3 Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills

If there's one thing that can make or break your leadership, it's your ability to solve problems. But what if you're not a natural problem solver? Or, more likely, what if you're not even sure how to get started as a problem solver? Here's how to learn to solve problems under pressure.

Find the Root of the Problem

Understanding the problem

To solve the problem, it’s important that you understand what is causing it. Examine a situation from all angles, asking yourself “why”. It's easy to blame others or yourself for a problem, but don't jump to conclusions about who caused it. Instead of blaming someone else, try asking yourself questions like:

• Why did this happen?

• What do we need to change in our process?

• How can we fix this in future?

Eliminate Obstacles

One of the most important parts of problem solving is eliminating obstacles. You'll never be able to solve a problem if there are multiple obstacles standing in your way.

Think about it: If you're trying to drive from New York City to Los Angeles, but your car won't start, then you have an issue that needs solving before you can even think about driving anywhere. When this happens, it's up to YOU (the driver) and no one else—to find out what's wrong with your vehicle and fix it!

You might think that this is obvious, but when we look at our work lives and personal relationships, we often forget that we need to do our part by removing all possible barriers before coming up with solutions for problems or challenges at hand.

Tackle Problems with a Positive Outlook

A positive outlook can be the difference between a good problem-solver and a great one. How do you make sure you have a positive outlook on problems?

• Don't let problems get you down. It's easy to get discouraged when something goes wrong, but it's also important not to dwell on those issues for too long. Think about how many people don't even know what they're capable of until they try something new and fail at it once or twice! When we learn from our mistakes, we become better problem solvers in the future.

• Ask for help when needed. We all need help sometimes—that doesn't mean we're not capable of solving our own problems! If there are obstacles that keep you from solving a problem, then ask someone else who has more expertise or experience with that particular subject matter than yourself if they would be willing to lend their skillsets towards helping solve it with you rather than tackling it alone (especially true if this particular task has been done before).

• It's okay to ask questions when you don't understand something—in fact, asking questions is a great way to figure out how best to approach the problem.

We hope these tips have helped you improve your problem solving skills. If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!