How can you adapt your problem solving approach for different team members?
Problem solving is a crucial skill for team leaders, but not everyone on your team may have the same style, preferences, or abilities when it comes to tackling challenges. As a leader, you need to adapt your problem solving approach to suit different team members and help them achieve their goals. In this article, you will learn how to identify different problem solving styles, how to adjust your communication and feedback, and how to foster a collaborative and supportive problem solving culture.
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Ahmad KhattabAmazon Senior Pathways | Imperial MBA | Chartered Engineer | Bar Raiser
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Miguel Casillas VelascoOperations Manager | Supply Chain | Distribution | Quality Control | Logistics | Inventory Management | Import and…
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Haseeb IqbalStrategy | Business Process Reengineering | Digital Transformation | Business Planning | Non-Fuel Retail
One of the first steps to adapt your problem solving approach is to understand how different team members approach problems. There are various frameworks and tools that can help you assess problem solving styles, such as the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or the FourSight Thinking Profile. These tools can help you identify whether your team members are more adaptive or innovative, more intuitive or analytical, more creative or practical, and more clarifying or implementing. Knowing your team members' problem solving styles can help you assign tasks, provide guidance, and leverage their strengths.
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Understanding the team is important. It’s also important to strategise and determine which problem-solving style to collectively adopt: 🔄 Trial and Error: Experiment and learn from mistakes. Iteration refines solutions until the optimal one is reached 🎯 Means-End Analysis: Break down problems into smaller sub-goals addressing each systematically ⏮️ Work Backwards: Start with the end goal and trace steps backward, uncovering the necessary steps to achieve the desired outcome 💭 Gut Instincts: Trust intuition. Cultivate a balance between instinctive and rational analysis 🤔 Heuristics: Formulate problems or utilise algorithms to simplify decision-making. This can streamline complex problems by applying predefined rules
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For problem solving one has to employ a methodology whereby we involve all team members to share their ideas, thoughts and suggestions As a first step all suggestions should be jotted down and should be evaluated in terms of pros and cons by all team members without having the bias of who shared the idea. Discussion should take place in an environment where every member has a safe space to share his/her thoughts and recede on previous opinions While discussing the pros and cons it is imperative to take deep dive into more facts and data which shall help in identifying critical aspects and data points eventually helping in coming towards a logical conclusion The best idea/thought wins however all remaining ideas get archived!
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Understanding team members' problem-solving styles is crucial. Tools like Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator help assess whether team members are adaptive, innovative, intuitive, analytical, creative, practical, clarifying, or implementing. Knowing their styles helps in task assignment, guidance, and leveraging strengths.
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Every member of the team is unique, just like the fingers on your hand. Each has a different capability, but you cannot function without each other. Handling different team members involves recognizing individual strengths, communication styles, and preferences and adapting our management/communication/guidance style accordingly. 1. Spend time to understand your team. 2. Be flexible. 3. Recognize what motivates each member. 4. Support and Guide. 5. Be open to feedback and adapt. 6. Be inclusive.
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É essencial reconhecer a diversidade de habilidades, experiências e perspectivas de cada membro da equipe ao enfrentar desafios. Para isso, é importante ter uma comunicação efetiva, adaptando o estilo de comunicação às preferências individuais. Valorizar as habilidades e conhecimentos individuais também é fundamental, permitindo que cada membro contribua com suas ideias e perspectivas. Além disso, é necessário ter flexibilidade na abordagem, adaptando-a às preferências e necessidades de cada membro. Por fim, promover um ambiente de trabalho colaborativo e inclusivo é essencial para garantir que todos se sintam valorizados e respeitados. Ao fazer isso, a equipe será capaz de enfrentar desafios de forma eficaz e encontrar soluções inovadoras.
Another step to adapt your problem solving approach is to adjust your communication and feedback to match your team members' problem solving styles. For example, if you have a team member who is more adaptive and prefers to follow rules and procedures, you may want to communicate the problem and the expected outcome clearly and provide specific and constructive feedback. On the other hand, if you have a team member who is more innovative and likes to challenge assumptions and generate new ideas, you may want to communicate the problem and the desired outcome broadly and provide open-ended and encouraging feedback. By tailoring your communication and feedback, you can help your team members feel understood and motivated.
A final step to adapt your problem solving approach is to foster a collaborative and supportive culture among your team members. This means creating opportunities for your team members to share their problem solving styles, learn from each other, and appreciate each other's contributions. For example, you can organize brainstorming sessions, peer reviews, or cross-functional projects that allow your team members to exchange ideas, feedback, and perspectives. You can also celebrate successes, acknowledge efforts, and reward innovation that demonstrate your team's problem solving skills. By fostering a collaborative and supportive culture, you can enhance your team's problem solving performance and satisfaction.
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Se recomienda que los líderes establezcan canales formales para dar y recibir feedback de forma periódica, como reuniones 1 a 1 o evaluaciones 360. Asimismo, son útiles los espacios informales de retroalimentación presenciales o virtuales, como cafés compartidos. También se sugiere solicitar feedback anónimo con herramientas como Mentimeter para identificar áreas de mejora grupales sin exponer individuos. Otra buena práctica es que los líderes reconozcan públicamente las contribuciones y especialidades de cada área de experiencia, destacando su experiencia única. Finalmente, para monitorear la satisfacción con la cultura de retroalimentación, se puede realizar encuestas de pulso periódicas.
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Create a collaborative culture by allowing team members to share their problem-solving styles. Organize sessions like brainstorming, peer reviews, or cross-functional projects to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Celebrate successes, acknowledge efforts, and reward innovation to enhance team satisfaction and performance.
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Aligning problem-solving approaches with the overarching culture of the company or team is crucial. If the organizational culture values innovation, encourage team members to explore unconventional solutions and challenge them to think. Alternatively, in a more structured environment, emphasize the importance of systematic analysis and adherence to established procedures. By integrating problem-solving practices, teams can ensure a unified and coherent approach that resonates with the company. This alignment fosters a sense of belonging and purpose, ultimately contributing to more effective and harmonious problem-solving endeavors.
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Incentivar ativamente a participação de todos é crucial; todos têm perspectivas únicas, ponto! Valorizar e compreender os diferentes estilos de resolução de problemas é como abrir um livro rico em variedade. Ao promover sessões colaborativas, como brainstorming e revisões por pares, não apenas compartilhamos ideias, mas também mergulhamos na riqueza do pensamento coletivo. Nossa força reside na diversidade de vozes e na apreciação genuína de como cada mente contribui para o quebra-cabeça desafiador da solução de problemas.
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Una cultura colaborativa parte de asumir que mi éxito personal está asocido a lograr los objetivos trazados, hoy en día, dentro de las grandes organizaciónes, un requisito de mayor peso es la capacidad de realizar el trabajo en equipo, para ello es muy importante la comunicación asertiva, saber explicar y presentar tus ideas y aportes, así como recibir los aportes e ideas del resto del equipo, y así armar u constructo que nos lleve a la meta.
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Create and maintain an open environment of psychological safety. If the employee feels safe and included, any potential problems that arise may be more easily addressed and corrected when the employee feels more open to confiding in you. The main goal is to try to prevent problems from happening to begin with, rather than be in a reactive state of addressing and fixing problems. In the event that a problem does come up, you must seek to understand what is the root issue. Is the problem due to a lack of training (this is ultimately your problem, not theirs), lack of resources (also your problem), family issues, or something else?
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In team leadership, ongoing assessment of team dynamics is vital. Regular check-ins, surveys, or informal conversations provide insights into evolving problem-solving preferences and team collaboration. Adapting leadership based on real-time assessments ensures a dynamic and responsive approach to changing team dynamics.
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Ressalto também a Comunicação como chave. Usar uma linguagem que ressoe com cada um. Alguns preferem uma conversa mais técnica, enquanto outros respondem melhor a um bate-papo informal e direto. Por último, mas igualmente importante, é ser flexível. Estar aberto para ajustar suas estratégias conforme vai conhecendo melhor a equipe. Lembre-se, liderar é como dançar conforme a música, e cada membro da sua equipe tem seu próprio ritmo. Entender isso e adaptar sua abordagem é o segredo para resolver problemas de forma eficaz e harmoniosa.
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Overall remeber that you are dealing and working with people. You are working to paint the big picture and then let them walk around in it. Do not get so uptight that you try to control their breathing. What is so critical to the entire experience and process is allowing them to discover their place. When they do they will pull everyone into it with them. This is a beautiful thing.
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Creating a customized problem-solving approach involves understanding each person's social style. This helps uncover effective methods that nurture diverse thoughts. For analytical thinkers, facts and data are crucial in their problem-solving. Those with a driver mentality might prefer a direct, point-form approach. Expressive individuals benefit from comprehensive discussions exploring the problem's impact, while encouraging and focusing on people is key for the amiable. Recognizing and adapting to these styles enriches problem-solving, fostering inclusivity and embracing diverse perspectives.
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