Keep the desired results or end-goal firmly in your mind then proceed to work on one step at a time. © 2018-2020 Vector Marketing. Not listening or not seeking feedback or solutions from others. Chemists. How can you solve a problem that you don’t fully understand otherwise? Failing to give credit to staff who have fixed problems. It’s inevitable—at almost any workplace you will run into “problem” coworkers. You can quickly skim all the 19 tips on handling problems on the table of contents below and then click on any tip to read further details. Plus, how annoying is it when someone asks you something they could’ve easily googled or answered themselves if they sat and thought about it for a little? At the end of the problem solving process, it is helpful to find out if the solution was successful. Regularly check to see what is going well and what isn’t and make adjustments in good time. Finding out what caused the problem/Conducting research, Developing an action plan/Execution strategy, Ways to increase your problem solving skills, Challenges and obstacles in problem solving, Learning from others who have solved similar problems, Seven Steps for Effective Problem Solving in the Workplace, How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills, 9 Ways to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills, 6 Effective Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills, 5 Ways To Improve Your Problem Solving Skills, Seven techniques for boosting independent problem solving skills in the workplace, How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills with These 8 Science-Backed Techniques, 15 Tips on How to Manage Conflict at Work, 39 Ways to Increase Your Productivity at Work, 20 Tips on How to Prioritize Work and Meet Deadlines. And if you didn’t do any research … should you even be asking? Think hard about your question before you bother someone else, and you’ll usually stumble upon the answer yourself. I’m not just talking about hard skills, such as content marketing, sales, or data science, but I’m also talking about “soft skills,” which 57 percent of leaders say are more important than hard skills. Gamers. 10. I realize that I’m attacking the problem from a wrong direction entirely. The only way to get a better understanding of anything is to ask more questions. When and where did the difficulty, obstacle or complication occur? The problem was not fixed, now what? Through the first exit is a room made from a giant magnifying glass, and the blazing hot sun will fry you to death. For example, if tackling a problem for the first time takes x hours, after handling the same problem many times you are likely to fine tune your methods resulting in less time to solve a problem and more improvements and efficiencies. If single quotes are incorrect (which would be an error), then the programmer will try again with double quotes. Some questions to ask include the following: Who or what is affected by the problem? If you aren’t willing to put the effort into fully explaining the problem and how you’ve attacked it, you can’t reap the benefits of thinking deeply about your own problem before you ask others to. Look at your problems as fun puzzles that always have a solution, no matter how hard it may be to find it. Is it affecting one person or many? Unable to solve a problem? Using external experts where needed such as consultants. Whereas problems cannot be entirely eliminated at work, you can take proactive steps to improve the organizational knowledge and capacity for handling problems. Using audits to ensure that laid down procedures are being adhered to and finding out if there are any compliance problems. Why is the problem a problem? Additionally, choosing an alternative could entail making compromises and some parties would have to make concessions therefore, there is a possibility that not everyone would be happy with the final solution. Identify possible solutions through brainstorming.