How can you help your team solve problems in a fast-paced environment?

Using inquiry is key. I like the technique of asking Why? several times until you get to the bottom of the real issue. Too often we focus on symptoms and not the root of the problem. Spending time framing the problem is key to find the appropriate solutions.

Guide the team to spend more time in problem domain and direct them to strictly avoid jumping into solutions without understanding problem. Use brainstorming sessions, boot camps to bring multidisciplinary teams and experts to a single forum for effective discussion.

I think there is a cultural imperative to make it safe/easy to move beyond polite inquiry and get right to the heart of whatever issue the team is grappling with. Once there is comfort and shared "muscle-memory" around blunt, direct problem identification, we can move to collaborative solutioning. Trouble arises when we're polite for too long and dance around the issue...smart people disengage and we're left with mediocre solutions that are often too incremental and not nearly as transformative as they might otherwise be if the actual problem was articulated earlier. Again, culturally it has to be safe for folks to bluntly - and without blame, etc. - identify and articulate root causes of problems.

I believe in: problem analysis must have a finite timeframe - depending on criticality of the service impacted. If it's very critical to your business you must skip to take documentation after minutes - maybe even skip that and go directly to recovery. The art of root cause analysis then happens after service is restored.

En un entorno acelerado, considerando mi sector, el de la de automoción, fomentaría la comunicación abierta, promovería la colaboración entre departamentos y estimularía la creatividad. Implementaría metodologías ágiles para adaptarnos rápidamente a cambios y utilizaría la tecnología para optimizar procesos, garantizando eficiencia y resolución efectiva de problemas. - - - In a fast-paced environment, considering my sector, the automotive industry, I would foster open communication, promote collaboration between departments, and stimulate creativity. I would implement agile methodologies to adapt quickly to changes and use technology to optimize processes, ensuring efficiency and effective problem resolution.

You hire great, talented, and intelligent people to tell you what the best options are. Cost benefit analysis is the lifeblood of a profitable business. Group consensus should guide your path

Diverse idea generation: Foster an atmosphere where diverse ideas are welcomed. Encourage the team to explore unconventional solutions challenging assumptions without hesitation. Guide them through brainstorming sessions or role-playing exercises to spark creativity and widen potential options. Structured evaluation process: Implement tools like decision matrices or cost-benefit analyses to assess the feasibility and impact of each option. Guide the team in objectively weighing the pros and cons, allowing them to discern the most effective solutions. Maintain an impartial stance, facilitating discussions without imposing personal biases.

One tool I’ve found helpful in this stage is the use of issue trees. It does take some time and it does require brainstorming, creativity, and willingness to think independently. This tool helps you build out a set of hypotheses that you can then use to assess your problem in many different ways. Start with your problem at the top and then branch your way down by asking “why is this a problem”? Keep asking this until you cannot think of anymore possibilities or you think you have your most compelling possibilities. Then it’s all a matter of testing out each branch or hypothesis.

Many times in my career and now when mentoring students in the university, I listen first and many time use pros & cons or positive & negatives chart. Sometimes I have to work with the student or employee and pull the +/- out of them. At the end looking at the chart, the employee or student get's the answer.

Explore and evaluate various solutions in a neutral and unbiased way by considering technological feasibility, safety&security aspects , development & validation cost, impact on existing infrastructure/ecosystem/production systems , ease of implementation , scalability , maintainability, etc.

One possible way to help your team solve problems in a fast-paced environment is to use a decision-making model that can help you plan, prioritize, act, and evaluate your solutions in a systematic and efficient way. One such model is the OODA loop, which stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. ? Observe: Gather and analyze data and information about the problem, the situation, and the environment. ? Orient: Interpret and synthesize the data and information, and generate possible solutions or alternatives. ? Decide: Choose the best solution or alternative based on the data and information, and the evaluation and comparison. Act: Implement the solution or alternative, and monitor and measure the progress and outcome.

To choose you need criteria. So invest time in deciding the criteria that will imply a good choice and why are they relevant for the problem you sre trying to solve and for yourself. You can converge to a solution by building your own set of criteria and then trying to "come up with something" or you can use creative patterns that are borrowed from recerse engineering the creative problem-solving process of others that has created some spark of emotion in you ???

Objective alignment: Ensure the chosen solution aligns with both the team and the organization's overarching objectives and values. Guide the team in evaluating the solutions against these parameters to guarantee cohesion. This alignment helps in fostering a solution that doesn't just solve the problem but also aligns with broader goals. Structured implementation planning: Implement tools like SMART goals or Gantt charts to create a detailed roadmap for executing the chosen solution. Break down the steps, allocate responsibilities, and set realistic timelines. Communicate these plans clearly to ensure everyone understands their roles and the overall implementation process.

Use approaches like DAR that can help in evaluation of the best of all. The solution need to tick if not at all but majority of parameters listed in previous section

Resource facilitation: Ensure the team has access to necessary resources, support, and guidance during the implementation phase. Offer feedback, assistance, and encouragement to tackle obstacles, keeping a supportive atmosphere without micromanaging. This empowers the team to act autonomously while knowing assistance is available if required. Performance tracking and learning culture: Utilize tools like checklists, KPIs, or dashboards to monitor progress and measure the impact of the solution. Encourage a culture of celebrating successes, acknowledging challenges, and openly discussing and learning from mistakes. This cultivates a dynamic environment focused on continual improvement.

Set OKRs, use KPIs to monitor the progress. During implementation, people have lot of issues at ground level. Listen to them, guide them and facilitate good support.

Here at work we have a Tracking system that helps a company manage the tasks. If a task is on-track it shows in green. If the task is behind and late then the task is shown in red. If on strack not completed and not late then it shows in yellow. Now that is an automated system, the same applies to a manual process.

Feedback-driven reflection: Encourage team reflection on the solution and the problem-solving process. Utilize tools like surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather comprehensive feedback from stakeholders and customers. Encourage open discussions about what worked, what didn't, and why, fostering an environment that values feedback as a means for continual improvement. Iterative adjustments: Identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement derived from the feedback. Guide the team in making necessary adjustments to the solution or the problem-solving process. Cultivate an iterative approach that values evolution and adaptation, promoting a culture of continuous enhancement and innovation.

It is important to highlight the importance of leadership skills in the "final" step. Reevaluating the outcomes and mitigate the mistakes could be a sensitive matter if the leader didn't use their EQ at the same level as IQ to analyse the outcomes. Obviously no one will get hurt when discuss what went well, however we need to be very conscious that talking about what didn't go well, might become personalised, with pointing fingers. Some will say this is not what organisations do in perfect world, but we are not in a perfect world and the practical experience for me showed, unfortunately, that is what some organisations end up doing.

Reflecting on what worked well, what didn't work well, and if there were any unintended consequences as a result of the initiative is also useful - these could be positive or negative unintended consequences. Did you know that Sildenafil (branded as Viagra) was initially studied for use in hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a symptom of ischaemic heart disease). The effects that Viagra is best known for was actually a side effect that was repeatedly reported by patients during the trials. :-) So recording the all impacts of an initiative are worth recording :-)

Facilitate feedback and review sessions in an open and free environment. Conducting lessons learnt meetings shouldn’t be just to meet process checklist but to get true benefits from it. Great moderators are needed here as everyone will have their perspectives while talking about failures and emotions can be stake. Document improvements and best practices in a good way so that they become valuable for future challenges. Additionally, when a challenging solution is selected, people become the most critical part. Engaging people , motivating them, allowing good communication among them, upskilling them is very very important throughout the phase.

Instituting a 'Dynamic Skills Inventory' (DSI) within your team, a live document, constantly updated, that tracks the current skills of each team member and also includes projections of skills that will be needed in the near and distant future, taking into account the latest industry trends. Encourage your team to engage in continuous learning and to add to the DSI any new abilities they acquire or aspire to develop. This approach serves two functions: 1 it prepares your team for future challenges: they are always at the cutting edge of skill acquisition 2 it fosters a culture of forward-thinking and continuous improvement. By anticipating the skills of tomorrow, they are not merely reacting to change, but are ready and equipped to lead it.

Almost everything related to inter human communication comes down to: manage expectations. Make sure that everyone is on the same page, talking about the same thing, and heading towards the same goal. Too often there was a mismanaged expectation from this or that person which causes a domino of issues in the long run. Always go back to those big team goals, make sure everyone understood and is moving in the same direction. And make sure that those goals are measurable, make them precise, not vague. So that expectations can be managed and achieved!