In just about a month, Americans will go to the polls to elect 23 governors, 33 senators, 435 members of the House of Representatives, one Vice President and, oh yes, one President. In many of those races it is difficult to differentiate the opponents from their ads and campaign signs. Regardless of party, the advertising party is for the “hardworking people” and the opposition is “too radical” or “too extreme.’’ How is it that both sides can be right? They can’t, and too often neither side is.
We see the difficulties in expressing oneself without bias or without attempting to either make less of someone’s accomplishments or to make more of one’s own when they are presented to us in such jarring fashion as a political ad. If we took a close look at our own interactions with those who take a different view of how something should be done, would we see the same traits as we are seeing now being played out on the larger stages?
Among all our interactions at home, at work, and places in between, there are few days when some disagreement doesn’t arise. From the significance of how a project will be funded or a vacation be afforded, to the seeming triviality of who gets the new desk chair or how early to put the trash out, almost any two people will come up with at least two solutions. How we address the discussion is often more important than how we determine the resolution. How do we solve these problematic interactions?
The American Society for Quality, an international organization that fosters critical thinking and achieving excellence, defines problem solving as “the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution.” Notice, nothing in there says, “place the blame,” “say who is wrong,” or “be stubbornly rigid.”
Many management consultants describe problem solving as a complex process. Truly it isn’t. Solving any problem from the simplest to the most involved requires one to master four simple steps.
1. Identify the problem
2. Process the information available
3. Critically consider and discuss possible solutions
4. Collaboratively decide on and implement a plan
Almost always, the solution becomes apparent as soon as the problem or the difference of opinion is identified. When it is not, it will be by the time all the true and factual information has been processed. The key to resolving differences is to collaborate to propose what a solution would look like, then determine the steps necessary to achieve the solution already decided.
Most problem solving failures occur when opposing parties are more interested in having their way rather than determining how their way can fit into a solution. In a previous post, Be Better Together, we discussed the difference between compromise and collaboration. In a compromise, each party gives up something.Collaboration is an act of cooperation and partnership, people working together toward a common goal. You already know what the right answer is, the decision process revolves around how to accomplish that outcome.
Unfortunately, we have no answers for resolving political differences, nor for those of everyday people who are solely interested in their own opinion. To be a true problem solver, you must want to work together with whoever is the other part of the solution equation.
True problem solving has less to do with deciding who is right and everything to do with finding the right way to be.
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