How can you ensure your team's problem-solving process is sustainable?

1 Assess the situation

Before you jump into solving a problem, you need to understand its nature, scope, and impact. Assessing the situation involves gathering relevant information, identifying the root causes, defining the desired outcomes, and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each team member. This will help you avoid wasting time and resources on irrelevant or superficial issues, and focus on the most important and urgent ones.

2 Choose a suitable model

There are many problem-solving models that you can use to guide your team's process, such as the PDCA cycle, the 5 Whys, the 8D method, or the IDEAL model. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the type, complexity, and context of the problem. You should choose a model that suits your team's needs, preferences, and goals, and that allows you to apply critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills.

3 Implement the solution

Once you have selected a model and followed its steps, you should have a viable solution to your problem. However, implementing the solution is not the end of the problem-solving process. You also need to monitor and evaluate the results, and make adjustments if necessary. Implementing the solution involves testing its feasibility, effectiveness, and efficiency, as well as documenting the process and the outcome, and sharing feedback and learning with your team.

4 Review and improve

A sustainable problem-solving process is not a one-time event, but a continuous cycle of improvement. You should review and improve your process regularly, and learn from your successes and failures. Reviewing and improving your process involves reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses, identifying areas for development, and applying best practices and lessons learned to future problems. You should also celebrate your achievements and recognize your team's efforts and contributions.

5 Foster a positive culture

A sustainable problem-solving process also depends on the culture and climate of your team. You should foster a positive culture that encourages trust, respect, cooperation, and innovation among your team members. A positive culture will help you overcome conflicts, cope with stress, and embrace change. You can foster a positive culture by setting clear and shared expectations, providing support and guidance, promoting diversity and inclusion, and rewarding and recognizing performance and behavior.

6 Seek external input

Finally, a sustainable problem-solving process does not operate in isolation, but in relation to other teams, stakeholders, and environments. You should seek external input to enrich your perspective, expand your resources, and enhance your impact. Seeking external input involves engaging with other experts, customers, partners, or communities, and soliciting their feedback, suggestions, or collaboration. You should also be open to new ideas, opportunities, and challenges that may arise from external input.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?