What do you do if your senior brand strategist lacks key problem solving skills?

Invite them for a conversation where you can ask where they're struggling, and offer some guidance and feedback for improvement. Where applicable, see if they can shadow someone and learn from them. Revisit this in a week or two to see if any progress has been made. Suggest some online courses or additional skills training.

If your senior brand strategist lacks key problem-solving skills, it's important to address the issue promptly. Provide constructive feedback, offer additional training or resources, and consider assigning a mentor or coach to help develop those skills. If the problem persists and significantly impacts their performance, you may need to reassess their role within the team or organization.

First and foremost, collect evidence. Before directly sharing with someone how a particular skill set they might be missing, its important to gather some evidence. Why? So that when you share those examples you can also explain how that situation could be different WITH the problem solving skills. Once that is done, sit down with them and assess what is happening, how the situation can be improved upon and if training or mindset shifts are required. -assess -give training/soft skill management -set revised goals -let them take the way ahead

Start by conducting a thorough assessment of the strategist's skills to identify specific areas of weakness. It's important to be objective and constructive during this process, possibly using performance reviews or 360 feedback mechanisms.

This can be very hard to get around, but you could do: - Provide constructive feedback in a supportive manner, focusing on specific instances where problem-solving skills could be improved. - Offer training or mentorship opportunities to help develop problem-solving abilities, such as workshops, courses, or coaching sessions. - Encourage collaboration and brainstorming sessions where team members can collectively tackle challenges and share insights. - Assign projects or tasks that require critical thinking and problem-solving to provide practical opportunities for skill development. - Foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning within the team, where feedback is valued and growth is encouraged.

Strategy is not taught on the "blackboard". It's not just a one-semester course in a college. Notes. There you can also copy or memorize. Strategic ability is acquired in the battles of the marketplace. Invite him to those battles....Play them out with him. Experience must be passed on to younger generations...

Incorporating the "5 Whys" technique into the training can further enhance the strategist’s problem-solving capabilities. This technique involves asking "why" five times to delve deeper into the root cause of a problem, which can be particularly useful for strategists who need to better understand complex issues. For example, if a strategist identifies a decline in website traffic, the first "why" might lead to the discovery that a recent update to the website caused loading issues. Asking "why" again could reveal that the update wasn't properly tested, and so forth, until the fundamental cause is uncovered.

Identifying areas for improvement and providing targeted training is important for enhancing problem-solving skills among staff. Workshops, seminars, or personalized coaching sessions can effectively address weaknesses. Practical training ensures applicability to daily tasks, empowering employees to apply new skills effectively.

When your senior brand strategist hits a roadblock with problem-solving, it's time to rally the team. Encourage them to team up with colleagues who are great at thinking outside the box. Working together, they can bring fresh ideas to the table and help the strategist see things from a new angle. Whether it's through brainstorming sessions, joint projects, or just chatting over coffee, fostering a collaborative vibe is key. Together, they can tackle challenges head-on and help the strategist sharpen their problem-solving skills along the way.

When my senior brand strategist gets “stuck” I encourage collaboration. There are times when we are so close to the problem that we can’t see an opportunity, even if it is right in front of our face. By fostering a spirit of trust and collaboration, I encourage my team to seek third opinions and group brainstorming to revisit our long term and short term goals and key actions we are taking to get there.

By working closely with team members who excel in this area, the strategist can gain new insights and approaches to challenges that they might not have considered independently. This kind of peer learning environment can be highly beneficial. You could facilitate this through organized brainstorming sessions, where team members can share different problem-solving strategies and ideas freely. Another effective approach is to assign team projects that require collective problem-solving, pushing the strategist to engage with and learn from their colleagues’ techniques and thought processes.

Encouraging collaboration among team members with strong problem-solving skills is vital. Their collective insights can bring innovative solutions, enhance learning, and enrich the team's problem-solving skills. Encourage open dialogue, brainstorming, and collaborative projects to harness this potential for greater success.

When my senior brand strategist gets “stuck” I encourage collaboration. There are times when we are so close to the problem that we can’t see an opportunity, even if it is right in front of our face. By fostering a spirit of trust and collaboration, I encourage my team to seek third opinions and group brainstorming to revisit our long term and short term goals and key actions we are taking to get there.

When you establish goals that are specific, achievable, and time-bound, you create a clear pathway for improvement and accountability. For example, a specific goal could be for the strategist to lead a problem-solving session each month, where they apply new techniques like the "5 Whys" to real business problems. An achievable aspect could be to improve the effectiveness of their solutions, as measured by team feedback or the success of implemented strategies. Making these goals time-bound ensures that the strategist and their progress can be evaluated within a defined period, such as quarterly.

Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills through Goal Setting Approach; 1. Goal Clarity: Define specific, achievable & time-bound improvement goals for the brand strategist. 2. Development Roadmap: Goals provide a clear path for skill enhancement & professional growth. 3. Progress Tracking: Regular check-ins monitor progress, maintain motivation & offer feedback. 4. Adaptability: Adjust goals based on progress to ensure continued growth & effectiveness. In my view, by establishing focused goals, providing feedback & monitoring progress, organizations can support their brand strategists in enhancing their problem-solving abilities, fostering skill development & driving professional growth effectively.

Setting clear, measurable goals for improvement can help your senior brand strategist focus on enhancing their problem-solving skills. These goals should be specific, achievable, and time-bound, providing a roadmap for development. Regular check-ins to review progress towards these goals can keep the strategist on track and motivated. It's also an opportunity for you to offer feedback and adjust the goals as needed based on their progress.

Real-Time Assessment for Strategist Development Approach; 1. Applied Learning Observation: Monitor how new strategies are implemented in real-world scenarios. 2. Collaboration Evaluation: Assess improved collaboration with peers for growth tracking. 3. Insightful Growth: Observing changes provides valuable insights for areas needing improvement. 4. Confidence Boost: Continuous monitoring signals investment in development, boosting confidence & commitment. In my view, by actively monitoring progress in handling real-world challenges, assessing collaboration & providing feedback, organizations can support the growth & development of their strategists effectively, fostering a culture of continuous improvement & professional advancement.

I will say, should it become clear that a senior brand strategists problem-solving capabilities are not advancing despite targeted efforts, reconfiguring their role could be a constructive approach. This adjustment need not imply a demotion but rather a strategic realignment of duties that plays to their strengths & mitigates the limitations of their skill set. It may also be prudent to introduce support structures or reallocate specific responsibilities within the team to uphold the integrity & efficacy of the brand strategy. Remember, optimizing team dynamics may require redefining roles to align with individual strengths, ensuring that the collective effort continues to drive a robust & successful brand strategy.

If a senior brand strategist's problem-solving skills show little improvement despite efforts, it's important to reassess their role. This may involve reshaping responsibilities to align with strengths, considering additional support, or redistributing tasks.

Problem solving skills come with natural experience but can also be trained by supportive coaching. Problem solving is very crucial in brand strategy because the strategy is basically derived from understanding the company’s problems and limitations and working around it. So give the person a lot of case studies and push them to think large