Friend or foe: Getting the problem right is the first problem

Today the biggest problems we face are complex, adaptive problems. These are problems that seem to have no stopping point, lack an obvious solution and often pay a return visit to see if we have learned anything about how to handle them.

Figuring out how to address complex problems (also known as wicked problems) calls for different skills than most people who choose to lead possess. We don’t know what to do.

What we think we know is that the problem has “an answer.” Figure out the answer; take action and the problem is solved. This approach can work well when we face a technical problem. At technical problem is a problem with a known answer.

Complex adaptive problems are often confused as technical problems by people who lead. This mistake turns into its own problem and compounds the issue. This is because once we think we know the solution, we deploy resources to fix it. People, materials, processes and structures are engage to attack the culprit and put out the fire. When all this fails, the leader loses credibility with the team. This is a leadership setback.

Messing up the problem diagnosis happens for several reasons:

• The problem is often new territory for us so we lack experience
• The problem is recurring and shows no sign of going away
• There is usually conflict embedded in the problem. Conflict that involves people
• It looks as if we need to learn new skills just to understand the problem
• We may be caught out not knowing the “answer” and be seen as incompetent
• And more…,

In today’s world where the future is unknown and unknowable, most of the technical problems have been identified. Those of us who choose to lead are faced with two challenges that as leaders we either address or we get marginalized.

1)      Not only do we not know the answer to the problem, we often don’t even know what questions to ask.

2)      We have to change our approach to leading and that means we will experience some loss of familiar skills. We will need to absorb this loss in order to move ahead. If we resist the loss, we will not go forward.

All this because we undervalued the skill of problem diagnosis in today’s complex world.

ACTION: Make time everyday for a week to reflect and write notes to yourself on the problems you faced that day. What was the nature of the problem? Was it technical or complex? How do you know that?

Self-reflection is the first move to building up problem diagnosis skills.