and especially if you are leading a team, it goes better by collabora...
-
Emotions can get in the way of solving problems. Stirring up anger, or fear is hardly ever helpful. But what if even in the toughest of situ...
-
Can you solve every problem? Of course not. Some problems need more time, more resources, more miracles. Sometimes the best we can do as a...
-
You could think of it as the ostrich effect - putting your head in the sand to avoid a danger. You can't see it anymore, you don't n...
-
"Don't ignore the problem, but keep it light. Take action with a smile. Adding tension won't solve your troubles faster. Ev...
No comments:
Post a Comment