As leaders, we often appear to be people desperately in search of solutions. While we may seem harried, however, many of us also recognize that the act of problem solving itself fuels discovery and prompts the creation of remedies, making the practice invaluable in a business setting. Plus, finding an elegant solution to a previously insurmountable problem can feel great, often making the process both fulfilling and inspiring.
Yet, the urgency to arrive at a long-term solution can leave us without time to reflect on the process of critical thinking, the structure of obstacles, or the necessity of teamwork along the way to developing resolutions. Such haste during the problem-solving process thus sometimes diminishes the benefit of learning from the complexity of the procedure itself.
After all, not all attempts at solving a problem succeed. There remains great merit in understanding the reasons for every failed attempt along the way, as well as the factors that eventually lead to the solution.
Failure, when reflected upon, is a wonderful teacher.
Action Steps:
Strive to find multiple methods for solving a problem and then note how the final decision was reached.
Learn to journal your path toward solving a problem by recording your questions, assumptions, and final choices while examining all available options along the way.
Revisit your solution in 90 days to examine its effectiveness and understand how it can inform your future decision-making processes.
When we pause to reflect upon the foregone options, the worthwhile attempts, and the lessons learned, we grow as leaders. The ability to develop elegant, long-term solutions is an essential leadership skill. However, the ability to learn from, observe, and reflect upon the process of solving problems is also essential, allowing us, as leaders, to become adept at facing challenges in the future.
Measuring Performance Measurements
At one hundred millionth of a centimeter, the angstrom is one of the smallest measurements known to science. Conceived of in the 1800s by Swedish astrophysicist Ander Jonas Angstrom, the tiny metric was created to measure wavelengths of light. More than just a new measure, however, the creation of the angstrom effectively ushered in a new era of scientific research.
Measurements have always had the ability to redefine both actions and thought.
As leaders, we measure. We measure the distance between destinations. We measure the number of minutes spent in meetings. We measure the temperature in each room. Most significantly, however, we measure performance toward an end goal.
These measurements provide a context, helping us to understand where we are, how we feel, and what progress we have made. By measuring procedures, outcomes, and financial indicators, we identify trends that inform our ability to develop new ways of achieving results.
Yet, metrics are often seen as punitive or restrictive. And we sometimes experience a sense of failure when such measurement standards, for ourselves, others, and our organizations as a whole, are not met. As leaders, we should embrace measures as a means of charting progress toward the successful completion of goals, while understanding that certain circumstances will ultimately affect such standards.
Action Steps:
Look for predictive measures that summarize smaller metrics and provide a broader view of the effectiveness of your own work and the work of others.
Review your performance measures only as frequently as you can affect change. If it takes a week for you to adjust a metric, then don’t check your progress daily. Frequently checking in on such measurements can be both distracting and demoralizing.
Seek new metrics that are more sensitive and predictive of your goals. Test new measures while you still have old ones in place as a means of capturing comparative data.
In the same way, the angstrom expanded the scope of physical science, the careful selection of metrics can expand our understanding of the dynamics of our own work and the work of others. Yet, remember that different tools are used for looking at cells versus stars; choose the right metrics and your data will become crystal clear.