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Why Problem-Solving Skills Are Essential for Leaders in Any Industry

• 17 Jan 2023

Any organization offering a product or service is in the business of solving problems.

Whether providing medical care to address health issues or quick convenience to those hungry for dinner, a business’s purpose is to satisfy customer needs .

In addition to solving customers’ problems, you’ll undoubtedly encounter challenges within your organization as it evolves to meet customer needs. You’re likely to experience growing pains in the form of missed targets, unattained goals, and team disagreements.

Yet, the ubiquity of problems doesn’t have to be discouraging; with the right frameworks and tools, you can build the skills to solve consumers' and your organization’s most challenging issues.

Here’s a primer on problem-solving in business, why it’s important, the skills you need, and how to build them.

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What Is Problem-Solving in Business?

Problem-solving is the process of systematically removing barriers that prevent you or others from reaching goals.

Your business removes obstacles in customers’ lives through its products or services, just as you can remove obstacles that keep your team from achieving business goals.

Design Thinking

Design thinking , as described by Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar in the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , is a human-centered , solutions-based approach to problem-solving and innovation. Originally created for product design, design thinking’s use case has evolved . It’s now used to solve internal business problems, too.

The design thinking process has four stages :

• Clarify: Clarify a problem through research and feedback from those impacted.
• Ideate: Armed with new insights, generate as many solutions as possible.
• Develop: Combine and cull your ideas into a short list of viable, feasible, and desirable options before building prototypes (if making physical products) and creating a plan of action (if solving an intangible problem).
• Implement: Execute the strongest idea, ensuring clear communication with all stakeholders about its potential value and deliberate reasoning.

Using this framework, you can generate innovative ideas that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise.

Creative Problem-Solving

Another, less structured approach to challenges is creative problem-solving , which employs a series of exercises to explore open-ended solutions and develop new perspectives. This is especially useful when a problem’s root cause has yet to be defined.

You can use creative problem-solving tools in design thinking’s “ideate” stage, which include:

• Brainstorming: Instruct everyone to develop as many ideas as possible in an allotted time frame without passing judgment.
• Divergent thinking exercises: Rather than arriving at the same conclusion (convergent thinking), instruct everyone to come up with a unique idea for a given prompt (divergent thinking). This type of exercise helps avoid the tendency to agree with others’ ideas without considering alternatives.
• Alternate worlds: Ask your team to consider how various personas would manage the problem. For instance, how would a pilot approach it? What about a young child? What about a seasoned engineer?

It can be tempting to fall back on how problems have been solved before, especially if they worked well. However, if you’re striving for innovation, relying on existing systems can stunt your company’s growth.

Related: How to Be a More Creative Problem-Solver at Work: 8 Tips

Why Is Problem-Solving Important for Leaders?

While obstacles’ specifics vary between industries, strong problem-solving skills are crucial for leaders in any field.

Whether building a new product or dealing with internal issues, you’re bound to come up against challenges. Having frameworks and tools at your disposal when they arise can turn issues into opportunities.

As a leader, it’s rarely your responsibility to solve a problem single-handedly, so it’s crucial to know how to empower employees to work together to find the best solution.

Your job is to guide them through each step of the framework and set the parameters and prompts within which they can be creative. Then, you can develop a list of ideas together, test the best ones, and implement the chosen solution.

Related: 5 Design Thinking Skills for Business Professionals

4 Problem-Solving Skills All Leaders Need

1. problem framing.

One key skill for any leader is framing problems in a way that makes sense for their organization. Problem framing is defined in Design Thinking and Innovation as determining the scope, context, and perspective of the problem you’re trying to solve.

“Before you begin to generate solutions for your problem, you must always think hard about how you’re going to frame that problem,” Datar says in the course.

For instance, imagine you work for a company that sells children’s sneakers, and sales have plummeted. When framing the problem, consider:

• What is the children’s sneaker market like right now?
• Should we improve the quality of our sneakers?
• Should we assess all children’s footwear?
• Is this a marketing issue for children’s sneakers specifically?
• Is this a bigger issue that impacts how we should market or produce all footwear?

While there’s no one right way to frame a problem, how you do can impact the solutions you generate. It’s imperative to accurately frame problems to align with organizational priorities and ensure your team generates useful ideas for your firm.

To solve a problem, you need to empathize with those impacted by it. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ emotions and experiences. While many believe empathy is a fixed trait, it’s a skill you can strengthen through practice.

When confronted with a problem, consider whom it impacts. Returning to the children’s sneaker example, think of who’s affected:

• Your organization’s employees, because sales are down
• The customers who typically buy your sneakers
• The children who typically wear your sneakers

Empathy is required to get to the problem’s root and consider each group’s perspective. Assuming someone’s perspective often isn’t accurate, so the best way to get that information is by collecting user feedback.

For instance, if you asked customers who typically buy your children’s sneakers why they’ve stopped, they could say, “A new brand of children’s sneakers came onto the market that have soles with more traction. I want my child to be as safe as possible, so I bought those instead.”

When someone shares their feelings and experiences, you have an opportunity to empathize with them. This can yield solutions to their problem that directly address its root and shows you care. In this case, you may design a new line of children’s sneakers with extremely grippy soles for added safety, knowing that’s what your customers care most about.

Related: 3 Effective Methods for Assessing Customer Needs

3. Breaking Cognitive Fixedness

Cognitive fixedness is a state of mind in which you examine situations through the lens of past experiences. This locks you into one mindset rather than allowing you to consider alternative possibilities.

For instance, your cognitive fixedness may make you think rubber is the only material for sneaker treads. What else could you use? Is there a grippier alternative you haven’t considered?

Problem-solving is all about overcoming cognitive fixedness. You not only need to foster this skill in yourself but among your team.

4. Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment

As a leader, it’s your job to create an environment conducive to problem-solving. In a psychologically safe environment, all team members feel comfortable bringing ideas to the table, which are likely influenced by their personal opinions and experiences.

If employees are penalized for “bad” ideas or chastised for questioning long-held procedures and systems, innovation has no place to take root.

By employing the design thinking framework and creative problem-solving exercises, you can foster a setting in which your team feels comfortable sharing ideas and new, innovative solutions can grow.

How to Build Problem-Solving Skills

The most obvious answer to how to build your problem-solving skills is perhaps the most intimidating: You must practice.

Again and again, you’ll encounter challenges, use creative problem-solving tools and design thinking frameworks, and assess results to learn what to do differently next time.

While most of your practice will occur within your organization, you can learn in a lower-stakes setting by taking an online course, such as Design Thinking and Innovation . Datar guides you through each tool and framework, presenting real-world business examples to help you envision how you would approach the same types of problems in your organization.

Are you interested in uncovering innovative solutions for your organization’s business problems? Explore Design Thinking and Innovation —one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses —to learn how to leverage proven frameworks and tools to solve challenges. Not sure which course is right for you? Download our free flowchart .

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Problem-solving in Leadership: How to Master the 5 Key Skills

The role of problem-solving in enhancing team morale, the right approach to problem-solving in leadership, developing problem-solving skills in leadership, leadership problem-solving examples.

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What’s the Role of Problem-solving in Leadership?

• Getting to the root of the issue:  First, Sarah starts by looking at the numbers for the past few months. She identifies the products for which sales are falling. She then attempts to correlate it with the seasonal nature of consumption or if there is any other cause hiding behind the numbers. 
• Identifying the sources of the problem:  In the next step, Sarah attempts to understand why sales are falling. Is it the entry of a new competitor in the next neighborhood, or have consumption preferences changed over time? She asks some of her present and past customers for feedback to get more ideas. 
• Putting facts on the table:  Next up, Sarah talks to her sales team to understand their issues. They could be lacking training or facing heavy workloads, impacting their productivity. Together, they come up with a few ideas to improve sales. 
• Selection and application:  Finally, Sarah and her team pick up a few ideas to work on after analyzing their costs and benefits. They ensure adequate resources, and Sarah provides support by guiding them wherever needed during the planning and execution stage. 
• Identifying the root cause of the problem.
• Brainstorming possible solutions.
• Evaluating those solutions to select the best one.
• Implementing it.

• Analytical thinking:   Analytical thinking skills refer to a leader’s abilities that help them analyze, study, and understand complex problems. It allows them to dive deeper into the issues impacting their teams and ensures that they can identify the causes accurately. 
• Critical Thinking:  Critical thinking skills ensure leaders can think beyond the obvious. They enable leaders to question assumptions, break free from biases, and analyze situations and facts for accuracy. 
• Creativity:  Problems are often not solved straightaway. Leaders need to think out of the box and traverse unconventional routes. Creativity lies at the center of this idea of thinking outside the box and creating pathways where none are apparent. 
• Decision-making:  Cool, you have three ways to go. But where to head? That’s where decision-making comes into play – fine-tuning analysis and making the choices after weighing the pros and cons well. 
• Effective Communication:  Last but not at the end lies effective communication that brings together multiple stakeholders to solve a problem. It is an essential skill to collaborate with all the parties in any issue. Leaders need communication skills to share their ideas and gain support for them.

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The Power of Leaders Who Focus on Solving Problems

• Deborah Ancona
• Hal Gregersen

Can you get people excited about the problems that excite you?

There’s a new kind of leadership taking hold in organizations. Strikingly, these new leaders don’t like to be called leaders, and none has any expectation that they will attract “followers”  personally  — by dint of their charisma, status in a hierarchy, or access to resources. Instead, their method is to get others excited about whatever problem they have identified as ripe for a novel solution. Having fallen in love with a problem, they step up to leadership — but only reluctantly and only as necessary to get it solved. Leadership becomes an intermittent activity as people with enthusiasm and expertise step up as needed, and readily step aside when, based on the needs of the project, another team member’s strengths are more central. Rather than being pure generalists, leaders pursue their own deep expertise, while gaining enough familiarity with other knowledge realms to make the necessary connections. They expect to be involved in a series of initiatives with contributors fluidly assembling and disassembling.

In front of a packed room of MIT students and alumni, Vivienne Ming is holding forth in a style all her own. “Embrace cyborgs,” she calls out, as she clicks to a slide that raises eyebrows even in this tech-smitten crowd. “ Really . Fifteen to 25 years from now, cognitive neuroprosthetics will fundamentally change the definition of what it means to be human.”

• Deborah Ancona is the Seley Distinguished Professor of Management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and the founder of the MIT Leadership Center.
• Hal Gregersen is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management , a globally recognized expert in navigating rapid change, and a Thinkers50 ranked management thinker. He is the author of Questions Are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life and the coauthor of The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators .

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What Is Problem-Solving? How to Use Problem-Solving Skills to Resolve Issues

Great businesses don’t exist to simply grow and make money. Instead, they solve the world’s problems , from tiny issues to giant dilemmas. Problem-solving is essentially the main function of organizations. An effective organization will have systems and processes in place to reach their goals and solve problems. If a company has team members and leaders who have poor problem-solving skills, that means they’re ineffective at one of the core functions of a business.

What Is Problem-Solving?

What is the general process of problem-solving, 1. define the problem, 2. brainstorm possible solutions, 3. research several options.

After you’ve come up with several possible alternative solutions, pick two or three that seem the most promising using your analytical skills. Then you’ll need to buckle down and do some research to see which one to pursue. Conduct your research using primary and secondary resources.

4. Select a Solution

In order to make the most objective decision:

5. Develop an Action Plan

When the right choice is made, and the solution is placed into the overall strategy, start developing an action plan . Lay out the “who,” “what,” “when,” “why,” and “how.” Visualize exactly what success looks like with this new plan. When working through the problem-solving process, write all the details down. This helps leaders construct action items and delegate them accordingly. Never leave this part of the process empty-handed. Your team needs a clear picture of expectations so they can properly implement the solution. And if everything works, you can use this problem-solving model in the future.

The Best Problem-Solving Strategies and Tools

One of the best ways to discover the root cause of a problem is by utilizing the 5 Whys method. This strategy was developed by Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota Industries. It’s as simple as it sounds. When a problem occurs, ask why it happened five times. In theory, the last answer should get to the heart of the issue.

First Principles Thinking

When one engages in first principles thinking , they end up questioning what everyone just assumes to be true. It effectively removes those assumptions , breaking things down into their most basic elements that are probably true. It’s all about getting to that core foundation of truth and building out from there. Problem-solving skills should always include first principles thinking.

Steve Jobs’ Problem-Solving Method

What to do when a problem feels too big to solve.

Tackling a problem that feels too big to solve requires a can-do, positive mindset. In order to improve your problem-solving, you’ll need to take remember these steps. Imagine what is possible instead of focusing on what seems impossible. As you do so, you’ll become skilled in solving all sorts of problems while also improving your decision-making.

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Problem solving: a critical leadership skill.

Home » Blog » Business » Problem Solving: A Critical Leadership Skill

Today’s leadership responsibilities and roles aren’t limited to delegating and management. Instead, when it comes to effective leadership, problem solving is not only an important skill, but a crucial role for leaders to take on.

Faced with more complex challenges in business and the world at large, many leaders are embracing what some traditionalists may call anti-leadership. Instead of focusing primarily on managing their people, many leaders are fixing their attention on the problems at hand, and unintentionally leading people excited about the solutions they are striving for. Founder of the MIT Leadership Center Deborah Ancona and Executive Director Hal Gregersen have labeled this problem-led leadership , and are reporting an increase in this distinctive style.

Even on a smaller scale, problem solving is a critical component for leaders who must strive to eliminate barriers and challenges that can otherwise hinder their people’s or their business’ progress. In a Harvard Business Review study about the skills that influence a leader’s success, problem solving ranked third out of 16.

As a leader, you need to approach problem solving as an opportunity, with a broad perspective and a calm demeanor. And, you’ll want to arm yourself with a few critical approaches to hone your problem-solving skills.

How to Develop Problem Solving Skills

Identify and define the problem.

Implementing a solution too early may not fully address the problem. Instead, invest time in understanding and defining the scope and nature of the problem to generate several good solutions before taking action. Don’t confuse a generic label of the problem (for example, the sales forecast is wrong) with the real definition of the problem. To truly define the problem, you would need to indicate something like: I know our department anticipated twice the revenue shown in the forecast here, and only three salespeople are represented from a staff of 10. Then, you also need to identify when and what the resolution needs to be: In one week, I need the correct forecast available for a board meeting.

Analyze the Problem

You will also want to assess the degree to which the problem has affected the overall business. In the example above, perhaps the sales forecast report has impacted other departments in the company as well. Look for overall patterns and ask questions about who, what, when, where, why and how to understand the scale of the impact. The objective is to find the root cause to allow you to implement a permanent resolution instead of a temporary fix.

Data offers a fact-based perspective on a problem and can help you define the issue. Learn what types of data are available for you and how to interpret the datasets. And, be sure to translate your findings in clear and meaningful ways for stakeholders who can support resolutions.

Communicate

You will need to cultivate good communication skills, to allow you to clearly and effectively relay the problem to key stakeholders. Then, you’ll also need to inspire the people who are supporting the solution to remain connected to the task until it is resolved.  

Transparency is a key tenant of communication to ensure all aspects of a problem are understood. This is also critical when proposing solutions, as you need to understand different perspectives and concerns before implementing what you believe to be the right approach. Sometimes, this may entail keeping team members accountable for giving honest feedback, as not everyone feels comfortable sharing, particularly negative or dissenting opinions.

Finally, once you have a plan, you’ll need to communicate unambiguously to implement it.

Be Open-Minded

Problem solving cannot be done well if leaders are change- or risk-averse – or worse, allowing team members to mask inefficiencies. You’ll need to be able to assess a problem outside of immediate, obvious details, and be open to taking risks to find a better, more innovative approach. Problem solving is best conducted when many people can contribute their best ideas and skills, and you’ll need to keep an open mind to hear from top talent and innovate ideas across the organization, and to take on a new perspective.

Develop Solutions

Once the problem has been identified and analyzed and you’ve brainstormed solutions, you’ll want to narrow down a few fully developed solutions. Presenting every idea on the list to stakeholders or clients can hamper decisions. With a narrowed list, you can design a long-term solution or two that consider the time, cost, and technology required to support the solution.  

Learn From Mistakes

Mistakes are a natural part of growth and development, and fostering solid problem-solving skills will likely entail some errors along the way. But mistakes can provide learning opportunities and improve your overall process and approach – as long as you appreciate them as a learning opportunity. Even if you aren’t grappling with an obvious mistake, take time to reflect on the overall process and approach and determine if you would change anything to boost efficiency, creativity, or speed the next time.

Cultivating strong problem-solving skills is critical for leaders at any level and career stage, and starting now ensures as you advance, you’ll be fine-tuning this vital skill instead of trying to play catch up.

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The Leader’s 5-Step Process for Solving Any Problem

This blog post has been adapted from Dr. John Maxwell’s leadership resource, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. John Maxwell has been one of the world’s foremost leadership and personal growth experts for more than 40 years, and this guidebook for leadership development contains invaluable insights. You can pick up a copy here .

Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Not everyone sees things this way. Some are presented with tough problems or hard choices and throw up their hands in frustration. But viewing a challenge as an obstacle, rather than an opportunity, does not prevent us from having the problem – it only affects our ability to solve it.

Any leader who can shift his or her thinking from Is there an answer? to There is always an answer to There must be a good answer has the potential to become not only a fantastic problem solver, but also a change agent for opportunity.

Not Problems, But Possibilities

Leadership author and speaker Glenn Llopis has written about the power of this problem-solving perspective. He quoted Karl Popper: “All life is problem solving.” Then he went on to say, “The best leaders are the best problem solvers. They have the patience to step back and see the problem at-hand through broadened observation… The most effective leaders approach problems through a lens of opportunity.”

So how can leaders look at problems through the lens of opportunity? Try these 5 perspective-shifting approaches:

1. RECOGNIZE A POTENTIAL PROBLEM BEFORE IT BECOMES A REAL PROBLEM.

Great leaders are rarely blindsided. Like boxers, they recognize that the punch that knocks them out is usually the one they didn’t see coming. For that reason they are always looking for signs and indicators that will give them insight into any potential problems ahead. Every problem is like the one faced by the trespasser at an Indiana farm who saw a sign on a fence post that said, “If you cross this field, you’d better do it in 9.8 seconds. The bull can do it in 10 seconds.”

Good leaders anticipate problems so they can position themselves and those who follow them for success. What potential problems do you see in your world, and what is your game plan to fix them when they happen? Downsides rarely have an upside unless you are ready for them on the front end.

2. GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE PROBLEM.

Have you ever heard the saying “Assumption is the mother of mess-ups”? If assumptions create mess-ups in everyday life, they create trainwrecks in leadership. The place to start is by getting a clear picture of the problem you face. Financier and business titan J. P. Morgan asserted, “No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking.”

That process begins by identifying what constitutes a problem. Author Bobb Biehl defines a problem as “a situation that’s counter to your intentions or expectations.” So what must a leader do when they find themselves facing one of these counter-situations? They must follow the advice of author Max De Pree, who said, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.”

3. ASK QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU SOLVE PROBLEMS.

Questions are a vital resource for problem solving. Not only do they help leaders gather information and seek solutions, but they also enable us to understand what people think and feel before we lead them. Many leaders are too quick to talk and lead, and too slow to ask questions and listen.

Consider these clarifying questions next time you’re faced with difficulty:

• Who knows the most about this problem?
• Who knows what I need to know?
• Who wants to tackle this problem?
• Who needs to buy in, and how long will that take?

4. ALWAYS COME UP WITH MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

As you seek to solve problems, list as many solutions to a problem as possible. The more, the better. Keep in mind that seldom is there just one way to solve a problem. The more options the better, because problems continually shift and change. Leaders who don’t have backup solutions soon find themselves in trouble.

The truth is that big ideas don’t appear—they evolve. But that only happens when you are determined to explore ideas and look for more and better solutions.

5. INSPIRE ACTION.

One of the greatest dangers for a thoughtful person is to spend too much time on problem solving and too little time on solution implementing. Leaders who don’t or can’t follow through are in danger of thinking, Ready, aim, aim, aim… but never fire!

The solution is to develop a bias for action. Don’t think, Can I? Instead think, How can I? Then start moving forward. The moment you confront and act on a problem, you begin to solve it. If great inventors and explorers hadn’t taken tangible, deliberate steps forward, would they have made the contributions they’re known for? No! Their belief prompted action and their action created results. Ideas evolve as you move, and better solutions come into view as you move forward. Ultimately, you can’t wish or wait your way through difficulties. You must work your way through them.

How do great leaders improve? One way is by committing to always improving their leadership skills and surrounding themselves with like-minded people.

Maxwell Leadership is proud to present Day to Grow… a one-day leadership development conference in Orlando, Florida, on August 14th , featuring incredible speakers like John C. Maxwell, Atomic Habits author James Clear, Juliet Funt, and Ryan Leak. Ready to reserve your seat at Day to Grow? Click here to register .

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How To Be a Problem-Solving Leader

DecisionWise

On this episode of the podcast, Matthew Wride and Charles Rogel continue our discussion around manager best practices, focusing on problem-solving. They touch on:

– How to identify the root cause of a problem before jumping to a solution. – Having a competency-based culture where behaviors are measured and improved upon. – Myths and common misconceptions associated with problem-solving. – Creating a roadmap by working backward from the ideal state to your current state.

Transcription

Hello and welcome to the decision-wise engaging people podcast. My name is Charles Rodel and I’m the vice president of consulting services here at decision-wise today. I’m joined by Matt Wride, the decision-wise president and senior consultant.

Hi Charles. Thanks for having me.

Today we’re going to continue our series discussing approaches to improve leadership competencies, more specifically the competency of problem solving.

And so I guess to begin, let’s talk about how we would define problem solving as a leadership competency and also why.

Sure.  We define problem solving based on four behavior statements. And that’s because in the process of measuring, which is what we do with three sixties and other instruments, we try to give someone who’s rating a leader on their problem solving ability.

We try to give them these four behavior statements and ask them for their feedback.

Number one uses pertinent and relevant facts and information when solving problems. Okay. So we’re looking to see how well are they using the underlying data? Are they making data-driven decisions?

Number two looks beyond the obvious to find the underlying causes.

Okay. So the ability to go deeper, the ability to see an analysis happening at various levels to look for root causes,

Not just make a quick decision?

Yeah, that’s right. Number three, the third behavioral statement is solves difficult problems with effective solution. That’s sort of outcome based.  It doesn’t really help someone know how to be a better problem solver, but in evaluating that we need to know, are they good at overcoming roadblocks?

Yeah. And do they get the job done?

Right. And then do they involve others?  In problem solving and that is seeking help bouncing ideas off of others asking others. for input to avoid biases and other things that creep into our problem solving. So that’s how we measure problem solving.

Yeah. So it seems pretty comprehensive. We have kind of these four actionable statements that we’re trying to use. Normally these up here on a 360 survey, as we’re measuring this for leader, other people get to kind of chime in and, and rate someone on those statements as well.

Right, and it’s my opinion that this is one of the most important competencies that for me personally, here at DecisionWise in, kind of overseeing our efforts to grow and improve finding employees that have problem solving capabilities that are high in this area is vital. And that’s because we don’t hire labor anymore to sort of just do things, to process things for us.

I mean, that’s still a part of manufacturing facilities and other organizations that are structured that way. But in a knowledge worker economy, we’re looking for people who can see a problem, and then start to automatically find a way to get rid of the roadblock. And as we hire, we’re looking for those people that can do that, because that means we’re faster, better at responding to our clients’ needs. We’re better at gaining market share all those things that we care about.

Yeah. And I think a lot of people, you know, they come into an organization. If you’re new, especially you just trying to learn your job and get up to speed and you get to a point in the job or your career where you can tend to start having an opinion about things. Right. You see the bigger picture, how things work, what needs fixing efficiencies that need to happen. And so that’s when you can get into problem solving mode to really say, yeah, this isn’t working. Right. I think I have a better idea here. Let’s try to pursue this.

Right. And that is step one, right? The ability to identify a problem is foundationally, but we don’t want people to stop there.

And that’s because anybody can point out problems. The ones, that do it well go beyond identifying the problem and they start identifying. Causes so that they can evaluate solutions. They start researching different ways to solve the problem.  We have lots of folks that can identify problems, but it’s rare when you get someone who identifies a problem, then comes preloaded with all the ideas and possible ways of solving it. Those are just gifts.

So let’s talk a little bit about then.  Building competencies, competencies in general.

I am really keen on this notion called a competency-based culture. We do a lot of measurement around here. We measure organizations, different ways, different sizes. And a lot of times we think culture represents the way things work around a particular place. Right. Kind of what it’s like to be there. I like cultures that are based on competencies and behaviors, because I think it’s easier to align people to those standards than  to say something aspirational.

I mean, so often we’ll have a set of values, like drive it’s very aspirational, but if we don’t go further and say, well, what does that look like? What does drive mean? when you further add on a behavior statement, like takes initiative comes up with identifies new opportunities for growth.

you make it much more clear to people what you’re expecting of them. And so cultures that are built around competencies that are defined and measured by behaviors, I believe are fair. In a sense that they let people know what we expect of them. They give us an objective measurement.

And so I’m really keen on organizations, building their cultures around competencies and behaviors, as opposed to around aspirational statements or success when or we drive change, you know, those things. don’t go deep and to And it’s funny cause you want to set a culture around specific values.

And so I’ll see a list of like six values for an organization and they’ll define them and sometimes they’ll be a little nebulous or they might be a little aspirational, like you’re saying, but once you say, well, how do we, what are the behaviors that drive that value? So once you start defining the competencies and behaviors, people get it. And then once you measure against those, all of a sudden people know what the expectations are and how they’re going to be evaluated..

That’s exactly right. I mean, and you do this stuff in your sleep, but that’s where we add value. As we really are able to take a nebulous idea of, Hey, this is a, a value or a concept we want to make part of our culture.

then we come in and we can help say, okay, let’s get really clear about the behaviors we want to see associated with that.

That’s a good point. So let’s talk then a little bit then about some of the myths associated with problem solving.

Yeah. think it’s fun to, tackle MIS and sort of talk about when something is by noting what it’s not, and I’ll give you an analogy listen to a podcast a while back, and it was by someone who is.

trained in forgeries and detecting forgeries and somebody says, well, you must study all sorts of forgeries all the time. And he says, no, I actually study. And study and study the real thing. And when I know it, so well, the forgeries pop-out automatic,

So becoming a subject matter expert.

Right. And I say that, and so it’s fun, but I love to talk about the myths because they help us understand really what at its core problem solving is all about. Anyway, myth, number one, problem, solving and critical thinking are the same. And that’s not true. Problem solving is a seven. This notion of critical thinking, it’s kind of what we talked about.

You can identify an issue or a problem associated with an argument or a, a decision that the organization is making, but problem solving goes beyond just identifying to actually evaluating solutions thinking of creative ways to solve the problem. Maybe you Invert your thinking to work backwards from solution to problem.

Those types of things are all associated with problem solving. And that’s not the same thing as critical thinking. Right? Number two is the second myth is good. Problem solvers intuitively shoot from the hip, and that’s a myth problem solving is a skill. You can learn how to do it. You can have systems and mental models that help you become a good problem solver.

And so don’t think that this is just something that you know, how to fix stuff. It doesn’t, that’s not how it works. Myth. Number three, if you come up with a good solution, you’re a good problem. And that’s sometimes there’s luck, you know, a broken clock is right. Twice a day. Right. It’s the old, old saying.

So not necessarily just because you can come up with a solution do you mean that you’re a problem solver, myth, number four, you are born with the ability to solve problems that is somehow in an innate ability.

No. A five you must like puzzles. You don’t have to be a puzzle person to be a problem solver.

And number six, there’s only one answer to a problem, or you can only solve a problem in one way and good problem solvers. They look at a variety of angles of attack to a problem there they’re not focused on one way. They Keep all their options open until they’ve evaluated the different scenarios.

So in that sense, by discussing what problem solving is not, I think we have a better understanding of what it is.

Great. So let’s talk then more about the competency itself. Like what it means, what does it mean to be good at this? Okay. Yeah. The first thing that I want to talk about is something that a consulting firm partners in leadership teaches, and that is beliefs are foundational to change and to problem solving.

Okay. so first to be a good problem solver, you have to believe that you have the. that you can affect that outcome. And you’re not a victim. You also have to have a belief in the underlying solution and, and the reason that you need to solve the problem and, and all sorts of those things.

You’ve, got to have reason to care if you will. And you have to have confidence that what you are proposing. We’ll work. So again, you have to start with your beliefs and if you don’t believe you’re a problem solver, you probably won’t be a good one.

And if you don’t believe in the underlying mission of what you’re trying to accomplish, you probably won’t be a good problem solver. So make sure that you have identified your beliefs and that those beliefs are aligned with where you want to go.

good problem solvers, have a pattern. And again, I’m sourcing this material to partners in leadership, but they see it. They own it, they solve it and they do it. In other words, it’s, action-oriented that’s why you don’t have to be good at puzzles is it’s not a game. It’s not just something you sit around and do on the train as you commute to and from work problem solving as an activity.

And you get in and you, you identify problems you move things forward. Some other tips that I like to talk about is remain objective list the obstacles that are stopping you from progressing. There’s a great saying that the territory is not the map. And what I mean by that is sometimes we can think that the map represents the problem.

Like our conceptualization of the problem is, is what it really is, It’s not. And so, you have to be really, really good at being a great cartographer. A good problem solver is a really great cartographer or a map builder. Okay.  You’re an outdoors guys, but the better your map is the more fun you can have.

And so if you want to be a great problem solver, Everything about that problem. That’s what I mean by map building, you know, the nuances, the elevation gains all of the tributaries and all the things associated with that. And so good problem solvers are great. Cartographers if you will.

And this is, I see this happen a lot because we’ll do kind of action planning sessions with clients and we’ll get into this you know, identify what the problem is. So, we have poor communication in the organization and we’ll sit down with a group. Well, and everyone jumps into solution. Right off the bat. So we need to do this and this and this, and they don’t map out the problem effectively. So they don’t identify, well, why is it not working? So we, we call it the current state, right?

So identify what is happening now. That’s not working. and if you can have a longer discussion and you can pull the reins back on people from getting into problem solving immediately. They will really have dissected what the problem is first or the issues are, get them all on the table, summarize what they are now they can go and problem solve. So, yeah, too many times we jumped headlong into coming up with ideas for solutions that. Not baked well enough.

You’re so right. that’s why I like to propose some sort of like a 70, 30 rule spent 70% of the time understanding of the problem and only 30% coming up with solutions if you just walk in and say, Hey, let’s list all the possibilities. You’re going to spend time going down, rabbit holes and things that won’t matter. Whereas if I loved your phrase mapped the problem. If you’ve accurately mapped the problem, a lot of times the solution reveals itself.

So asking questions. Why times three, you know, Y Y Y Y you know for example, customer comes and says they don’t like the platform. Well, why is that? Well, it’s hard to use. What does that mean? You know, and you just keep digging down till you get to the root causes, then the solution presents itself.

What problem are you trying to solve?

I think problems solving needs a system. So if you’re doing it with people, you need to have a facilitator. You need to be organized. do you need to list your efforts and record your experimentation? I love the idea of inverting, your thinking, which is reverse engineering.

Sometimes we look at a problem and we try to think of it as how do I go from point a to B, but instead of going that way, how all the things you need to get to point B and then work backwards. It’s called. So it’s a tip of inverting your thinking. So if,  my desire is to have a really great training session with a group of employees, start with that, identify the ideal and work back of all the things that you need in order to accomplish that.

And that will. Create a better map or a better roadmap of where you want to go. Then if you just say, well, okay, now we need to get a room. Now we need to get some tables right now. I need a trainer. And those things that working backwards from the ideal state, you mentioned like the future state, describe your future state and how do we, you get there and that’s in verse thinking and that’s where your, you invert your thinking to do.

You’ve got to be open-minded. You can not solve problems without others. You have to be rational. You have to be willing to change your mind when new information presents itself and gives you a reason to change your mind. You have to cast your ego aside and look for the good of the organization and solving the problem is more important than getting credit.

I think good problem solvers are well-versed in other areas and disciplines. They find solutions. I’ve seen business people find solutions and things such as biology and what that is is they’ll look at an ecosystem and understand how ecosystems interact and they’ll use that understanding to say, well, that applies to my organization. That applies to how we interact as a team. So they’re able to use connections between various disciplines, science, physics, and all sorts of things

one last point I really want to make is about as I mentioned the need to understand concepts from other fields, I wanted to give you an example here, how we do that here?

Yeah.  There’s a principle in quantum mechanics called the observer effect that when you observe a particle, you actually can change its state. The famous illustration is known as show diggers cats, conundrum, where the cat can either be dead or alive. And you don’t know that until you open the box and observe it. And once you observe it, these really weird physics takes over and alter things. Okay. , we have noticed that when we measure things with leaders, they improve, not because they’ve actually done any work, but simply because they know they’re being observed, they improve their performance.

Yeah. And so that was interesting. We’re sitting around talking about the observer effect and we were making connections. To physics, to quantum mechanics, you know, and we sort of have that interesting insight   How much of what we do is just observer effect and how much of it is actually identifying a problem that then a person can go address.

So that’s a simple example, but nonetheless, an example of how we can be well-versed in other areas. And those can lead to problem solving and too. Better outcomes.

I liked some of the points here, like enlisting other open-minded people, because sometimes I think people. Don’t consider themselves very innovative.

And so when there’s a problem that gets stuck and they can’t really think of some ideas. And, and so I say, well, you probably need to get a, partner to kind of brainstorm a bit on how to solve this, or maybe your team or whatever. So again, opening it up to a group. And then there’s different styles because if you’re more of an introvert, you prefer to maybe think.

By herself to kind of come up with some ideas and solutions, then bounce those ideas off of other people. If you’re an extrovert ideas, normally come through group discussion. And so you’re able to kind of coalesce your ideas more within a group setting as opposed to being alone. Yeah. And that’s a, nice example where a facilitator who knows what they’re doing can be really helpful.

They may be able to send out some pre-work, so introverts have time to prepare. And then they also balance that with. An hour-long discussion that allows the extroverts to get in and sort of get those, those discussions going. So that’s why facilitation is important.

there’s one last point sort of before we kind of tie this up, this is really vital to diversity equity and inclusion.

Problem solving good problems are reliant on diverse perspectives. And so this is one way, rather than just quotas, like how many people serve in leadership, you know, how many peoples of color, things like that. You want to make real difference from diversity equity and inclusion efforts, enlist others as part of problem solving.

So gather their perspectives, listen to their solutions because. I’m amazed of nuances and sort of background information that I didn’t even know, because I didn’t realize that a word meant something different to a particular person of color things. good problem solving is relying on perspectives.

And then this is therefore reason why diversity equity inclusion matters. And this is a good area to make some gains. That’s really good point. So as we’re talking about this what are some of the, like, as you’re trying to teach problem solving, what are challenges there? What, what do  people get hung up on?

So there’s no. Formula you can follow for problem solving. And I, liken it to someone who learns how to be a good writer. The best way to be a good writer is to be a voracious reader. And just by consuming so many different types of writing yourself, you begin to see patterns and styles and you, you can take what you like from one area.

Same thing with music. We’re sitting here with Jay our producer here. Jake’s a great musician, partially because he can see. All types of genres of music. Sure. Well, problem solving is the same thing. you should study people who solve problems. You should look at how problems are solved you should engage in after action reviews, where you, go back and process and digest. what went wrong and how did we fix it? Yeah, You have to become a student of the actual discipline of problem solving. And that’s in my view, really the only way to learn it. There’s no great formula.

I think I’ve noticed as most leaders, as we’re like debriefing your coaching leaders on 360 results are pretty good problem solvers, right? so as a, maybe as a individual contributor, you were good at fixing things, getting things done, solving problems, which got you promoted.

Now you’re kind of in this, position to help others solve problems, but also to kind of remove roadblocks for your team. So that is one of your kind of core skills as to help keep things running efficiently taking out the, the difficulties or the, you know, the barriers out of people’s pain

And your point is right. And this is why we say you can’t just go cherry, pick your favorite competencies and think that that’s a great assessment or that’s a good competency culture to your point. Yeah. Managing change and problem solving and go together because managing change is the final step of problem solving if you will. And so that’s why you have to think about how your competencies are interrelated and not just say I’m a fan of decision-making, I’m a fan of communication. You need to think. Well, how do they fit together to create the type of leader that will transform this organization?

Right. Excellent. Well, Matt, thank you very much for the insight here on problem solving. Thank you everyone for joining us today. And we look forward to having you join us on our next engaging people podcast. Thanks guys.

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• Problem Solving

Problem Solving is a component of Ownership. Within Problem Solving, we also cover key topics including Spotlight on Problem Solving Tools and Techniques, Spotlight on Gap Analysis and Spotlight on Intuition Problem Solving.

• Dimensions of Leadership

Leadership Essentials: Problem Solving

It is often easy to overlook or misunderstand the true nature and cause of problems in the workplace. This can lead to missed learning opportunities, the wrong problem being dealt with, or the symptom being removed but not the cause of the underlying problem. You need to diagnose the situation so that the real problem is accurately identified, and if you define problems accurately you will make them easier and less costly to solve. 

‘Leadership Essentials: Problem-Solving’ provides an overview of why problem-solving is essential for leadership capability and includes ‘Top Tips’ on how effective problem-solving can help you become a better leader. The Essentials leaflet is supported by three Spotlights that look at problem-solving in more detail to help you improve your leadership skills:

• Defining the Problem
• Gap Analysis
• Intuition in Problem-Solving

09 February 2018

Spotlight on Gap Analysis

Spotlight on Intuition in Problem Solving

"My own experience is that you get as much information as you can and then you pay attention to your intuition, to your informed instinct"

Colin Powell  (Former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

Spotlight on Problem Solving Tools and Techniques

"If I were given one hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it." Attributed to Albert Einstein

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Four steps to improved problem solving

Professor of the Practice in Leadership Ed Barrows discusses a four-step plan designed for leaders to address and solve complex organizational problems.

Every organization has problems. What I mean when I say problem, however, isn’t what the term usually conjures up — an undesirable, even unsavory situation that is highly bothersome to the affected. We all have those to be sure. This type of problem, more plainly, is a variance between the current state and the desired state.

Using this definition, we find many occasions where we’re not performing to the desired level; that’s where the need for a good problem-solving process comes in. It’s an approach to determining what’s causing the variance and identifying the steps needed to remedy it. It’s important to be both thoughtful and deliberate about the steps you take.

When addressing a problem head-on, following a simple, four-step process will help you improve the likelihood of reaching a favorable outcome significantly.

The first step is to define the problem by thinking about it in the clearest terms possible. When asked, 85% of executives admit that their companies are poor at problem diagnosis. It’s hard to properly diagnose, let alone solve, a problem that is poorly defined. The best way to ensure that the issue you’re addressing is the right one is to define it in a manner that paves the way for effective analysis.

To do this, consider different viewpoints. Use a team, bring in outside experts and think through different ways to formulate the problem together. This practice is called problem reframing.

This alone helps us offset plunging-in-bias — the act of beginning to solve an issue before truly understanding it — which is a challenge that many managers face.

2. Decompose

Once a problem is well-defined, it’s tempting to jump right into ‘solution mode’ and begin brainstorming ways to address the challenge. Resist this temptation!

Oftentimes, the solution to a problem isn’t as obvious as it first seems. The problem needs to be broken down — or decomposed, as we say — into potential causes. Utilizing a logic tree or issue tree allows you to explore various hypotheses to begin thinking through the potential drivers of a problem. This is aligned with a management approach called Evidence-Based Management, which gets us to think through a mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive set of potential causes for the challenge we're facing. Using an approach that encourages structured thinking like this is a surefire way to improve your odds of success.

With the potential causes of the problem now identified, you can begin investigating the source(s) of the issue in earnest. This involves working as a team to collect data around each point that you have outlined. In examining each potential cause, you can make progress toward determining the root of the performance gap.

A very effective technique for this is the Five Whys. Ask the question ‘why,’ continually, until you get down to the point that it can’t be answered anymore. Typically, this takes about five rounds of questioning before you end up at what will likely be the root cause. After this, you can identify potential solutions.

A potential solution is just that—a potential solution. You’ll need to implement the intervention you’ve developed and then check to see if it actually solved the problem. There’s a chance it only addressed part of the performance shortfall. If it wasn’t a root cause after all, it might not have solved any of it. The reason you act and then recheck is to determine the degree to which improvement has been made and decide what you might do next.

Problem solving is something managers engage in every day. Big problems are persistent in organizational life, and the people who solve them are in a great position to add additional value to their organizations. Unfortunately, managers often rely more on experience and intuition than structured thinking. No doubt, ‘gut feel’ can help in addressing challenges. It’s structured thinking, however, that will yield the most benefit, especially when the problems you face are complex.

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Problem Solving Ability

Definition: anticipating, analyzing, diagnosing, and resolving problems..

Leaders with an aptitude for problem-solving have the ability to analyze, diagnose and deal with problems effectively. Whether the problem is linear and “tame,” or nonlinear and “wicked,” adept problem solvers have a natural propensity to discover and help lead others to solutions. The leaders of tomorrow must learn to be collaborative problem-solving facilitators, instead of solitary master problem-solvers. Problem-solving ability is a multi-faceted competency that uses other skills discussed throughout the Leaders Are Clear Thinkers section, including conceptual thinking, planning and organization, and creativity. In this section you’ll discover resources and activities to sharpen your problem-solving skills.

Join our community  to learn more about problem-solving skills, and to access resources and activities to help you along the way. 

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Leaders with an aptitude for problem-solving have the ability to analyze, diagnose and deal with problems effectively.

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Six Leadership Strategies To Problem-Solve

by Terri Klass | Apr 18, 2021 | Collaborative Leadership , Conflict Resolution , Leadership Development , Open-Minded , Problem Solving , Teams , Uncategorized | 2 comments

Partnering with a team recently to find a solution to a complicated challenge was no simple task. At first, it seemed that there was an obvious resolution but as with most complex problems, there was way more involved. Different perspectives and suggestions were proposed with heated discussions. The disagreements kept growing and before we knew it, we hit a dead end. To sum it up, there appeared no way out of our mess. Some of the comments that were shared were:

“I think you’re totally off-base with your thinking.”

“I am taking all of my emotions out of this decision.”

“You’re asking for more trouble going down that road.”

“I just don’t see any way to solve this problem.”

Although teams continually face glitches that can often require a great deal of unpacking, the way they approach problem solving is key to a meaningful outcome. There are definitely best practices that teams can use to tackle their problems straight on which will result in solutions that all team members can live with.

Six leadership strategies to problem-solve:

1. define the real problem.

In order to end up with the most impactful solution to a challenge teams must clearly identify the real issue at hand. Even though this may seem like common sense, it doesn’t always play out that way. For example, if a team decides the problem with a deliverable is due to delayed work being shared but the problem is actually the process being used then the solution will never resolve the issue. Some helpful questions to ask to get to the real problem might include:

• Why is this a problem?
• Who does this problem impact?
• What isn’t the problem?
• What are the different elements of the problem?

2. Brainstorm A List Of Possible Solutions

Once defined and written out in a statement, it is time for a team to attempt to identify possible solutions. The most effective way to begin this process is by brainstorming. What is brainstorming ? Simply put: Throwing out as many ideas as possible without using any judgement or discounting any. For some team members this can be difficult if they are unable to refrain from sharing their comments. This step is all about quantity, not quality.

3. Include All Stakeholders

During this process of brainstorming, it is essential to include all the team members so that everyone feels buy-in with the end result. This is essential because when people see themselves as part of the problem-solving process they will keep sharing their important ideas. How do you include all team members?

• Ask each team member about their thoughts of how they would go about resolving the issue. Help them to keep their emotions at bay.
• Validate suggestions and opinions being shared.
• Think about stakeholders who may not be part of the team but may be helpful in resolving the issue. Their insights may lead to a more inclusive solution.

4. Weigh The Pros And Cons Of The Solutions

When all solutions are on the table and all the stakeholders consulted, then it is time to analyze the solutions. It is at this point that a back and forth discussion of the positives and negatives of each solution be considered. In my case, some of the possible solutions could possibly lead to further challenges. Just take the time to look at all sides of each possible outcome. Be honest with one another and also openminded to different alternatives.

5. Clearly Identify The Best Outcome

Once the evaluation of all the solutions is complete, choose the best one and go with it. That means making sure to be clear on the decision and what that might entail for the rest of the team and organization. A professional report should be designed that includes:

• The clearly defined problem.
• The stakeholders involved in the solution reached.
• The process undertaken to arrive at the decision.
• Concise and purposeful stated solution to the problem.

6. Present The Solution With Intent

Finally, choose which stakeholders should share the solution. Those team members should carefully prepare an impactful presentation that maps out how the problem was resolved and why that alternative was selected. When we present our solution it should be with conviction and clarity. Not always easy but well worth the time to gain as much support as possible.

What additional problem-solving strategies have worked for you and your team?

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

Great article, Terri. I love all of your points but the one that resonated with me the most was “define the real problem.” I’ve been in many situations where too much energy was spent finding a solution to a problem that no one had taken the time to define with clarity. Sure, we came up with stop-gap measures but since the real problem hadn’t been addressed, they were nothing more than bandaids that wasted leadership’s valuable time.

To solve a problem and reach the best solution teams must have total clarity on defining the problem accurately. There are many techniques to drilling down to the real problem. Sometimes it is important to understand what isn’t the problem in order to have a clearer vision of what the problem doesn’t impact. Rewriting the problem in different ways can also be so helpful in reaching the best definition. Thanks LaRae!

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How to solve a problem like a leader.

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Often leaders will think they are driving a problem-solving culture by insistent, or even just encouraging, team members to utilize the tools and templates of problem-solving.

However, most organizations then respond with either sterile and uninspired efforts or at worse, malicious compliance. Shaping the culture of good problem-solving behaviors will naturally encourage people to pick up those same tools with the right intent.

After nearly three decades of coaching at every level, from entry-level employees to experienced CEOs of multi-billion-dollar corporations, author and advisor Jamie Flinchbaugh has worked with over 300 companies worldwide in Lean transformation, including Intel, Harley-Davidson, Crayola, BMW, and Amazon. In his new book, People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem , Flinchbaugh shifts the conversation and argues that organizations focus too much on problem-solving tools and templates and miss other critical elements that make a more significant difference: getting the right behaviors and building the right capabilities.

Problem-solving is not usually completed in a straight line, with fixed questions and predetermined ... [+] answers, say experts

Problem-solving is not usually completed in a straight line, with fixed questions and predetermined answers. Instead, it requires learning, agility, curiosity, and intuition. “This is certainly the case as problems are not puzzles. Whereas a puzzle may have a correct answer, a problem is often unbounded, requiring firstly, the need to understand its scope before exploring solutions, more accurately, different solutions”, says Lebene Soga of Henley Business School. While each problem may not be unique, each requires its own line of inquiry. And each situation solver cannot just follow a script but must leverage their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. “The formulaic approaches to problem-solving may be useful elsewhere but not when we are confronted with wicked problems.”

Attempting to solve or “solutionize” wicked problems requires an understanding of complexity, risks, and more importantly, people,” Soga adds. This is where the right coaching becomes necessary as you do not want leaders rushing to solve problems which often leads to more significant problems. The flexibility and personal engagement that coaching enables to make it the most powerful leverage point for improving problem-solving.

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In a similar vein, the head of the management discipline at the University of Newcastle Australia, Ashish Malik, reflecting on his two decades of research on the global information technology industry, noted, “the essence of leadership is to take decisions on a range of problems—which may vary on a continuum from simple to complex, for some there are known solutions, while for others there is no known solution or a script ready. Therefore, decision-making is a courageous exercise, and for the first-time leaders, it is a watershed moment.” Leaders often employ many systematic and less planned tools and techniques to solve complex problems, such as using evidence-based and metricized approaches to solving known and unknown issues. In his research, Malik, Sinha, and Blumenfeld found that the use of Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma methodologies was very prevalent in offshore outsourcing call centers , BPOs , and IT Industry in India as a useful tool for approaching complex tasks operational and leadership problems.

Problem-solving is not a recipe with known inputs, established steps, and a predictable outcome. Curiosity allows us to enter problem-solving as a learning process because we must close our knowledge gaps before closing our performance gaps. Intuition is helpful because when trekking through uncharted territory, as most problem solving is done, it requires making essential adjustments such as when to go slower, when to start over, and even where to start. Analytical and data-driven methods are critical but insufficient when navigating such a journey as problem-solving.

In summary, excellent and practical tools help us perform better in most domains, and problem-solving is no exception, however, much like many of those exact domains, the skill, capability, and talent that we bring to the task far outweigh those tools in their impact on performance.

Disclosure:  One source mentioned in this article, Lebene Soga, is employed by the same University as this article’s author, though both reside on different campuses

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Strategic Leadership

Senior level managers must tackle complex problems using creative problem-solving and a portfolio of skills and styles. Here’s a look at how being a strategic leader can move an organization—and your career—forward.

Pamela Reynolds

On any given day in a large organization, managers make dozens if not hundreds of decisions, both large and small. How many units are getting out the door? How well are employees performing? Are there supply chain issues or problems recruiting new hires? Is distribution functioning smoothly?

While some leaders spend their days immersed in these day-to-day, short-term operational issues, strategic leaders focus on the big picture — where the organization is going and how to best utilize talent to get there.

In this blog, we’ll look at exactly what it means to be a strategic leader. We’ll examine the top skills and qualities associated with senior-level leadership, as well as how you can become a strategic leader in your own right. 

Defining Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership is when managers use their creative problem-solving skills and strategic vision to help team members and an organization achieve long-term goals. 

More specifically, according to Margaret Andrews, instructor of Strategic Leadership , a Professional & Executive Development program in the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, strategic leadership is not so much a clear-cut leadership style as a mindset — “that you want to be strategic about your leadership.”

“ Strategic leadership is about understanding yourself and your goals,” she says. “It’s about understanding the situation, considering options, and deciding. It’s also about getting the best out of people, the best out of the situation, so that the organization does well. Leaders who lead strategically have done the inner work necessary to lead with integrity, vision, and purpose.” 

The concept of strategic leadership is not always straightforward . Leading strategically actually requires a manager to choose from among a variety of leadership styles depending on the situation and the people involved. Such leadership styles might include:

• Authoritarian leadership : when a leader imposes expectations and defines outcomes
• Participative leadership : when a leader involves team members in the decision-making process
• Delegative leadership : when a leader delegates tasks to other team members
• Transactional leadership : when a leader rewards or punishes team members in an effort to complete a task.
• Transformational leadership : when a leader uses a vision to inspire and motivate others
• Servant leadership : when a leader serves others by putting the needs of employees first, helping them develop to perform at higher levels

“It’s about using the leadership style that fits the situation at hand,” notes Andrews. 

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What Are the Top Skills and Qualities of Strategic Leaders?

Adept strategic leaders have cultivated a special skill set beyond the obvious ones—being trustworthy, developing a strategic plan, and delegating—often cited in business textbooks and blogs. 

Skills centered around emotional intelligence, the soft “people skills,” are the traits that allow strategic leaders to successfully adapt to an ever-changing economic and technological climate, remaining forward-looking and able to see industry trends and directions long before others in an organization do. 

Passion, purpose, and conviction are what make strategic leaders “visionary.”

Some of the most important characteristics of someone who leads strategically include: 

They Know Who They Are

“They really understand themselves, who they are and what matters,” says Andrews. “They know their values.”

They Are Interested in Others

Strategic leaders want to hear from team members, and they listen attentively as part of their leadership strategy. As a result, team members naturally feel more invested. Andrews references a famous quote of Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” 

“There’s an element of truth in that,” she says. “People want direction. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to have their own ideas for how to achieve great things considered as well.”

They Are Good Communicators

It goes without saying that leaders who think strategically speak clearly in ways that others can easily understand. But there is an added dimension — good listening skills, the second trait in our list. Good communicators listen closely enough to hear the reservations of those wavering on the fence and are able to create buy-in by addressing those concerns. 

In addition, they are aware how their words, actions, and moods affect their teammates, and can calibrate their words and actions accordingly.

Because they’re good listeners, with a good dose of empathy and compassion included in the mix, they can be very effective at motivating team members. Engaged employees are more likely to do good work, persist through problems, innovate, and contribute to the overall strategy.

They Are Open-Minded 

Strategic leaders encourage and seek out diverse points of view.

“The easy problems are solved, and we’re left with the harder problems which need new ways of thinking, which often come from a diverse team,” says Andrews. “We need different points of view, which come from different vantage points, educational paths, and personal and professional experiences.”

Who Are Some Examples of Strategic Leaders?

Leaders who exemplify some of the qualities found in great strategic leadership abound. Below are four different types of leaders who demonstrate at least one of the traits of a strategic leader.

Oprah Winfrey @Oprah :The Great Communicator

Winfrey started off as the first black local news anchor at a Nashville television station, only to become one of the wealthiest businesswomen in the world as CEO of Harpo Inc. a multimedia production company. Although she has been hailed as the most powerful business woman in the world by Forbes thanks to her business acumen, she is best known in her more humble role as a day-time talk show host. In 25 seasons on the set of “Oprah,” she displayed a down-to-earth, relatable communication style that embodied attentive listening, empathy, compassion, and the ability to connect with people from radically different backgrounds. 

Howard Schultz @HowardSchultz : Knowing His Purpose

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, made the radical decision to offer benefits for workers at the end of his first year as CEO of the coffee chain. At the time, it was virtually unheard of in the fast-food industry. Schultz, however, had grown up with a truck driving father who had no health insurance after breaking an ankle. Schultz was able to use his passion and sense of mission to persuade the Starbucks board to offer health insurance to baristas, even those working part-time. 

Jacinda Ardern @jacindaardern : Interested in Others

Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, has been applauded around the world for her substantial leadership skills and steady hand during a crisis. She is often praised for her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which she was able to keep levels of infection in the country relatively low. According to industry professionals, she “focuses on ‘we’ not ‘I,’” listens to expert advice and acts on what she hears, and acknowledges both her strengths and weaknesses, engendering trust.

Jeff Bezos @jeffbezos : Open to Big Ideas

Chairman and former CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos was able to transform his online bookstore into the world’s largest internet company by revenue, and the largest provider of virtual assistants and cloud infrastructure services. His vision was indeed of Amazonian proportions and has consequently changed the world. His innovation mindset and willingness to embrace bold new ideas means that his empire continues to grow, from moving Amazon into providing streaming movies to taking on sub-orbital spaceflight with his company Blue Origin. 

How to Become a Strategic Leader

By now, it should be obvious that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to strategic leadership . 

People who lead strategically come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in every arena, from politics, to entertainment, to business, and beyond. 

But despite their variety of backgrounds, interests, and styles, there is one basic thing strategic leaders seem to know: “Leadership is the human side of business,” says Andrews. “That’s how we get things done, through other people, and that’s what leadership is about, since no two situations are alike.” 

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Pamela Reynolds is a Boston-area feature writer and editor whose work appears in numerous publications. She is the author of “Revamp: A Memoir of Travel and Obsessive Renovation.”

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What Are Problem-Solving Skills? Definition and Examples

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Why do employers hire employees? To help them solve problems. Whether you’re a financial analyst deciding where to invest your firm’s money, or a marketer trying to figure out which channel to direct your efforts, companies hire people to help them find solutions. Problem-solving is an essential and marketable soft skill in the workplace. 

So, how can you improve your problem-solving and show employers you have this valuable skill? In this guide, we’ll cover:

Problem-Solving Skills Definition

Why are problem-solving skills important, problem-solving skills examples, how to include problem-solving skills in a job application, how to improve problem-solving skills, problem-solving: the bottom line.

Problem-solving skills are the ability to identify problems, brainstorm and analyze answers, and implement the best solutions. An employee with good problem-solving skills is both a self-starter and a collaborative teammate; they are proactive in understanding the root of a problem and work with others to consider a wide range of solutions before deciding how to move forward. 

Examples of using problem-solving skills in the workplace include:

• Researching patterns to understand why revenue decreased last quarter
• Experimenting with a new marketing channel to increase website sign-ups
• Brainstorming content types to share with potential customers
• Testing calls to action to see which ones drive the most product sales
• Implementing a new workflow to automate a team process and increase productivity

Problem-solving skills are the most sought-after soft skill of 2022. In fact, 86% of employers look for problem-solving skills on student resumes, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2022 survey . 

It’s unsurprising why employers are looking for this skill: companies will always need people to help them find solutions to their problems. Someone proactive and successful at problem-solving is valuable to any team.

“Employers are looking for employees who can make decisions independently, especially with the prevalence of remote/hybrid work and the need to communicate asynchronously,” Eric Mochnacz, senior HR consultant at Red Clover, says. “Employers want to see individuals who can make well-informed decisions that mitigate risk, and they can do so without suffering from analysis paralysis.”

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Problem-solving includes three main parts: identifying the problem, analyzing possible solutions, and deciding on the best course of action.

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Research is the first step of problem-solving because it helps you understand the context of a problem. Researching a problem enables you to learn why the problem is happening. For example, is revenue down because of a new sales tactic? Or because of seasonality? Is there a problem with who the sales team is reaching out to? 

Research broadens your scope to all possible reasons why the problem could be happening. Then once you figure it out, it helps you narrow your scope to start solving it. 

Analysis is the next step of problem-solving. Now that you’ve identified the problem, analytical skills help you look at what potential solutions there might be.

“The goal of analysis isn’t to solve a problem, actually — it’s to better understand it because that’s where the real solution will be found,” Gretchen Skalka, owner of Career Insights Consulting, says. “Looking at a problem through the lens of impartiality is the only way to get a true understanding of it from all angles.”

Decision-Making

Once you’ve figured out where the problem is coming from and what solutions are, it’s time to decide on the best way to go forth. Decision-making skills help you determine what resources are available, what a feasible action plan entails, and what solution is likely to lead to success.

On a Resume

Employers looking for problem-solving skills might include the word “problem-solving” or other synonyms like “ critical thinking ” or “analytical skills” in the job description.

“I would add ‘buzzwords’ you can find from the job descriptions or LinkedIn endorsements section to filter into your resume to comply with the ATS,” Matthew Warzel, CPRW resume writer, advises. Warzel recommends including these skills on your resume but warns to “leave the soft skills as adjectives in the summary section. That is the only place soft skills should be mentioned.”

On the other hand, you can list hard skills separately in a skills section on your resume .

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In a Cover Letter or an Interview

Explaining your problem-solving skills in an interview can seem daunting. You’re required to expand on your process — how you identified a problem, analyzed potential solutions, and made a choice. As long as you can explain your approach, it’s okay if that solution didn’t come from a professional work experience.

“Young professionals shortchange themselves by thinking only paid-for solutions matter to employers,” Skalka says. “People at the genesis of their careers don’t have a wealth of professional experience to pull from, but they do have relevant experience to share.”

Aaron Case, career counselor and CPRW at Resume Genius, agrees and encourages early professionals to share this skill. “If you don’t have any relevant work experience yet, you can still highlight your problem-solving skills in your cover letter,” he says. “Just showcase examples of problems you solved while completing your degree, working at internships, or volunteering. You can even pull examples from completely unrelated part-time jobs, as long as you make it clear how your problem-solving ability transfers to your new line of work.”

Learn How to Identify Problems

Problem-solving doesn’t just require finding solutions to problems that are already there. It’s also about being proactive when something isn’t working as you hoped it would. Practice questioning and getting curious about processes and activities in your everyday life. What could you improve? What would you do if you had more resources for this process? If you had fewer? Challenge yourself to challenge the world around you.

Think Digitally

“Employers in the modern workplace value digital problem-solving skills, like being able to find a technology solution to a traditional issue,” Case says. “For example, when I first started working as a marketing writer, my department didn’t have the budget to hire a professional voice actor for marketing video voiceovers. But I found a perfect solution to the problem with an AI voiceover service that cost a fraction of the price of an actor.”

Being comfortable with new technology — even ones you haven’t used before — is a valuable skill in an increasingly hybrid and remote world. Don’t be afraid to research new and innovative technologies to help automate processes or find a more efficient technological solution.

Collaborate

Problem-solving isn’t done in a silo, and it shouldn’t be. Use your collaboration skills to gather multiple perspectives, help eliminate bias, and listen to alternative solutions. Ask others where they think the problem is coming from and what solutions would help them with your workflow. From there, try to compromise on a solution that can benefit everyone.

If we’ve learned anything from the past few years, it’s that the world of work is constantly changing — which means it’s crucial to know how to adapt . Be comfortable narrowing down a solution, then changing your direction when a colleague provides a new piece of information. Challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone, whether with your personal routine or trying a new system at work.

Put Yourself in the Middle of Tough Moments

Just like adapting requires you to challenge your routine and tradition, good problem-solving requires you to put yourself in challenging situations — especially ones where you don’t have relevant experience or expertise to find a solution. Because you won’t know how to tackle the problem, you’ll learn new problem-solving skills and how to navigate new challenges. Ask your manager or a peer if you can help them work on a complicated problem, and be proactive about asking them questions along the way.

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Step 1 of 3

Companies always need people to help them find solutions — especially proactive employees who have practical analytical skills and can collaborate to decide the best way to move forward. Whether or not you have experience solving problems in a professional workplace, illustrate your problem-solving skills by describing your research, analysis, and decision-making process — and make it clear that you’re the solution to the employer’s current problems. 

Image Credit: Christina Morillo / Pexels 

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What is leadership?

All leaders, to a certain degree, do the same thing. Whether you’re talking about an executive, manager, sports coach, or schoolteacher, leadership is about guiding and impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what they couldn’t do working individually. In this sense, leadership is something you do, not something you are. Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many people exercising leadership have no formal authority. It is their actions, not their words, that inspire trust and energy.

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What’s more, leadership is not something people are born with—it is a skill you can learn. At the core are mindsets, which are expressed through observable behaviors , which then lead to measurable outcomes. Is a leader communicating effectively or engaging others by being a good listener? Focusing on behaviors lets us be more objective when assessing leadership effectiveness. The key to unlocking shifts in behavior is focusing on mindsets, becoming more conscious about our thoughts and beliefs, and showing up with integrity as our full authentic selves.

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There are many contexts and ways in which leadership is exercised. But, according to McKinsey analysis of academic literature as well as a survey of nearly 200,000 people in 81 organizations all over the world, there are four types of behavior that account for 89 percent of leadership effectiveness :

• being supportive
• operating with a strong results orientation
• seeking different perspectives
• solving problems effectively

Effective leaders know that what works in one situation will not necessarily work every time. Leadership strategies must reflect each organization’s context and stage of evolution. One important lens is organizational health, a holistic set of factors that enable organizations to grow and succeed over time. A situational approach  enables leaders to focus on the behaviors that are most relevant as an organization becomes healthier.

Senior leaders must develop a broad range of skills to guide organizations. Ten timeless topics are important for leading nearly any organization, from attracting and retaining talent  to making culture a competitive advantage. A 2017 McKinsey book, Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths (Bloomsbury, 2017), goes deep on each aspect.

How is leadership evolving?

In the past, leadership was called “management,” with an emphasis on providing technical expertise and direction. The context was the traditional industrial economy command-and-control organization, where leaders focused exclusively on maximizing value for shareholders. In these organizations, leaders had three roles: planners (who develop strategy, then translate that strategy into concrete steps), directors (who assign responsibilities), or controllers (who ensure people do what they’ve been assigned and plans are adhered to).

What are the limits of traditional management styles?

Traditional management was revolutionary in its day and enormously effective in building large-scale global enterprises that have materially improved lives over the past 200 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, this approach is reaching its limits.

For one thing, this approach doesn’t guarantee happy or loyal managers or workers. Indeed, a large portion of American workers—56 percent— claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic , while 75 percent say dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday.

For 21st-century organizations operating in today’s complex business environment, a fundamentally new and more effective approach to leadership is emerging. Leaders today are beginning to focus on building agile, human-centered, and digitally enabled organizations able to thrive in today’s unprecedented environment and meet the needs of a broader range of stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and communities, in addition to investors).

What is the emerging new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is sometimes described as “ servant leadership .” While there has been some criticism of the nomenclature, the idea itself is simple: rather than being a manager directing and controlling people, a more effective approach is for leaders to be in service of the people they lead. The focus is on how leaders can make the lives of their team members easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research suggests this mentality can enhance both team performance and satisfaction.

In this new approach, leaders practice empathy, compassion, vulnerability, gratitude, self-awareness, and self-care. They provide appreciation and support, creating psychological safety so their employees are able to collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. This includes celebrating achieving the small steps on the way to reaching big goals and enhancing people’s well-being through better human connections. These conditions have been shown to allow for a team’s best performance.

More broadly, developing this new approach to leadership can be expressed as making five key shifts that include, build on, and extend beyond traditional approaches:

• beyond executive to visionary, shaping a clear purpose that resonates with and generates holistic impact for all stakeholders
• beyond planner to architect, reimagining industries and innovating business systems that are able to create new levels of value
• beyond director to catalyst, engaging people to collaborate in open, empowered networks
• beyond controller to coach, enabling the organization to constantly evolve through rapid learning, and enabling colleagues to build new mindsets, knowledge, and skills
• beyond boss to human, showing up as one’s whole, authentic self

Together, these shifts can help a leader expand their repertoire and create a new level of value for an organization’s stakeholders. The last shift is the most important, as it is based on developing a new level of consciousness and awareness of our inner state. Leaders who look inward  and take a journey of genuine self-discovery make profound shifts in themselves and their lives; this means they are better able to benefit their organization. That involves developing “profile awareness” (a combination of a person’s habits of thought, emotions, hopes, and behavior in different circumstances) and “state awareness” (the recognition of what’s driving a person to take action). Combining individual, inward-looking work with outward-facing actions can help create lasting change.

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Leaders must learn to make these five shifts at three levels : transforming and evolving personal mindsets and behaviors; transforming teams to work in new ways; and transforming the broader organization by building new levels of agility, human-centeredness, and value creation into the entire enterprise’s design and culture.

An example from the COVID-19 era offers a useful illustration of this new approach to leadership. In pursuit of a vaccine breakthrough, at the start of the pandemic Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel increased the frequency of executive meetings  from once a month to twice a week. The company implemented a decentralized model enabling teams to work independently and deliver on the bold goal of providing 100 million doses of vaccines in 12 months. “The pace was unprecedented,” Bancel said.

What is the impact of this new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is far more effective. While the dynamics are complex, countless studies show empirical links among effective leadership, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability.

How can leaders empower employees?

Empowering employees , surprisingly enough, might mean taking a more hands-on leadership approach. Organizations whose leaders successfully empower others through coaching are nearly four times more likely to make swift, good decisions and outperform other companies . But this type of coaching isn’t always natural for those with a more controlling or autocratic style.

Here are five tips to get started  if you’re a leader looking to empower others:

• Provide clear rules, for example, by providing guardrails for what success looks like and communicating who makes which decisions. Clarity and boundary structures like role remits and responsibilities help to contain any anxiety associated with work and help teams stay focused on their primary tasks.
• Establish clear roles, say, by assigning one person the authority to make certain decisions.
• Avoid being a complicit manager—for instance, if you’ve delegated a decision to a team, don’t step in and solve the problem for them.
• Address culture and skills, for instance, by helping employees learn how to have difficult conversations.
• Begin soliciting personal feedback from others, at all levels of your organization, on how you are experienced as a leader.

How can leaders communicate effectively?

Good, clear communication is a leadership hallmark. Fundamental tools of effective communication  include:

• defining and pointing to long-term goals
• listening to and understanding stakeholders
• creating openings for dialogue
• communicating proactively

And in times of uncertainty, these things are important for crisis communicators :

• give people what they need, when they need it
• communicate clearly, simply, and frequently
• choose candor over charisma
• revitalize a spirit of resilience
• distill meaning from chaos
• support people, teams, and organizations to build the capability for self-sufficiency

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Is leadership different in a hybrid workplace?

A leader’s role may look slightly different in remote or hybrid workplace settings . Rather than walking around a physical site, these leaders might instead model what hybrid looks like, or orchestrate work based on tasks, interactions, or purpose. Being communicative and radiating positivity  can go a long way. Leaders need to find other ways to be present and accessible, for example, via virtual drop-in sessions, regular company podcasts, or virtual townhalls. Leaders in these settings may also need to find new ways to get authentic feedback. These tactics can include pulse surveys or learning to ask thoughtful follow-up questions that reveal useful management insights.

Additional considerations, such as making sure that in-person work and togetherness has a purpose, are important. Keeping an eye on inclusivity in hybrid work  is also crucial. Listening to what employees want, with an eye to their lived experience, will be vital to leaders in these settings. And a focus on output, outcomes, results, and impact—rather than arbitrary norms about time spent in offices— may be a necessary adaptation in the hybrid era .

How should CEOs lead in this new world?

Just as for leadership more broadly, today’s environment requires CEOs to lead very differently. Recent research indicates that one-third to one-half of new CEOs fail within 18 months.

What helps top performers thrive today? To find out, McKinsey led a research effort to identify the CEOs who achieved breakaway success. We examined 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs—from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries. The result is the McKinsey book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022). Watch an interview with the authors for more on what separates the best CEOs from the rest .

Getting perspective on leadership from CEOs themselves is enlightening—and illustrates the nuanced ways in which the new approach to leadership described above can be implemented in practice. Here are a few quotes drawn from McKinsey’s interviews with these top-level leaders :

• “I think the fundamental role of a leader is to look for ways to shape the decades ahead, not just react to the present, and to help others accept the discomfort of disruptions to the status quo.” — Indra Nooyi , former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
• “The single most important thing I have to do as CEO is ensure that our brand continues to be relevant.” — Chris Kempczinski , CEO of McDonald’s
• “Leaders of other enterprises often define themselves as captains of the ship, but I think I’m more the ship’s architect or designer. That’s different from a captain’s role, in which the route is often fixed and the destination defined.” — Zhang Ruimin , CEO of Haier
• “I think my leadership style [can be called] ‘collaborative command.’ You bring different opinions into the room, you allow for a really great debate, but you understand that, at the end of the day, a decision has to be made quickly.” — Adena Friedman , CEO of Nasdaq
• “We need an urgent refoundation of business and capitalism around purpose and humanity. To find new ways for all of us to lead so that we can create a better future, a more sustainable future.” — Hubert Joly , former chairman and CEO of Best Buy

What is leadership development?

Leaders aren’t born; they learn to lead over time. Neuroplasticity refers to the power of the brain to form new pathways and connections through exposure to novel, unfamiliar experiences. This allows adults to adapt, grow, and learn new practices throughout our lifetimes.

When it comes to leadership within organizations, this is often referred to as leadership development. Programs, books, and courses on leadership development abound, but results vary.

Leadership development efforts fail for a variety of reasons. Some overlook context; in those cases, asking a simple question (something like “What, precisely, is this program for?”) can help. Others separate reflections on leadership from real work, or they shortchange the role of adjusting leaders’ mindsets, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs, or they fail to measure results.

So what’s needed for successful leadership development? Generally, developing leaders is about creating contexts where there is sufficient psychological safety in combination with enough novelty and unfamiliarity to cultivate new leadership practices in response to stimuli. Leadership programs that successfully cultivate leaders are also built around “placescapes”—these are novel experiences, like exploring wilderness trails, practicing performing arts, or writing poetry.

When crafting a leadership development program, there are six ingredients to incorporate  that lead to true organizational impact:

• Set up for success:
• Focus your leadership transformation on driving strategic objectives and initiatives.
• Commit the people and resources needed.
• Be clear about focus:
• Engage a critical mass of leaders to reach a tipping point for sustained impact.
• Zero in on the leadership shifts that drive the greatest value.
• Execute well:
• Architect experiential journeys to maximize shifts in mindsets, capabilities, and practices.
• Measure for holistic impact.

A well-designed and executed leadership development program can help organizations build leaders’ capabilities broadly, at scale. And these programs can be built around coaching, mentoring, and having people try to solve challenging problems—learning skills by applying them in real time to real work.

What are mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship?

Mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship can also be part of leadership development efforts. What are they? Mentorship refers to trusted counselors offering guidance and support on various professional issues, such as career progression. Sponsorship is used to describe senior leaders who create opportunities to help junior colleagues succeed. These roles are typically held by more senior colleagues, whereas apprenticeship could be more distributed. Apprenticeship  describes the way any colleague with domain expertise might teach others, model behaviors, or transfer skills. These approaches can be useful not only for developing leaders but also for helping your company upskill or reskill employees quickly and at scale.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s insights on People & Organizational Performance . Learn more about McKinsey’s Leadership & Management  work—and check out job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

• “ Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest? ,” December 15, 2021, Carolyn Dewar , Scott Keller , and Vik Malhotra
• “ From the great attrition to the great adaptation ,” November 3, 2021, Aaron De Smet  and Bill Schaninger
• “ The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships ,” September 22, 2020, Tera Allas  and Bill Schaninger
• " Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st century organizations ," October 1, 2018, Aaron De Smet , Michael Lurie, and Andrew St. George
• " Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths ," 2017, Scott Keller  and Mary Meaney
• “ Leadership in context ,” January 1, 2016, Michael Bazigos, Chris Gagnon, and Bill Schaninger
• “ Decoding leadership: What really matters ,” January 1, 2015, Claudio Feser, Fernanda Mayol, and Ramesh Srinivasan

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