Get Clear About the Problem First

Years ago, we worked with a leader who was frustrated because a team member repeatedly failed to provide a requested report. I mean, the expectations were clear, the team member agreed to provide the report, and then…NOTHING!

The pattern of requesting the report and then not receiving the report repeated a few times.

I don’t think any of us can blame the leader for being frustrated.

The leader began assuming the problem was a lack of ownership or effort. Maybe the employee was just plain lazy?

But what if none of those things were true?

What if the problem was actually something else—maybe even something much easier to solve?

HERE WAS THE REAL PROBLEM: The team member did not know how to use Microsoft Excel and was too embarrassed to ask for help.

That’s all there was to it.

In reality, this was a much easier problem to solve or navigate than the path the leader’s mind was beginning to go down.

Maybe you’ve never experienced this exact situation, but you’ve likely experienced the frustration and emotion that come with people not meeting your expectations or unexpected problems that arise.

Maybe you’ve felt disappointed, frustrated, even angry, when results fall short.

The bottom line is this:

You’ve experienced frustration that comes with everyday human interactions.

And because you’re the leader, you believe part of your job is to fix the problem.

So you start identifying the problem and attempt to fix it.

But there may be a gap between your frustration and your solution:

Do you actually understand the problem?