![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/staging-wmplo.xyz\/mark-c-divi5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20080206_problem_solving.jpg\" "\\"Problem")
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My father set an insane example for how to effectively respond to problems in life.<\/p>\n
For starters, he had no scale.\u00a0 Every setback, minor or major, instantly upended him.\u00a0 He became visibly and vocally upset whenever he hit a bad golf shot, needed a pair of pliers and couldn\u2019t find them, or when I came home with less than stellar grades.<\/p>\n
The expressions \u201cflew off the handle\u201d \u201cgone mad\u201d and \u201chit the roof\u201d were coined by my siblings to describe his reaction to the smallest of life\u2019s delays, interruptions and obstacles.<\/p>\n
While I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, I went into the workforce and leadership very poorly prepared to deal with problems that inevitably surfaced.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s irrationality influenced me to feel embarrassed when problems occurred and drove me to find the quickest (and not necessarily the best) possible resolutions.\u00a0 I\u2019d been unwittingly conditioned to seek perfection at all times and to take difficulties personally \u2013 as if they were all a reflection on me and on my abilities.<\/p>\n
Gratefully, it wasn\u2019t long before I realized I\u2019d been badly mentored.<\/p>\n
Seeing me anguish over some minor, but to me a seemingly monumental issue, a thoughtful manager told me directly:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a complete fantasy to believe you won\u2019t have problems from time-to-time. \u00a0Most importantly, the leaders who make the best of their challenges are the ones who rise to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
This guidance both relieved me and inspired me.\u00a0 I understood that I wasn\u2019t on the hook for every problem that came my way.\u00a0 But I also became motivated to learn more effective ways of responding to the snags, hitches, and complications I would inevitably face.<\/p>\n
Through personal experience, and by modeling the performance of other leaders I admired, I came to see that there are five essential steps to problem resolution in the workplace.\u00a0 Follow this unique process to distinguish yourself as a truly intelligent, mature and thoughtful leader:\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Don\u2019t Exaggerate The Problem\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Always keep your problems in perspective and be sure to avoid feeling or behaving like a victim. The best leaders understand that setbacks are a natural part of life and quickly step up to resolve them.\u00a0 The best guidance I ever received: \u201cCool heads prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Research All Possible Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Rather than hide your troubles, open up to others, especially peers, to see if anyone\u2019s ever faced a similar problem.\u00a0 There are many benefits to doing this.\u00a0 You\u2019ll surface more options to consider and likely will see the problem from a different perspective.\u00a0 And by asking others, you\u2019ll display your own humanity and self-confidence, two key characteristics of highly effective and mature leaders.\u00a0\u00a0 Your intention is to be extremely thorough in defining potential solutions and open to creative alternatives.\u00a0 This is also the time to determine if this problem creates opportunities for you to tackle an even bigger problem.\u00a0 Is this new problem a gift?<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep Constituencies Informed<\/strong><\/p>\n Another of my earliest bosses taught me the word \u201cprodrome<\/em>\u201d which means advance notice.\u00a0 Knowing that problems occur, and sometimes snowball, this manager insisted upon hearing about the \u201cpotential\u201d of a problem before it ever became one.\u00a0\u00a0 If I thought there might be a snag in a project we were working on, he wanted to know immediately.\u00a0 This was brilliant on his part \u2013 he could begin thinking about solutions long before he needed one \u2013 and taught me to give all my future bosses the same kind of advance warning.\u00a0 No one<\/em> likes to be caught by surprises.<\/p>\n