Management Tips: Developing Superior Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving is a technique which requires the ability to focus on the right thing and pay attention to the facts which led to the issue, not the “If” and “who”. Managers, sometimes daily, need to resolve issues fast and effectively, as it is part of their job. To be able to reach to the solution, which will best help with the problem’s solving, a manager has to be able to look at the event from all possible angles and follow certain steps. Check out this simple plan of action we built for you and find out why time tracking will help you improve your problem-solving skills.

Distancing yourself from the whatever the issue is, is a necessary step, which will help you find the right problem to solve. Since not all complications are what they would originally seem and their core may lay somewhere else.

Defining the problem and describing its exact nature, helps to determine its complexity and impact, therefore, you can more easily move on to analyzing the obstacles.

The analyzing process of a quandary, helps you break the problem in pieces which to explore, hence to create a visual of the situation, which helps you develop the possibilities.

Developing possibilities is much like playing chess. You define the possible paths and the time it will take to resolve the problem, the resources, complications and the outcome of any of any action. Creating plans for those paths will help you select the best solution.

Selecting the best solution from several or more choices is based on your own understanding, which of them will have the best outcome and the lowest possibility of fail and damage of any kind. In other words selecting the plan that in your opinion resolves the problem. When you do that it is important you do not do it with fear or doubt in your own abilities to do it.

Implementing the chosen solution is possibly the hardest part, for it is in our human nature to be worried if we took the right decision. However, if you thought everything through and your plan of action is well developed and detailed, there should not be a problem.

Evaluating and learning from the problem and the plan will always be the best part. It helps you grow, learn and gain confidence in your skills. One of the reasons people on higher and respected positions are always required to possess the problem-solving skills is that they are able to take a decision and think focusing on the solution, not on the problem.

Developing such skills is a promise to a great career. Just as good time management, responsiveness, and cooperation, the problem-solving skill is highly valued and a must for people on executive positions.

To start developing or improving this skill is never too late. All it requires is discipline and as ever – superior time management skills and focus. If you wish to improve your problem-solving skills, start with following this small plan written above for your daily issues and learning how to develop schedules of your tasks.

The time tracking software teaches us the importance of time and focus and helps is learn how to make schedules work for us. If we do not know how to deal with our time and tasks, we cannot effectively break down a problem and find the best way to fix it, since our though is not organized and cannot work in a constructive way.

The construction of a problem-solving plan is the same as that of any schedule. We break down the tasks in pieces, which best serve our cause, make a To-Do list and follow it to the desired outcome. The usage of a time tracking software improves the way we organize things and put our plans into effect, and when we are supposed to lead and organize people and deal with complications and obstacles daily, time tracking is our best chance to react fast and successful to any such thing. To learn what time tracking does for you, click here.