How do you react when your problem solving ideas are challenged?

Positive or negative feedback taken with the right spirit helps in shaping your next move i.e., crafting an effective strategy with measured, actionable steps. This approach propels you forward, building momentum and guiding you toward achieving remarkable success.

Feedback is the source of improving your abilities and skills. Negative feedback can be more powerful sources of improving than a positive one.

I love to discuss ideas with different people to get pros and cons and assess if I’m going in the correct direction. I have noticed that the leadership team or some experts might have more information, and once I get those details, I can make a better suggestion. As a consultant, I suggested an improvement in the ERP. After a few rejections, and listening to their reasons, and asking for areas they considered priorities, they “confessed” that the ERP would be replaced, but it was not official yet. It helped me to concentrate on other priorities and strengthen relationships with this customer.

Feedback is a gift! Regardless of message, the sender makes an effort for provide views on how he or she feels. It is important that we take all feedback in a positive light. For positive feedback, we should rejoice and feel encouraged but not let it get into your head. For negative feedback, we should not be discouraged but seek to understand the perspectives of the sender. Many a times, it could be due to miscommunication, wrong perception and/ or indeed something has gone wrong!

I came across the 6 hats of thinking,Edward DeBono. It keeps all attendees on same page and extract thoughts and ideas from all, without personalization. White:? Focus on facts. Yellow:? looks at positive views and focus on the benefits. Black: rep devil’s advocate. Red etc.

I always encourage my teams to challenge and give feedback on an idea or solution. Exercising ones listening and processing feedback are skills highly sought in the teams I form and belong to. At the end of the day feedback, even better when it leads to providing an optimized and motivating feed forward is what leads to team success and exceptional results.

Recognizing that you have room for improvement adds to your credibility as a professional. Owning the areas you can improve and acknowledging those in conversation with others will increase the respect between you and your team. This will build trust within your team and open others to listening to new ideas and ways of solving a problem.

Stay Calm: Keep your cool, even if the feedback surprises you. Take a moment to collect your thoughts. Listen Carefully: When someone gives you feedback, listen closely to what they're saying without getting defensive. Don't Take It Personally: Remember that the feedback is about your actions, not a judgment of you as a person. Stay Positive: Keep a positive attitude. Use the feedback as a stepping stone for improvement. Decide What Helps: Figure out which parts of the feedback can actually help you improve.

Actually problem solving is not that much behavioural or personal that you should react positively or negatively. The problem solving methodology is very mathematical that after putting problem statement explicitly with respect to 5W1H, you should make analysis. The deeper the analysis the problem solving team easily diverges to the solution and agree without any personal discussion.

Realize that communication isn't all about talking. Listen more than talk. Stop thinking you know it all. You don't. As you listen, you'll become a better communicator.

These are reasonable suggestions for encouraging others to see your perspective on a solution. I would caution, however, that sometimes it isn't yet the appropriate time within the problem solving process to criticize ideas. It is generally helpful to cast a wide net first and then begin to narrow. Thus, I'd also suggest considering whether asking people to take a step back and leave room for creation first is appropriate. Simply put, pay attention to where you are in the process.

When I approach a problem I try to think of the pros and cons of my approach. Oftentimes, the option with the most pros is the best step to take.

Share your ideas with an open mind, be clear and concise, make sure everyone understands your reasoning behind your ideas and finally, always ask for other ideas or questions as having a pool of ideas that you can pull from can make your idea grow into something far better than before. Make sure to give credit where it's due, this goes a long way with a team.

Thanking and appreciating others is fundamental. It is good to always perceive and understand that the need of others is a must. Colleague add values to our works and ideas.

A learning mindset is key to improving our problem-solving capabilities. Seek constructive criticism regularly from diverse sources (colleagues, mentors, etc.) as it provides valuable perspective you can apply. Welcome this input, and do not see it as an attack. Great problem solvers are always looking to grow — Expand your skills through courses, research, and observing others to give yourself more tools and insights to draw from.

Break down a problem into several components. A seemingly unsolvable issue will be resolved as you fix each small component one at a time. Another technique to reinforce problem solving is to celebrate with the team or yourself with the successful achievement of each small task. It serves as a strong motivator and reinforcer!

Notice when to distinguish a problem from a dilemma. In a dilemma situation you are dealing with opposites and contradictions you cannot resolve. You can only reconcile them – through a "both/and" approach. Handling opposites and contradictions is an ongoing, creative and thus open-ended process. An example – environmental protection and economic efficiency are often seen as opposites. However, they can be combined. If we want to protect the climate in the long term, we MUST combine the two. We are committed to environmental protection AND at the same time ensure that companies can survive economically. It's two apparent opposites that ought to be combined through reconciliation.

Learning from making mistakes is the best lesson. Problem solving takes trial and error so getting advice or asking for help is the first step in resolution. Each scenario will be different so it's an ongoing platform of assessing the situation and reviewing the potential options. Communication and collaboration is vital to ensure that all avenues have been reviewed prior to making final decisions.

To enhance problem-solving skills, we should welcome challenges to our ideas. When faced with criticism, we should analyze it objectively, seeking valuable insights. This process encourages continuous learning and adaptability, crucial elements in honing problem-solving abilities for more effective solutions.

Deep Listening: Feedback is hardly personal; listen to what is not so obvious Stay objective: Not all feedback serves the main thing Build relationships: Feedback can be a great way to connect with someone who sees your thinking and structuring differently, and in a good way!

Solving problems to most inquisitive people is second nature, but there are so many ways to solve problems and depending on the problem the road to any solution is easier with others input, even if it challenges your own.

Remind yourself that you are trying to get the best outcome for your organization or your client. It's not a contest to prove who is smartest. It's hard to do, but it's doable :)

Problem solving is a great opportunity for exercising creativity. Approaching problems and diving into root causes can be fun if you allow creative or off the wall suggestions from the start with a mindset of open creativity and often can lead you to new answers in surprising ways.

Personally, Diving into root cause (re: motivation) of criticizer and yourself can help paint the picture of any gaps in the problem solving tactics or POV, allowing both (or all if more than 2) involved to work towards alignment and move forward in agreement or at minimum commitment from all sides to move forward. At times, You may need to understand the person before the problem.