Decision Making as the Source of Problems

I frequently get asked to help teams solve problems, but most of the time the problems are self-inflicted, caused by managers making decisions in the attempt to achieve some short-term goal.

Thing would be much better off if managers just started off by asking their teams “What should we do?” or “How could we achieve this goal?”

Managers don’t have the best solutions, and neither do the teams. But when they talk, share and work together, a better solution can be found.

The group can come up with a better solution because we’re not just relying on the skills and education of each individual; we’re drawing on the collective product of their different interests, backgrounds, and points of view.

Maybe one person describes the current challenge and focuses on one aspect of it. Another person, then, might connect that to their background in chess and relate it to other concepts or lessons from that domain. Then the ball starts rolling as ideas connect with other ideas.